Dab the balm on before the tissue does
Twelve conversations put a barrier on the skin under the nose before a cold rubs it raw. Outside the nostril only — and what to blow into.
Built from people on day four of a cold with the skin under their nose split and a tissue in each hand: thirty conversations, 374 accounts, 2012 to 2024. From the twelve conversations that put a barrier on first, the eight that reach for a lip balm, the three that say soft tissues and the three that say a damp paper towel, the two that blow into the shower and the two into a sink, the argument over jelly inside the nostril, and the clinic’s answer that settled where the jelly goes.
It is the fourth day of the cold and the skin under your nose has gone from red to split, so that every tissue now hurts more than the blocked nose it is for. The people in these conversations — thirty of them, 374 accounts, 2012 to 2024 — are the source here.
Put a thin layer of plain lip balm or petroleum jelly on the skin under and around your nose before you blow, and again after — on the outside of the nose and not up inside it.
The barrier goes on first
Twelve separate conversations say the same thing about the split skin: it is friction and drying, paper against a wet face many times a day, and a barrier on the skin before the paper touches it is what prevents it. Eight separate conversations say a lip balm is the barrier when there is no jelly, and one account says it is less greasy than jelly and smells better, with the small caution that you mark the tube. Two conversations run the balm round the lips and the base of the nose together. One account reapplies after every blow; one uses a plain healing ointment rather than jelly; single accounts use vitamin E oil at night, when it will not be wiped off, or a fragrance-free cream made for cracked skin. Two cautions and one prerequisite say the same about all of them: unscented, no mint, no alcohol, because on skin that has already split those burn — and one correction says not an antibiotic ointment either, which a dermatologist in these conversations says should not go on skin day after day.
Outside the nostril, and why
The loudest argument in these conversations is about whether the jelly should go up inside the nostril, where the dryness feels worst. Four accounts in four conversations say a thin layer inside has never troubled them; three cautions with seven accounts behind them, two corrections and three of these conversations’ own contraindications say oil products pushed inside the nose can be inhaled in small amounts over time and cause lipoid pneumonia, a lung condition, and one account calls it a serious risk that needs surgical treatment. This page does not leave that to a vote. The clinic answer read for this page says jelly inside the nostrils usually drains down the back of the nose and is swallowed, that the harm is rare and builds over months rather than days, and that for a dry inside-nose the better tools are a humidifier or a saline spray. The accounts’ own correction says the same in fewer words: the outside of the nostril, and the skin under it, is where the damage is and where the jelly belongs. Pushing it inside is the mistake, not the jelly.
If you use supplemental oxygen, one contraindication in these conversations is stronger than that: no petroleum jelly inside the nose at all, and one caution says it is combustible in pure oxygen; this page’s own line, from the general guidance oxygen suppliers give, is none near the face. The safety line above carries it.
What you blow into
The barrier is half of it; the other half is the paper. Three separate conversations say the soft tissues with lotion or aloe in them are the difference, three say a paper towel dampened first if a kitchen roll is all there is, two say buy the good tissues and stop switching materials, and two say a cotton handkerchief or a cut-up T-shirt for a long cold, because cloth does not abrade the way paper does. The accounts argue every one of those, three to three and five to four, and the first question below carries the argument with its counts and the two people it does not suit — a person with severe allergies, whom one contraindication says damp paper will wreck, and anyone whose skin is already broken, for whom one caution says even the soft tissues sting.
Blow less
Two separate conversations say the gentlest tissue is none: blow your nose in the shower, where the steam loosens everything and the water takes it away without paper touching your face — and two more blow into a sink and wash their hands. The second question below carries the cautions that come with that, the rinse pot and the water it must not use, the humidifier for dry air, and the one correction in these conversations that its own author took back.
If you are on blood thinners, one contraindication says the hot shower is not for hard blowing, because heat widens the vessels and a bleed can be severe; if a nosebleed will not stop with ordinary first aid, that is a medical problem and the safety line says so. If your nose is chronically raw outside a cold — allergies, a heater that runs all winter — the accounts have moisturisers and a humidifier and then run out; medical treatment for a nose that will not heal is a gap in these conversations and a doctor’s question. And a third of these conversations were about a hospital bill for a nosebleed, which is a different subject and is not on this page.
The community disagrees on this one
The argument these conversations return to is whether petroleum jelly belongs inside the nostril. Four accounts across four conversations say a thin layer inside is safe and works; three across two say it can be inhaled over time and cause a lung condition. This page does not render it as two camps, because a clinic has answered the question the accounts could not — the envelope is in the safety line and the second section. Both positions are recorded here for honesty.
A thin layer inside is fine
Four accounts across four conversations say a very thin layer inside the nostril stops the cracking and the nosebleeds and has not troubled them; one says an ultra-thin layer does not restrict the airflow.
Outside only — it can reach the lungs
Three accounts across two conversations, three cautions with seven accounts behind them and three of these conversations’ own contraindications say oil products applied inside the nose can be inhaled in small amounts over time and cause lipoid pneumonia; two corrections say the jelly belongs on the outside of the nostril and that pushing it inside is the mistake.
The clinic read for this page sides with the second position and softens it: jelly inside the nostrils usually drains and is swallowed, the harm is rare and builds over months, and the alternatives for a dry nose are a humidifier or a saline spray. So the envelope is the outside of the nose and the skin under it — which is where the friction damage is anyway — and nothing pushed up inside.
Common questions
Tissues, paper towels or a handkerchief?
The accounts argue this three accounts to three in one exchange and five to four in another, and the honest answer is that they are describing different colds. Three separate conversations, and two more in their own words, say the soft tissues with lotion or aloe in them cut the irritation compared with rough tissues or paper towels; one account with chronic sinusitis from allergies says anything without aloe feels like sandpaper, and one caution says even the soft ones sting once the skin is broken. One account in one exchange says the soft tissues changed their formula and no longer help as they did. Three separate conversations say that if the only paper in the house is a kitchen roll, dampen it first — it is stronger, and two conversations say gentler, than dry paper; against that, one account says a damp towel strips the skin’s own oils and dries it faster, one says the irritation is friction and a wet towel still rubs, and one contraindication says a person with severe allergies should not use damp paper at all. Two separate conversations say a cotton handkerchief, or a cut-up soft T-shirt, is gentler than any paper for a long cold because cloth does not abrade the skin the way paper does; three accounts in one objection find the idea disgusting, and the defenders say a lightly used handkerchief dries fast, is no worse than underwear, and needs the same laundry — one caution says fold it, wash your hands, and use paper for the heavy hours. One account uses a microfibre cloth; one says a damp towel from a hand-dryer will do in a public toilet. Cost is not settled in these conversations: whether a box of soft tissues or a stack of washed cloths is cheaper over a season is one of their own named gaps.
Can I blow less and still breathe?
The accounts say yes, three ways, and each comes with a caution. Two separate conversations say blow your nose in the shower — the steam and the warmth loosen everything and the water takes it away without a tissue touching your face; three accounts in one exchange call it a hazard and two call it normal; one account says wash it down the drain at once, and another says partners are put off at first and often take up the habit themselves; one contraindication says do not blow hard in a hot shower when you take blood thinners, because the heat widens the vessels. Two separate conversations blow into a sink and wash their hands straight after, for the same reason with less steam. Two separate conversations use a nasal rinse — a pot or a squeeze bottle of salt water — to clear what blowing cannot, and one contraindication and two cautions say the water must be boiled and cooled, distilled or sterile, not straight from the tap, because of a rare but grave infection; one account snorts a little water into the nostrils for short relief, with the caution not to draw it far back, and others describe cupping their hands to do it. Two separate conversations say dry air makes it worse: a humidifier at home, a mask or steam on a plane, and one account says a scarf over the nose in cold air stops the streaming that cold air itself causes. One caution says blowing when you are blocked makes the swelling worse, and one says frequent blowing makes more mucus, not less — a clean sink and a rinse do less damage than force. One account says a decongestant spray works for up to five days before flying and one contraindication says no more than five days, because the rebound is worse than the cold; anything longer is a pharmacist’s question. And one correction is worth carrying because the person who made the claim retracted it: the advice to avoid caffeine and milk during a cold was withdrawn by its own author, and one account cited a reference agreeing that dairy does not worsen a cold.
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