How To Get Rid Of A Stuffy Nose Instantly

7 Natural Remedies for Congestion Relief

A stuffy nose and clogged sinuses are no fun. Try these natural congestion remedies and start breathing better now.

Reviewed: September 6, 2017

Consider Some Alternatives to the Pharmacy

When you're congested, the simple act of breathing can be a challenge. Whatever the cause — a sinus infection, allergies, a cold, or the flu — dealing with congestion can leave you feeling tired and dreary.

What's happening inside your head when you have nasal congestion? "The nose has a vast network of blood vessels with valves that open and close," says Scott P. Stringer, MD, professor and chairman of otolaryngology and communication sciences at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. "When the nose is stimulated by any irritant, the nervous system is also stimulated, causing valves to open, which results in more blood entering the nose. This causes swelling in your nasal passages, which makes it difficult to breathe."

Since sinus infections, colds, and allergies don't just leave you congested and often come with a host of other symptoms, you might contemplate taking one — or several — drugs to end the misery. Yet doubling or tripling up on medication types is dangerous, and you may not find the relief you seek with over-the-counter meds or through a prescription.

Although over-the-counter options, such as decongestants, are often used to treat the stuffiness and headache caused by congestion, there's significant risk of becoming dependent on these drugs, and they can leave you worse off in other ways, too.

If you use decongestants for more than three to five days, you may cause rebound swelling in your nasal passages, which can lead to a vicious cycle: Rebound swelling causes you to take more of the drug, but increased dosage causes it to lose its effectiveness, which then leads to even more use.

But some home remedies for mild sinus congestion can offer a simpler approach that's both low-cost and lower-risk than medication. Whether you're dried out or dehydrated, or want to shorten the duration of a cold or decrease the severity of symptoms, a natural home remedy could be a helpful option.

Even drinking plain old warm water may help clear your sinus passages. And you may already have other powerful ingredients on hand, like salt or garlic, in your pantry — both of which researchers believe may have an effect on congestion and colds. Read on to find out more about how to breathe easier with these non-drug approaches.

Add Moisture to the Air With a Humidifier or Vaporizer

Battling a cold or the flu can leave you feeling dried out and dehydrated, so many people turn to humidifiers or vaporizers to relieve congested sinuses. "Extra humidity via humidifiers can provide a lot of relief," says Dr. Stringer. Humidifiers help break up congestion by adding moisture to the air, which helps to thin the mucus in your nose.

Although warm-mist and cool-mist humidifiers are equally effective, it's better to use a cool-mist humidifier for a child, to avoid an accidental burn from the warm mist. Also be sure to keep your humidifier clean to prevent the growth of bacteria and mold. Follow the cleaning instructions that come with the humidifier, or simply wipe it down every day with a 10 percent bleach solution (nine parts water to one part bleach).

Rinse With a Neti Pot and Saline Solution

Although these teapot-shaped devices may seem like the latest trend in alternative medicine, the neti pot is anything but new. Used for centuries by yoga and Ayurvedic practitioners in India, nasal irrigation is a gentle and effective way to clear the nasal passages of mucus and allergens. "Trying any method that delivers salt water to the nose is a good way to start relieving congestion," says Stringer.

To use this natural remedy, fill the neti pot with a saline solution made of warm water and salt, then insert the spout into one nostril while you tilt your head to the other side, allowing the solution to flow up into your nasal passage and then out the other nostril. When making the saline solution, pharmaceutical grade salt is recommended.

Neti pots are generally inexpensive — they're available in health food stores for around $10 to $20 — and research shows that they work well to relieve congestion. Researchers at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who studied adults with chronic nasal and sinus problems, found that people treated with nasal irrigation had greater improvement of symptoms over two months than those treated with saline sprays.

In addition, researchers in China found that nasal irrigation with saline reduced the need for steroid sprays in children with allergies. Neti pots are safe to use on a daily basis.

Hydrate and Soothe With Warm Soups and Teas

Many people swear by drinking liquids, especially hot liquids, to help relieve a stuffy nose. Although it's certainly important to stay hydrated — especially when you're not feeling well — the effect of hot liquids on congestion can mostly be chalked up to the placebo effect.

Researchers who split up a group of people with cold and flu symptoms, giving half of them a room-temperature drink and the other half a hot drink, found that there was no measurable improvement in nasal stuffiness in either group. But interestingly, the group that drank the hot drink reported greater relief from symptoms. Researchers also speculated that in addition to the placebo effect, the taste of the hot drink also contributed to the favorable response.

If you're ready to heat up your own congestion remedy, try hot teas, such as chamomile and green tea, hot soups like chicken noodle, or a glass of hot water with a dollop of honey and some lemon. These have been used traditionally in many cultures, and are safe, but have limited research evidence backing their use specifically for nasal congestion.

Boost Your Immune System With Vitamins and Herbs

Can cold-busting vitamin C also help zap congestion? "Vitamin C has been demonstrated in some studies to shorten the duration of a cold and decrease the severity of symptoms — but it doesn't directly affect congestion," says Stringer. So if you're battling congestion related to a cold, popping some extra vitamin C may help you get over your cold symptoms faster. But if your congestion is related to allergies, vitamin C won't bring relief.

A few herbal treatments, especially menthol and eucalyptus oil, can also help ease a stuffy nose. Menthol, a derivative of peppermint oil, can be found in inhaled balms and rubs for congestion. "Menthol doesn't actually decrease congestion," says Stringer. "Instead, it stimulates the nerve receptors in the nose, which makes the nose feel like more air is going through it, and this is often perceived as cold air. But there's no real effect on congestion or the amount of air moving through the nose." Still, mentholated products are a good option to try when seeking fast short-term relief from sinus congestion.

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center's health site, eucalyptus oil may act as an expectorant, possibly by loosening phlegm in the lung region. For a soothing way to possibly improve chest congestion, try a eucalyptus oil steam: Take a steaming bowl of water and add a few drops of eucalyptus oil. Drape a towel over your head and around the bowl, keeping your face at arm's length away. Breathe in the steam for about 10 minutes.

Apply Hot or Cold Packs to Congested Sinuses

Another common natural treatment for congestion is applying hot or cold packs across the bridge of your nose. Although this is certainly a soothing activity, it won't do much in the long run. "There's no evidence that hot or cold packs reduce nasal inflammation, but if it makes you feel better, then there's no problem with them," says Stringer.

If you're looking for quick, simple congestion relief, you can create a hot or cold pack using items you have at home: For a ready-made cold pack, take a bag of frozen peas or other frozen vegetables out of your freezer, wrap it in a towel, and lay it across your face. For a hot pack, wring out a wet washcloth and heat it in the microwave for approximately one minute. Before laying it across your face, be sure to check that it's not too hot.

Eat or Inhale the Steam From Some Garlic Cloves

Before you throw that garlic into tonight's dinner recipe, you may want to consider saving a few cloves for yourself — garlic is believed to have both anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties that make it useful in treating a host of problems, including congestion related to colds. Research has shown that people who were given garlic supplements for 12 weeks during the cold season had significantly fewer colds than those who didn't take the garlic supplement.

For those who aren't fond of the pungent taste and smell of raw garlic, try garlic sautéed with vegetables or pasta. You can also breathe in some garlic steam: Slice up a few cloves of garlic and put them in a small pot along with a cup of water, heat until steaming, and then carefully inhale the garlic steam at arm's length.

Revamp Your Nighttime Routine to Open Sinuses

As anyone with stuffy sinuses can attest, congestion often feels worse at night. This can create a vicious cycle because you need lots of rest to get over a cold or the flu, but the difficulty you have breathing at night can make it hard to sleep. The solution is to help your body stay as congestion-free as possible while you sleep.

For starters, put an extra pillow or two under your head, as this will help drain your sinuses. Make sure your bedroom climate is humid, and run a humidifier while you sleep to further thin the mucus in your nose. For another natural remedy, try nasal breathing strips, which lift the sides of the nose to help open nasal passages.

Know When It's Time to Head to the Doctor's Office

a doctor, with stethescope in front pocket

Although nasal congestion will generally subside on its own, congestion that lasts for more than 7 to 10 days calls for a visit to the doctor, says Stringer. "A viral infection usually goes away on its own within a week or so, but an infection that lasts longer is often bacterial and may require an antibiotic," he says. If you experience other symptoms, such as a high fever, one-sided nose bleeds, wheezing or shortness of breath, or persistent facial or tooth pain, see a doctor right away.