Atchoo! I hear this a lot when I get a dry nose and let it stay dry. Sometimes I sneeze due to an infection I’ve caught or if my body is reacting to an allergen. If neither of those are the case, my nose is trying to remoisturize itself because a dry nose is more vulnerable to attack. In a dry nose, dried mucus forms crusts under which bacteria become
trapped and cilia flattened rendering them unable to work – a double
whammy. So let’s keep our nasal passages moist with some easy home
remedies which work well on stuffy noses too. Here are three.
1. Slow steaming – bowl and towel
My parents taught me this one and it works well.
- Pour boiling water into bowl. Add drop of eucalyptus essential oil (optional).
- Set bowl on table.
- Sit at table and lower your face over bowl – slowly – to keep safe distance from heat of the steam.
- Place large towel carefully over your head, stretching it over bowl too.
- Breathe steam till your nose feels moist and you can breathe easily.
Read more about essential oils for health and wellness
2. Quick steaming – herb tea in a mug
Worked this out one day while drinking tea and feeling desperate to un-dry my nose.
- Find a mug wide enough to fit your nose into while drinking tea.
- Make your favourite herb tea with (no milk).
- Sip till level is about three-quarters.
- Place your lower lip on outside of the mug as though about to take a sip.
- Tilt opposite side of mug towards you until it touches your nose (stop and sip more tea if level is too high, i.e. it’s burning you).
- Breathe out through your mouth so that steam circulates up towards your nose, then breathe in through your nose.
- Repeat until your nose is moisturized.
- Enjoy the rest of your tea!
3. Saltwater inhaling without a neti pot
My dad learned to do this, and after I got over the ick factor, I tried it myself and enjoyed how great it made my nose feel!
- Make saline solution: dissolve ½ teaspoon sea salt or Himalayan rock salt (not iodized table salt) in 1 cup (250 ml) boiled water (boiling kills bad bacteria).
- Let saline solution cool.
- Wash your hands well with soap and water.
- Over basin, cup hand and fill palm with saline solution.
- Sniff solution up one nostril, let it travel up your nasal cavity, flow through the back and then spit it out through your mouth.
- Repeat for other nostril.
- Repeat last two steps again (optional).
- Blow nose very gently, both nostrils at the same time. Also do not pinch nostrils or blow too hard because that could send thinned mucus into sinuses or ear canals.
- Store left over solution in sterilized glass jar to use within 24 hours.
Read more about natural remedies for spring allergies
These three simple home remedies for dealing with a dry nose work well for me. Perhaps there are other home remedies that work for you. The main thing is to act fast when spring allergens are in the air, dry winds blow, heating is turned on, or anything nasally-drying occurs because keeping your nose moist will help it stay strong against invading bacteria and allergens.
Image via hilectric
