Nasal spray guide

Insufflating (snorting) powdered substances—followed by a nasal rinse after the peak—generally results in higher bioavailability than administering drug solutions via nasal sprays. However, using drug solutions in nasal sprays is typically less damaging to the nasal passages than insufflating powders.

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Actuation of a nasal spray bottle, used to deliver medication via the nostrils

Nasal sprays have long been used within medicine. They make it easy to administer a consistent dose of a substance with a (generally speaking) high bioavailability and quick onset.

You can, theoretically speaking, make a nasal spray out of any substance that can be insufflated. However, some drugs (such as heroin) have a poor shelf life in aqueous solution, and others (such as alprazolam) are insoluble in water, requiring you to use a different solvent.

Equipment

Bottles

You will need a nasal spray bottle. You can either buy an empty bottle online, or you can buy a bottle that already contains medicine and replace its contents.

An empty bottle will probably be cheaper. However, if you buy a "legitimate" medical bottle, you will have something which is made to pharmaceutical standards, and that looks more legitimate. If you do buy a medical bottle, make sure to get one with a removable lid. The following nasal sprays are recommended on the Scandinavian market:

• Nasoferm.
  • Made of dark glass. Screw cap. Each shower gives 140 µl of liquid.
• Nasoferm Barn
  • Made of dark glass. Screw cap. Each shower gives 70 µl of liquid.

If you don't know how much liquid one shower of your bottle gives, you must measure it. There are two ways to do this:

1. Without a scale:
   • Fill the bottle with a measured amount of water (e.g. 10 ml).
   • Count how many sprays you can give before the bottle runs dry.
   • Divide the volume with this number to get the volume per spray.
2. With a scale:
   • Fill the bottle with some water.
   • Put the bottle on the scale and tare it.
   • Spray a few times, then divide the change in weight by how many times you sprayed.

You may repeat the process several times and use the average for a more accurate dosage.

Solvent

As outlined above, different substances require different solvents. However, most substances can be dissolved in water.

The ideal solvent would be the one which is

1. sterile, i.e. free from bacteria and other contaminants.
2. antibacterial, i.e. contains some kind of preservative so that it continues to be sterile.
3. safe for human consumption, i.e. not be carcinogenic or poisonous to insufflate.
4. pleasing to the nose, i.e. does not dry it out too much.

Assuming your substance is soluble in water, the substance that meets all of these criteria is contact lens fluid. However, please note that some brands of contact lens fluid are NOT safe for ingestion. In general, there should be less strange additives in the basic store-brand versions, but make sure to read the packaging closely. If you are unsure of the safety of a substance, check the MSDS (material safety data sheet)

The following ingredients are safe to inhale in reasonable amounts:

• Boric acid
• Disodium EDTA
• Sodium chloride (table salt)
• Poloxamine
• Chlorhexidine gluconate

You may also use pharmaceutical grade saline solution, however please note that this is not antibacterial. You may add a small amount of (food-grade!) alcohol. Don't try to make your own saline solution by boiling tap water and adding salt, it's not worth the effort.

Theoretically, a hypotonic salt solution should lead to a higher absorption because of the osmotic pressure. It might be possible to mix contact lens fluid and distilled water 50/50. There is also some research on the use of chitosan to increase the absorption of substances.

Keep in mind that your substance has to dissolve in water fully. If you add too much, you will probably clog the pump. Instead, spray more than once into each nostril -- taking a few minutes between to let it absorb.

Approximate solubilities in water

Substance	g/l	mg/280 µl
Cocaine (hydrochloride)	700	200
Amphetamine (sulfate)	100	25
Ketamine (hydrochloride)	170	45
2C-B (hydrochloride)	10-14	2-4
2C-B (hydrobromide)	17	4.7
Diamorphine (hydrochloride)	333	90
Alprazolam	0	0

Manufacturing

Once you've decided on everything, the actual "assembly" is quite straightforward:

1. Decide on your dosage. For example, you might want to take 30 mg across both nostrils.
2. Calculate what concentration this corresponds to. For example, if you've measured one spray to be 140 µl, that gives 30 mg / 280 µl = 0.107 g / ml.
3. Decide on how much you want to fill the bottle. Note that you don't have to go all the way up. For example, you might want to fill it to 10 ml.
4. Reflect on the accuracy of your scale:
   • How precise is it?
   • How precise does it have to be?
   • What if it's off by 10%? (For some substances it won't matter, for others it can be extremely dangerous)
   • For more info about scales, consult Dosage measurement
5. If you're using a bottle that formerly contained medicine, rinse out whatever medicine was in there before. (Note that xylometazoline and oxymetazoline (Afrin) can be highly addictive. You don't want any addictive drugs mixed in with your cocaine.)
   • Pour out the contents.
   • Spray until the atomizer runs dry.
   • Fill the bottle with your solvent.
   • Shake it, then spray a few times.
   • (Repeat as necessary)
   • Optionally, let the bottle dry.
6. Place the bottle, with its cap off, on a scale.
7. Pour in the amount of substance that you'd like. (NB. The opening can be quite small, you may have to use a funnel or some rolled up paper)
8. Add water to reach the desired concentration.
   • If you added exactly as much as you were intending, add the intended volume minus the volume of the added substance.
     • Example: If you added 1.07 g of substance, add 8.93 g of solvent.
   • If you added more or less than you were intending, increase of decrease the amount of solvent to maintain the desired concentration.
     • Example: You were intending to add 1.07 g, but accidentally added 1.20 g. Then add (1.20 / 1.07 - 1) = 12% more liquid, for a total of 8.93 * 1.12 = 10.01 g of liquid.
9. Close the bottle, and make sure that the substance has dissolved properly.
   • This might take an hour or so depending on how close you are to saturation. It might help to gently agitate the liquid.
10. MARK THE BOTTLE with the contents and dosage (in a discrete manner, if you must). Do not store together with normal nasal spray bottles.

Usage

After spraying, don't "snort" the liquid - this will simply cause it to go to the back of your throat, which will have the same effect as eating it. If you feel it dripping out, try to gently inhale.

Remember to press hard on the plunger - if you hesitate or don't press hard enough, the liquid will drip out of your nose. You should be able to feel the pressure of the jet. Try to hold the plunger using your most distal joint rather than your fingertips.

Do not blow your nose afterwards - if something drips out, just wipe it off. You may tilt your head backwards a little bit. If you want to take more, wait at least five minutes.

Nasal irrigator

A nasal irrigator can be used about an hour after snorting to clear the sinus passages of any impurities. Reports of black impurities exiting the sinus cavities upon irrigation are common when using a cotton filter, which suggests that cotton may not be the best-suited filter.

A nasal irrigator can be used after insufflation to clean the sinuses of any impurities in the drug solution.

See also

• Responsible use
• Insufflation
• Tutorial index
• Responsible use