Dab the balm on before the tissue does
Many people 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.
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. People 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
Many people 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. Many say a lip balm is the barrier when there is no jelly, and one person says it is less greasy than jelly and smells better, with the small caution that you mark the tube. Some people run the balm round the lips and the base of the nose together. One person reapplies after every blow; one uses a plain healing ointment rather than jelly; individual people use vitamin E oil at night, when it will not be wiped off, or a fragrance-free cream made for cracked skin. Some people say the same about all of them: unscented, no mint, no alcohol, because on skin that has already split those burn — and one person points out not an antibiotic ointment either, which a dermatologist says should not go on skin day after day.
Outside the nostril, and why
The loudest argument is about whether the jelly should go up inside the nostril, where the dryness feels worst. Some people say a thin layer inside has never troubled them; many people warn that oil products pushed inside the nose can be inhaled in small amounts over time and cause lipoid pneumonia, a lung condition, and one person 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. Some people point out 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, the line is stronger than that: no petroleum jelly inside the nose at all, and one person warns 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. Some people say the soft tissues with lotion or aloe in them are the difference, some say a paper towel dampened first if a kitchen roll is all there is, some say buy the good tissues and stop switching materials, and some say a cotton handkerchief or a cut-up T-shirt for a long cold, because cloth does not abrade the way paper does. People argue every one of those, and the first question below carries the argument and the two people it does not suit — a person with severe allergies, whom one person warns damp paper will wreck, and anyone whose skin is already broken, for whom one person warns even the soft tissues sting.
Blow less
Some people 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 others blow into a sink and wash their hands. The second question below carries the warnings that come with that, the rinse pot and the water it must not use, the humidifier for dry air, and the one claim that its own author took back.
If you are on blood thinners, some people warn 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 — people have moisturisers and a humidifier and then run out; medical treatment for a nose that will not heal is not covered here and a doctor’s question. And some people wrote 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 people return to is whether petroleum jelly belongs inside the nostril. Some people say a thin layer inside is safe and works; some say it can be inhaled over time and cause a lung condition. This page does not leave it as two sides, because a clinic has answered the question people could not — the answer is in the safety line and the second section. Both positions are recorded here for honesty.
A thin layer inside is fine
Some people 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
In some discussions, many people warn that oil products applied inside the nose can be inhaled in small amounts over time and cause lipoid pneumonia; some people point out 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 safe place 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?
People argue this, and the honest answer is that they are describing different colds. Some people say the soft tissues with lotion or aloe in them cut the irritation compared with rough tissues or paper towels; one person with chronic sinusitis from allergies says anything without aloe feels like sandpaper, and one person warns even the soft ones sting once the skin is broken. One person says the soft tissues changed their formula and no longer help as they did. Some people say that if the only paper in the house is a kitchen roll, dampen it first — it is stronger, and some people say gentler, than dry paper; against that, one person 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 person warns a person with severe allergies should not use damp paper at all. Some people 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; some people 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 person warns fold it, wash your hands, and use paper for the heavy hours. One person uses a microfibre cloth; one says a damp towel from a hand-dryer will do in a public toilet. Cost is not settled: whether a box of soft tissues or a stack of washed cloths is cheaper over a season is not covered here.
Can I blow less and still breathe?
People say yes, three ways, and each comes with a caution. Some people 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; some people call it a hazard and some call it normal; one person says wash it down the drain at once, and another says partners are put off at first and often take up the habit themselves; some people warn: do not blow hard in a hot shower when you take blood thinners, because the heat widens the vessels. Some people blow into a sink and wash their hands straight after, for the same reason with less steam. Some people use a nasal rinse — a pot or a squeeze bottle of salt water — to clear what blowing cannot, and some people warn the water must be boiled and cooled, distilled or sterile, not straight from the tap, because of a rare but grave infection; one person 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. Some people say dry air makes it worse: a humidifier at home, a mask or steam on a plane, and one person says a scarf over the nose in cold air stops the streaming that cold air itself causes. One person warns 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 person says a decongestant spray works for up to five days before flying and one person warns no more than five days, because the rebound is worse than the cold; anything longer is a pharmacist’s question. And one point 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 person cited a reference agreeing that dairy does not worsen a cold.
Questions this step helps with
Same situation, another step
- Put lip balm on before the dentistSkin and hair
Full tip: https://findangel.org/tips/dab-the-balm-on-before-the-tissue-does/ · FindAngel.org — free, always.