New Options for Stuffy Nose Relief This Cold and Flu Season

For U.S. adults you have enough to do without reaching for tissues all day or lying awake with a blocked nose. This cold and flu season, get to know four options that can help you care for your nose, along with new findings on the ingredients inside.

Start with what you feel. A blocked nose can come from swelling or too little room for air to move. A dripping nose needs help with extra mucus. Dryness needs moisture. Matching the product to the problem makes choosing easier.

Ease allergy stuffiness with Astepro

If your stuffy nose comes with itching and sneezing, allergies may be joining the mix. Astepro Allergy starts working in 30 minutes to relieve allergy stuffiness, sneezing, itching, and a runny nose. Its medicine is called azelastine, and you can buy it without a prescription. See Astepro · Shop at CVS

Fewer people caught COVID-19 when they used an azelastine spray in a 2025 trial.

450 adults. Eight weeks. COVID-19 affected 2.2% of the azelastine group versus 6.7% using a spray without the medicine. Read the study

The trial used a different formula from U.S. Astepro, so those prevention results do not automatically apply to it. Use Astepro for allergy relief as directed. It can make you drowsy.

Get a constantly runny nose under control

If you are going through tissues all day, ask your doctor about ipratropium 0.06% nasal spray. This prescription medicine reduces watery drainage from a cold. It does not relieve stuffiness. See the spray at HealthWarehouse

People with colds had less dripping after using ipratropium.

Two studies lasting four days compared 352 people using the medicine with 351 using a spray without it. Relief was seen within one hour. See the trial results

For a cold, use it for no more than four days unless your prescriber tells you otherwise. Dryness and nosebleeds can happen.

Refresh your nose and support easier breathing with Nasal Reset

Give your nose some care before bed. Our Nasal Reset Kit pairs a cleansing spray with a small, reusable NasalAid support that sits inside your nose. The spray cleanses and refreshes. The support gently holds the nasal airway open to help air move through while you wear it. Shop Nasal Reset

The spray contains HOCl, a germ-fighting substance your body naturally makes. In lab tests, HOCl solutions killed bacteria and disabled respiratory viruses, including flu viruses. Germ-fighting research · Virus research

An HOCl rinse gave people with stubborn sinus symptoms more relief than a saltwater rinse.

43 adults completed the study. Greater symptom relief was seen after two weeks and was still present at four weeks. Read the study

That study tested a rinse for ongoing sinus problems. Nasal Reset is for cleansing and airflow support; the kit has not been shown to prevent colds or flu.

Give a dry nose longer lasting moisture with ePothex

When the inside of your nose feels dry and uncomfortable, ePothex Saline Nasal Spray with Iota Carrageenan adds moisture and helps cleanse your nose. Its seaweed ingredient, carrageenan, helps the spray stay in place for longer-lasting moisture. Shop ePothex

A carrageenan spray helped a group of cold sufferers recover about two days sooner.

A trial enrolled 211 adults. Among those with a confirmed cold virus who followed the study plan, estimated recovery took 11.6 days with carrageenan versus 13.7 days with a spray without it. Read the study

Results have varied across studies, and that was a different formula. The ePothex spray has not been shown to shorten a cold. Additional study

Find the right fit for your nose

Choose the option that matches what is bothering you most, and follow the directions. A pharmacist can help you check it against your other medicines. If your nose stays blocked even when you are well, an ear, nose, and throat doctor can look for the cause.

Get checked if symptoms last more than 10 days without improving, or get worse after you start feeling better. Trouble breathing, swelling around an eye, or vision changes need urgent care. If you are at higher risk from flu or COVID-19, ask about treatment early. When to get help · Sinus warning signs