Take A Whiff: 3 Nasal Spray Advances You Should Know About

You're probably familiar with nasal sprays – generally used to help get rid of cold or allergy symptoms, these white bottles require you to stick the top in your nose, squeeze the bottom to release the medication, and breathe in gently through your nose to get the medicine to where it needs to go, relying on the thin membranes in and around the nose to let the medicine get into your bloodstream more quickly. But nasal sprays can do more than stop your sniffling – they're actually helpful for everything from nighttime trips to the bathroom to even schizophrenia. So if you're wondering exactly what the latest nasal sprays can do for you and your loved ones' health and wellbeing, then here's what you need to know.

Better Sleep

A lack of sleep and a rise in falling-related injuries are the usual side effects of nocturia, otherwise known as the need to go to the bathroom repeatedly during the night. Nocturia is most common in men with enlarged prostrates, but anyone suffering from it can benefit from a new nasal spray designed to safely and easily combat the condition. Containing desmopressin, which is a synthetic hormone usually used to curtail bedwetting in children, this spray led to a decrease of nighttime bathroom trips and an increase in sleep duration in its clinical trials, giving relief to those who suffer from a condition which (up until now) had no recommended medical treatment.

Second Chances

Drug overdoses, whether accidental or in a suicidal act, are tragic and often fatal – but a new nasal spray is working to mitigate the "fatal" part of that statement. This spray, called naloxone, works rapidly to negate the effects of opioids in the body, potentially saving the life of someone who has overdosed. This new spray's results are heartening; San Diego equipped their deputies with naloxone sprays, as they often happened upon an overdose victim before emergency services arrived, and were able to administer this life-saving medication 12 times, with a third of those referred to drug treatment services accepting.

Born Again

Oxytocin (from the Greek oxystokos, meaning "quick birth") is a hormone most often administered as medicine to speed up a pregnant woman's contractions, but it's finding another life in treating those with schizophrenia and autism. Its trust-inducing and pro-social effects have led to significant improvement in schizophrenic and autistic behaviors in small pre-clinical trials, filling a medical gap in dealing with serious neurological conditions. Currently in clinical trials, this nose spray could significantly improve the quality of life in individuals who struggle with schizophrenia and autism.