Have you ever used so many tissues to blow a stuffy nose that you've wound up with burning, tender nostrils? Most of us have, and most of us can attest to it: It sucks. Especially when the skin around your nostrils gets so dry, it actually starts to peel! If you feel a cold coming on and find yourself starting to reach for tissues, make sure you learn how to protect your nose from tissue burn. Luckily, it's surprisingly easy to avoid with a little planning!
Similar to chapped lips, chapped noses are common in winter when everyone's catching colds and the air is drier (leading to drier, dehydrayed skin), According to the medical experts over at Zocdoc Answers, chapped noses are typically caused by excessive nose blowing, as the irritation and tissues strip the nose of its natural moisture. Combine the runny rose and tissue issue with dry, heated indoor air and dramatically cold outdoor temperatures and you've got a recipe for a chapped nose disaster.
For what's it worth, you're totally not alone in your chapped nose struggle. During my New York winter, I caught the meanest cold, and since I felt too under the weather to go buy any tissues, I used cheap toilet paper to blow my nose all night long. Needless to say, that was a poor choice. Even though the cold healed fast, my chapped nose lingered for nearly two weeks.
Learn from my mistakes and follow the tips below so you can easily avoid a chapped nose!
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1. Rub Vaseline On Your Nose
While vaseline is a great treatment option for a chapped nose, ZocDoc Answers recommends reaching for it before your nostrils show signs of chapping since it will act as a protective layer between your skin and the tissue.
2. Use Moisturizing Tissues
To minimize the damage to the skin on your nostrils, minimize the amount of materials that could irritate it quickly. Instead of bargain store toilet paper (again... learn from my mistake), reach for lotion-infused tissues when blowing your nose to help keep your skin hydrated and soft.
3. Blow Your Nose Gently
Instead of just blowing as hard as possible, WebMD experts suggested trying to blow softly through your nose, one nostril at a time to reduce the strain on your delicate nostril skin.
4. Apply Aloe Vera Gel
If your chapped nose feels like it's raw and on fire, reach for aloe vera gel to soothe irritated skin. It might feel weird putting it on your skin (and reapplying after every nose blow), but it'll help the area get more hydrated and heal quicker.
5. Purchase A Humidifier
If you don't already own a humidifier, it's worth investing in one. It'll effectively moisturize the air in your home and office when running, and it can really make a difference in how quickly your chapped nose heals. After all, chapped skin is dehydrated skin, so you'll want to do everything you can to rehydrate that skin.
Getting sick sucks — and having a chapped nose can make it even worse. Avoid unnecessary discomfort and make sure the area around your nostrils stays hydrated and moisturized no matter how many times you blow your nose — you'll thank yourself later!
This post was originally published on December 7, 2015. It has been updated as of June 12, 2019.
This article was originally published on Dec. 7, 2015
10 Tips, Products, and Home Remedies for Nasal Dryness
Your nose is like any other part of the body—you need to take care of it for it to work at its best. There are plenty of things you can keep at home for nasal dryness in and around the nose, like nasal sprays, nasal balms, and more, that can keep your nose moist on a daily basis, or bring your nose back to normal when you experience dry nose symptoms. The key is nailing down what’s bothering you most, and making sure to pick a remedy that targets that.
1. Hydrate.Hydration can be essential for overcoming a dry nose. Because dry nose involves a lack of moisture in or around the nose, dehydration is often a significant contributing factor to nose dryness.1 If our bodies do not have enough water, it is harder for our noses to carry out their function of moistening the incoming air, which can leave both the inside and outside of our noses dried out.
2. Humidify.Have you realized the importance of water yet? Lack of water within our bodies can contribute to dry nose, and so can lack of water around us. For instance, people who work in environments with low humidity are more likely to experience a dry nose.3,4 Just as dry conditions can lead to dry nose, humidifiers, which put moisture into the air, can combat dry nose and alleviate dry nose symptoms.5
3. Apply a moisturizer.Applying moisture to the skin around your nose can help with the discomfort. Sinex Nasal Balm is formulated with glycerin, which draws water into the skin, to heal and soothe irritated, dry skin around the nose through intense moisturization. The balm’s lightweight formula goes on clear—so you can apply it wherever you are easily without the people around you noticing. Plus, it’s formulated with Vicks Vapors, so you get soothing, refreshing scent you know and love from Vicks. Sinex Nasal Balm can be used every day—so if you know you’ll be in a drier environment that will affect your nose, you can bring it with you and be prepared.
4. Use a saline nasal spray.For dryness that occurs inside the nose, try a saline spray like Sinex Saline. Sinex Saline can clear everyday congestion. Plus, it’s drug-free and safe for daily use. In addition to directly moistening the nose, saline sprays can remove things like dust or pollen that may trigger a runny nose and contribute your dry nasal passages.
Without realizing it, you could be irritating your own nasal passages.1 Picking at the nose is one common way that we can accidentally cause our noses to become irritated and dry. By recognizing when you are touching or picking your nose and implementing strategies to stop the habit, you can give your nose time to regain its moisture and proper function. Plus—putting your finger in your nose can bring in all kinds of virus or bacteria that you don’t want up there, anyway.
6. Do a deep clean of your home.While environmental substances can trigger dryness in the nose and sneezing, data also suggest that dust that accumulates indoors can physiologically affect the nose and make it more prone to dryness and other irritating symptoms.5 By cleaning the spaces where you live and work, you may reduce your exposure to triggers that cause or exacerbate your dry nose. That means dusting any and all surfaces and vacuuming (especially carpeted rooms).
7. Take a steam.Sit back, relax, and take a steamy shower. Or spend a few minutes in a sauna. Or use a warm mist humidifier. Breathing in warmer, moisturized air can help combat your dry nasal passages. 6
8. Lower your elevation.High altitudes have been shown to contribute to dry nose.7 For those who are regularly at high altitudes, a new dry nose may be more likely to be the result of something other than the elevation. However, if you have traveled to a high altitude and are experiencing a dry nose, returning to a lower elevation may alleviate your symptoms. If you notice that high altitudes do cause your nasal passages to dry, relying on other products like Sinex Saline Nasal Spray can keep your nose moisturized inside while you enjoy a hike in the mountains.
9. Treat runny and stuffy nose symptoms.Runny and stuffy nose symptoms are uncomfortable and may have you running through more than one tissue box. But you don’t need to live through the discomfort of these cold or flu symptoms plus the dry skin around your nose that may come with it. Take a multi-symptom cold and flu medicine that relieves the symptoms bothering your nose. Sinex SEVERE All-in-One Sinus LiquiCaps can provide relief from sinus symptoms including stuffy nose.
10. Talk to your healthcare provider.Some dry noses, both the nasal passages and irritated skin around the nose, stick around for much longer than we’d like. If your dry nose persists, you can always reach out to your healthcare provider to talk to them about your experience.