It started with a nasal spray and ended with an operation for Laurits Olsen

Laurits Olsen tried nasal spray for the first time in winter 2023.

- A friend recommended it to me, saying I could use it to clear my nose, he says.

He didn't pay much attention to how much he should use before he sprayed the first dose up his nose.

- I thought: "I'll just use it now."

In the first month, he sprayed the substance up his nose between four and five times daily.

- I felt like I was still congested, so I kept taking it, he tells.

Then he cut back on usage, but he still used Otrivin nasal spray every day.

- I only found out later that it could have consequences.

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Something was wrong

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Already after the first month of use, Laurits Olsen could tell that something was wrong.

He is 23 years old, lives on Amager, and is a student at Cphbusiness, the Business Academy Copenhagen.

- It was as if my nose was getting more and more blocked the longer I used it. That's why I contacted a doctor. I quickly found out that the problem was likely Otrivin, he says.

His story is not part of any statistics.

There is no record of how many suffer nose damage due to excessive use of nasal spray for colds.

But his story is far from unique, the doctors say, and it concerns them.

Laurits Olsen in his apartment on Amager. (Photo: © Henning Due)

- We have a suspicion that there are too many Danes who use these nasal sprays incorrectly, that is, Otrivin and Zymelin, says Martin Glümer Kirkegaard, who is an ear, nose, and throat doctor and a member of the executive board of the Rhinological Society, the Danish Rhinological Society.

The Society has therefore sent a letter to the Danish Medicines Agency. Here they urge that nasal spray for colds no longer be sold in supermarkets and kiosks.

- So that the permission to sell these nasal sprays in retail outlets is revoked, says Martin Glümer Kirkegaard.

The doctors suggest that sales be limited to pharmacies.

- At a pharmacy, you will receive a much better consultation about the product. Among other things, about how long you should take it.

Read also: Doctors see patients with nose damage after excessive use of nasal sprays - they want to stop sales in stores ( https://www.dr.dk/news/domestic/doctors-see-patients-with-nose-damage-after-excessive-use-of-nasal-sprays--they-want-to-stop-sales-in-stores )

On several of the country's hospitals, doctors see patients like Laurits Olsen with nose damage caused by excessive use of nasal spray for colds.

- We see at least one a day and up to 20 a week who have a wrong use of nasal spray for one reason or another, says Kasper Aanæs, who is a senior doctor at Rigshospitalet's Department of Ear-Nose-Throat Surgery and Audiology.

In the worst cases, it can lead to a trip to the operating room. That happened to Laurits Olsen.

He sought out an ear, nose, and throat doctor for the first time in the spring of 2024.

It turned out that the mucus membrane in his nose had become so swollen that he could not draw breath through his nose.

In a note from the doctor, it states that his problems with the mucus membrane "probably were medically caused by Zymelin."

With prolonged use of nasal spray for colds, there is a build-up to the product.

Therefore, the effectiveness of the product decreases, and the mucus membrane in the nose rises even more than it was to begin with.

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> I had no idea that it could cause damage to my nose. So I just threw the insert from the box directly into the trash can

> Laurits Olsen, student

Laurits Olsen was told to stop taking Zymelin and Otrivin and instead began taking nasal spray with bovine adrenal hormone on the doctor's recommendation.

But the medicine didn't help, and in January 2025, he was referred to Rigshospitalet after several visits to an ear, nose, and throat doctor.

- At that point, I had lived almost a year without being able to breathe properly through my nose. It annoyed me, especially when I had to sleep, says Laurits Olsen.

In February, he had surgery on his nose, where he had the mucus membrane in his nose burned to reduce it and create more space in his nose.

Since then, Laurits Olsen has had it "super good."

- I can breathe again, as I could before I started taking Otrivin. That's weird, he says.

You could have avoided all of this if you had just read what was on the nasal spray box. Why didn't you do that?

- I had no idea that it could cause damage to my nose. So I just threw the insert from the box directly into the trash can, he says.

Because the product is so easily available in stores and kiosks, Laurits Olsen thinks that it is difficult to understand that it can cause damage.

He agrees with the doctors that it should be removed from shelves in kiosks, supermarkets, and gas stations.

- If I had bought it at a pharmacy, and I had been introduced to how to use the product, I would have used it as directed, he says.

It is the companies Haleon and Orifarm that are responsible for the sale of Otrivin and Zymelin in Denmark.

DR has presented Laurits Olsen's story to both companies.

The companies write to DR that it is important to follow the guidance for a maximum of ten days of use of nasal spray to avoid problems in the nose and side effects.

Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.