Tissues and Irritated Skin?

January 23, 2006 2:31 PM

How do you avoid irritated skin around the nostrils when you have a cold?

I find the constant use of paper tissues leaves the skin around my nostrils red and irritated. Any way around this? Home remedies? Tips? Anecdotes?

posted by cm to Health & Fitness (31 answers total)

Puffs Plus!
posted by leapingsheep at 2:33 PM on January 23, 2006

Aloe Vera tissues. I originally thought it was just a gimmick, but I used them for the first time last year, and they are quite amazing.

They have a very slightly oily feel, but it's bliss compared to having that sore and scabby nose thing going on.
posted by tomble at 2:33 PM on January 23, 2006

Tiger balm, plus lubricated tissues.
posted by ijoshua at 2:37 PM on January 23, 2006

Lip balm on your nostrils.
posted by Jeanne at 2:39 PM on January 23, 2006

I'll second the medicated lip balm tip. Also, when I'm at home, I use an old towel to sniffle into. It's a lot softer than any tissues out there.
posted by idiotfactory at 2:40 PM on January 23, 2006

Use Lansinoh, a pure lanolin that nursing mothers use for chapped, cracked, or otherwise painful nipples. I swear to god, it works!
posted by houseofdanie at 2:42 PM on January 23, 2006

As annoying as I find them at any other time - this is when tissues with lotion are worthwhile.

I keep a box around and ONLY use it when i'm sick, because the lotion makes your hands feel just a bit oily after handling them. At any other time, the only tissue used is the normal or extra-soft kind, but without lotion due to it being annoying.
posted by twiggy at 2:44 PM on January 23, 2006

My dad's girlfriend would always pop Vitamin E tablets and smear the goo under my nose/around my nostrils when I had a cold. It smelled bad, but felt great.
posted by inging at 2:45 PM on January 23, 2006

Kleenex 3-ply with lotion does it for me. A bit of vasaline helps as well.
posted by Sallysings at 2:45 PM on January 23, 2006

I find that unscented Charmin with aloe (toilet paper) has more soothing greasiness than any of the treated facial tissues. Before bed, I'll give my nose a good coat of Carmex.
posted by klarck at 2:45 PM on January 23, 2006

Carmex and Vitamin E here.
posted by matildaben at 2:48 PM on January 23, 2006

P.S. If you're a Carmex addict, there's nothing quite like the rush of applying it directly to your nostrils. I know, I'm a junkie. (I just applied some Carmex after typing this.)
posted by matildaben at 2:49 PM on January 23, 2006

It's simple. Use cotton hankies. The sore nose isn't a cold symptom - it's the effect of scraping wood pulp repeatedly over your skin.
posted by zadcat at 3:00 PM on January 23, 2006

What zadcat said. I've been using cotton handkerchiefs for years. I can't understand why anyone with a cold would use tissues, which feel like sandpaper when compared to cotton handkerchiefs. This is an example of a place where an inferior product has replaced a superior one, and I can't for the life of me figure out why.
posted by alms at 3:03 PM on January 23, 2006

Third what zadcat said. Stop using paper tissues! Cotton hankies are the way to go.

If you must use tissues, then put lip balm/petroleum jelly around your nostrils.
posted by Brian James at 3:05 PM on January 23, 2006

I use an aloe vera gel, which is nice and cool on irritated skin, I used to have one with Vitamin E in it too, which I got at a local health food store.

Also I try and avoid blowing my nose as far as it's possible. I use a couple of drops of an inhalant decongestant (Olbas oil, which smells pretty strong to people who don't have a cold, but clears things up) on a bit of tissue and sniff that if I'm feeling blocked.
posted by featherboa at 3:08 PM on January 23, 2006

I use my wife's Complex 15 (daily face cream).
Works like magic.
posted by bru at 3:15 PM on January 23, 2006

I use Mentholatum ointment, works wonders.
posted by beowulf573 at 3:23 PM on January 23, 2006

Be sure to have a separate carmex/lip blam and not the one you use for your lips. I have gotten frequent infections and my doctor specifically told me not to use Carmex/lip balm on my nostrils. She suggested tissues with lotion. Good luck.
posted by terrapin at 3:35 PM on January 23, 2006

I've used "Nose Better" gel in the past, but it's really expensive and Mentholatum or Vicks is probably much the same thing.

(Cotton hankies? Fine for sniffles, maybe, but not so practical for the massive quantities of sinus glop that some of us produce during head colds. I'd be doing laundry loads of hankies every day.)
posted by Tubes at 3:37 PM on January 23, 2006

Nose Better! Tubes, I was trying to remember that exact product! Yeah, I used to use it, too -- but it really is about the same as mentholatum.

Burt's Bees makes a nice, comforting ointment that might help for the chafed nose - it's definitely good for soothing other minor irritations. And yes, get the softest tissues you can find when you have a cold. I usually avoid the ones with lotion added, because they tend to make me break out, but YMMV.
posted by scody at 3:40 PM on January 23, 2006

Get the Kleenex brand that comes soft with lotion, if possible. Scott's ads are convincing, but their tissues are shit. Um, YMMV, of course.
posted by booksandlibretti at 4:01 PM on January 23, 2006

Aquaphor! I use it by the tubload for my eczema and it's quite useful for red nose syndrome. It's like a less thick version of vaseline. It comes in handy purse-sized tubes too.
posted by chiababe at 4:11 PM on January 23, 2006

Formula 405
posted by radioamy at 4:34 PM on January 23, 2006

Tissues with lotion and plain old fashioned vaseline. I really goop it on when I go to sleep (with my friend Nyquil) and when I wake up, presto, nose is fine. It does feel and look a little creepy, but who cares when you're that sick already?
posted by mygothlaundry at 4:48 PM on January 23, 2006

I can go through a family-size box of Kleenex with Lotion in a couple of days without getting a red nose, and I don't perceive any greasiness or oiliness on my hands.
posted by nicwolff at 5:19 PM on January 23, 2006

Q-tip w' Vaseline works, too.
posted by Izzmeister at 7:51 PM on January 23, 2006

I remember reading a James Bond novel where he was in Japan and being introduced to the Japanese culture. Part of his equipment was a package of disposable tissues, with the explanation that it seemed strainge to capture mucus (sp) in a fine peace of cloth, wrap it up, and carry it around in your pocket as if it were something valuable. For some reason that makes a lot of sense to me.
posted by JamesMessick at 8:00 PM on January 23, 2006

Low tech and unsightly:
When I'm alone (since this is quite unsightly :) I roll up a square of toilet paper into something resembling an ear plug, and stick one in each nostril. While they will eventually, uh, reach capacity, it means no more tissues, and freedom from a runny nose for a long time, leaving hands free to do things, and saving the nose from all that wiping that would otherwise leave it raw. Swap them with replacements as needed.

Dignity strictly optional.
posted by -harlequin- at 8:10 PM on January 23, 2006

(Cotton hankies? Fine for sniffles, maybe, but not so practical for the massive quantities of sinus glop that some of us produce during head colds. I'd be doing laundry loads of hankies every day.)

I'll never go back to paper. I just went through two colds and used about 5 or 6 hankies. That's less fabric than the socks i washed in the same time. They work.
posted by recurve at 10:39 PM on January 23, 2006

Whenever my boyfriend or I start getting a cold I always buy a few boxes of Puffs tissues with aloe. They're soft and easy on the nose.
posted by KathyK at 5:59 AM on January 24, 2006