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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffTreatment of nonallergic rhinitis depends on how much it bothers you. For mild cases, home treatment and avoiding triggers may be enough. For more bothersome symptoms, certain medications may provide relief, including:
- Oral decongestants. Available over-the-counter or by prescription, examples include pseudoephedrine-containing drugs (Sudafed, Actifed, others) and phenylephrine (Neo-Synephrine, others). These medications help narrow the blood vessels, reducing congestion in the nose.
- Saline nasal sprays. Use an over-the-counter nasal saline spray or homemade saltwater solution to flush the nose of irritants and help thin the mucus and soothe the membranes in your nose.
- Antihistamine nasal sprays. Try a prescription antihistamine spray such as azelastine (Astelin, Optivar). While oral antihistamines don't seem to help nonallergic rhinitis, antihistamine in the form of a nasal spray may reduce symptoms of nonallergic rhinitis.
- Anti-drip anticholinergic nasal sprays. The prescription drug ipratropium (Atrovent) is often used as an asthma inhaler medication. But it's now available as a nasal spray and can be helpful if a runny, drippy nose is your main symptom.
- Corticosteroid nasal sprays. If your symptoms aren't easily controlled by decongestants or antihistamines, your doctor may suggest a prescription corticosteroid nasal spray, such as fluticasone (Flonase) or mometasone (Nasonex). Corticosteroid medications help prevent and treat inflammation associated with some types of nonallergic rhinitis.
- Decongestant nasal sprays. These include oxymetazoline (Afrin, Nostrilla, others). Don't use these medications for more than three or four days, as they can cause congestion to come back with even worse symptoms when you stop using them.
Over-the-counter oral antihistamines, such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl), clemastine (Tavist) and loratadine (Claritin), typically don't work nearly as well for nonallergic rhinitis as they do for allergic rhinitis.
In rare cases, surgical procedures may be an option to treat complicating problems such as a deviated nasal septum or persistent nasal polyps.
