Should i blow a runny nose

Auditory closed-loop stimulation of EEG slow oscillations strengthens sleep and signs of its immune-supportive function. Nat Commun.

Capsaicin for Rhinitis. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. Drink plenty of fluids. Sip a medicated hot drink. Get plenty of rest. Apply a warm compress. Get steamy. Use a humidifier. Try a saline nasal spray. Rinse your nose with a neti pot. Eat a spicy meal. Use the right over-the-counter medicines. To prevent spreading the cold and flu viruses that give you runny or stuffy nose to those around you, follow these CDC tips 1 : Stay at home while you are sick and keep children home.

Before you cough, sneeze, or blow your runny nose, make sure that you are a safe distance away from people. Cough and sneeze into a tissue and then throw it away, or cough and sneeze into your upper shirt sleeve while completely covering your mouth and nose. Wash your hands after coughing, sneezing, or blowing your nose. Disinfect frequently touched surfaces and objects, including toys and doorknobs.

Was this article helpful? The watery mucus dripping from both nostrils is the release of glandular secretions from the nasal lining at the front of the nose. A degree of wetness in this area of the nose is healthy. In such circumstances, it is best to blow the nose rather than sniff to avoid anything harmful getting deeper into the airway.

Deeper inside the nasal cavity, glandular cells are constantly active and can make more than a litre of mucus in 24 hours. With the help of cilia, tiny hairs on cells that line the airway, this mucus drains towards the back of the nose where it is usually swallowed.

When sinuses become infected or inflamed, this can trigger excess or more viscous mucus production. This is easier said than done when the inside of the nose is congested. In other words, the serious repercussions of nose blowing are not common, Lin said, and most people are likely to just block their ears.

While we often reach for a tissue and blow both nostrils at once, some people suggest blowing one nostril at a time to help alleviate pressure. World Canada Local. Got a cold? Full Menu Search Menu. Close Local your local region National. Search Submit search Quick Search. Keeping this mucus rather than blowing it out is thought to contribute to a cycle of irritation that causes the snotty nose to persist for weeks or longer.

Thick retained mucus is also more likely to be transported to the throat rather than gravity working it from the nostrils, leading to throat irritation and possibly a cough. This is the mechanism behind the most common cause of prolonged cough after a viral infection or hay fever, known as the post-nasal drip cough. Although extremely rare, there are a few examples in the medical literature of people blowing so hard they generated pressures high enough to cause serious damage.

In most of these cases people had underlying chronic sinusitis or an existing weakness in the structure they damaged after blowing too hard. These injuries included fractures of the base of the eye socket ; air forced into the tissue between the two lobes of the lung ; severe headache from air forced inside the skull ; and rupture of the oesophagus , the tube that sends food to the stomach. One study looked at the pressures generated when people with and without a range of nasal complaints blew their noses.

People with chronic sinusitis generated pressures significantly higher than people without a nasal complaint, up to 9, Pascals of pressure. They also found blowing by blocking both nostrils generated much higher pressures than blowing with one nostril open. Another study comparing pressures from nose blowing, sneezing and coughing found pressures generated during blowing were about ten times higher than during the other two activities.

More worrying was their second finding — viscous fluid from the nose had found its way into the sinus cavities after vigorous nose blowing. The researchers said this could be a mechanism for sinus infection complicating some colds, with the introduction of nasal bacteria to the sinuses.

But they did not produce evidence for this. On balance it seems repeated and vigorous blowing of the nose may carry more risk than benefit, even though it seems to be a natural response to nasal congestion.