Lifestyle and home remedies

Try these tips to help reduce discomfort and relieve the symptoms of nonallergic rhinitis:

• Rinse your nasal passages. Use a specially designed squeeze bottle — such as the one included in saline kits — a bulb syringe or a neti pot to irrigate your nasal passages. This home remedy, called nasal lavage, can help keep your nose free of irritants. When used daily, this is one of the most effective treatments for nonallergic rhinitis.

  To prevent infection, use water that's distilled, sterile, previously boiled and cooled, or filtered using a filter with an absolute pore size of 1 micron or smaller to make up the irrigation solution. Also be sure to rinse the irrigation device after each use with similarly distilled, sterile, previously boiled and cooled, or filtered water and leave open to air-dry.

• Blow your nose. Regularly and gently blow your nose if mucus or irritants are present.
• Humidify. If the air in your home or office is dry, set up a humidifier in your work or sleep location. Be sure to regularly clean the humidifier according to the manufacturer's instructions. You can also breathe in the steam from a warm shower to help loosen the mucus in your nose and clear your head of stuffiness.
• Drink liquids. Drinking plenty of liquids, including water, juice and caffeine-free tea, can help loosen the mucus in your nose. Avoid caffeinated beverages.