I've rated over 100 reviews today and so far have only got one rate back! :(
I've rated over 100 reviews today and so far have only got one rate back! :(
Member since:19.01.2007
Reviews:27
Members who trust:14
Vicks Sinex Decongestant Nasal Spray is a spray which you squirt up your nostrils to give "relief from a blocked nose". The spray is recommended as suitable for anyone aged over 6 years, although I wouldn't be too happy giving it to a child to use - it's the kind of thing a child might squirt up their nose every five minutes if they could and I don't think that would be very healthy! I've used the spray quite a lot of times and would recommend it, albeit with reservations.
The spray costs about £2.50 per 20ml bottle - the bottle doesn't state how manyapplications there are per bottle, but one bottle has seen me through several colds so I'd reckon that it probably contains several hundred squirts. According to the instructions you need to reuse every six to eight hours but on my experience the effects start to wear off within about three to four hours.
It certainly does what it says - within seconds of squirting the spray your nose will be perfectly clear. As I said above, it lasts for three to four hours. Once the spray starts to wear off, it wears off really quickly - I find that my nose goes from being perfectly clear to totally blocked within about fifteen minutes. I don't know if it's just because I get used to my nose being completely unblocked and then it's a shock to the system when it's blocked again, but after using the spray my nose always feels even more blocked than it did to start with. For this reason it's very tempting to use the spray 24/7 until your cold disappears, but I would definitely not recommend this kind of prolonged usage.
Firstly, after using the spray for more than a few hours I've had some nose bleeds, which it's hard not to attribute to the spray. There's no recommendation on the bottle that you don't use for prolonged periods, so I can only presume that my nasal passages are more sensitive than most, but I also presume that I won't be the only person to whom this applies.
Secondly, even after only using the spray a couple of times my nose gets really dry, which is certainly preferable to a runny nose, but is unpleasant nonetheless. I always end up having to drink gallons to try and keep myself hydrated.
Thirdly, the list of ingredients is a bit concerning. The list doesn't mean much to me but from what I understand of it, these ingredients aren't very natural! For those of you who are interested, the ingredients are as follows, greatest first: Oxymetalozine hydrochloride Sodium citrate dihydrate Tyloxapol Citric acid anhydrous Chlorexhidine digluconate Menthol Benzalkonium chloride Camphor Disodium edetate Eucalyptol Sodium hydroxide Purified water I don't know about you, but the fact that the tiny amount of water included is "purified" doesn't really make me feel any better about the remainder of the list!
Fourthly, it is really hard to restrict yourself to just using it for short periods. Once you've tasted relief from a blocked nose, it's really tempting to keep using for long periods, partly because the effects wear off so suddenly. I'm sitting staring at the bottle as I write, desperate for my next fix - I'd better go and hide the bottle right now - out of sight out of mind!
This spray is the only thing I know of that will actually clear a blocked nose - decongestants etc just don't have the same effect, but I'd certainly not recommend it for regular use. However, there's nothing like it if you have, for example, an interview or exam which you need to keep a clear head for. The only problem is then weaning yourself off!
I'd highly recommend this product for one-off use, but not for prolonged use.
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