alt Hacker NewsI don't see from your comment how the risk from congested nose for a few weeks deems it "harmless" for you. Two fully congested nostrils is hell for one night alone, imagine a few weeks of that. A few weeks of terrible sleep, if any. It's torture.
It can also cause permanently enlarged turbinates with chronic use.
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Many medicines pose some risk to some people who would abuse it for too long. Xylometazoline just is crazy effective (instantly eliminates congestion and running nose completely in most cases) and completely harmless in what looks like 99% cases of usage - nearly-everyone here in the EU uses it happily and has no problems. I would really dread a cold without it and never travel without having it with me. Just try to not over-use habitually. The sense of measure is always a key to healthy and happy living.
That’s why if you developed a dependence you don’t quit cold turkey.
The strategy I’ve heard is purchasing a normal bottle, and refilling it with boiled cool water when it’s ½ empty. Then refilling it again when it’s ¾ empty.
Xylometazoline is an absolute godsend, and has even more efficacy in a dual-action spray with saline water.
It feels nothing short of magical to do one spray per nostril, and be completely uncontested in less than 10 minutes.
I said it's more harmless than other medication dependencies, like getting hooked on pain medication or benzos. Even here in tightly regulated Germany, Xylometazoline can be bought without a prescription. It is very effective and, compared to other drugs, pretty harmless.
Look, there are always extreme cases. Just look up how many people need a liver transplant or even die each year from misusing paracetamol. So should we make it a prescription drug? Maybe, I don't know, it's always a trade-off.