They work by reducing the swelling of the blood vessels in your nose, which helps to open the airways. It's always best to talk to your pharmacist about which medicine or combination of medicines is best for you. This is particularly important if you have other conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure, or if you're already taking any other medicines, as some cold and flu remedies may not be suitable for you. Keep taking the medicine but talk to your doctor if these side effects bother you or do not go away: It's also important to be careful when taking other medicines if you're using an "all-in-1" decongestant remedy. Which? analysis of pricing data from 10 retailers over the past two years found many products had jumped in price. Some had more than doubled.

If you forget to take a dose, use it as soon as you remember. Unless it's almost time for your next dose, in which case skip the missed dose and take your next one as usual. Read the enclosers instructions leaflet before use. Lemsip First Action™ Nasal Spray is a medical device with local action and is not absorbed by the nasal mucosa. Insert the spray head carefully and not too deep into the nose. Tilt the head forward and spray one puff into one nostril while holding the other nostril closed. For example, you might go from using 2 sprays in each nostril once a day, to 1 spray in each nostril once a day. Note that, according to the NHS, decongestant nasal sprays and drops should not be used for more than a week at a time because using them for too long can make your stuffiness worse.Branded cold and flu medicines can cost up to three times more than their own-brand counterparts, despite often containing exactly the same ingredients and being equally effective.

Keep out of sight and reach of children. If a fever occurs and/or symptoms persist for more than one week, you should consult a pharmacist or doctor. At present, no other side effects besides very rare cases of allergic reaction are known. Studies on how this product interacts with other products have not been performed. Interactions between this product and others are not known. Seek advice if using other medication. Most decongestants can be bought over the counter from pharmacies without a prescription. Who can take decongestants They should not be used by the following groups of people without getting advice from a pharmacist or GP first:Tamiflu and Relenza are antiviral medicines that doctors occasionally prescribe to treat flu infections and help control outbreaks. It's not clear whether it's safe to take any type of decongestant if you're pregnant, so you should only use them if told to by a healthcare professional. They can help ease the symptoms of conditions such as colds and flu, hay fever and other allergic reactions, catarrh and sinusitis.