I'm a Nose Picker - help me stop

March 6, 2020 11:02 AM

So, I've been a lifelong nose picker because it's the only way I can continue breathing through my nose. Through a combination of thick mucus and weirdly shaped passages, blowing just does not work. The current virus scare has convinced me it's time to kick the habit, so I'd like some advice about how to manage my very unruly nose. I do not want to put my fingers in my nose anymore! But I need to be able to breathe. Please hope me. Is there a special nose blowing technique that works for you? Nose tweezers? A tiny gnome that you hire to clean things out?

Here are my challenges:

I have really really dense snot. Always. This is NOT DEHYDRATION. I live somewhere super dry, and I drink basically a full gallon of water a day for other health things, and physically can not add more water or electrolytes. Anyway, about that snot.

My snot forms in dense globs that adhere strongly to the walls of my nose. They pretty quickly dry into slabs of glue and narrow my breathing to none. There's a sharp turn where deviated septum correction helped, but did not eliminate. They stick behind that sharp turn and form massive clots. This all adds up to completely clogged nasal passages.

I'm on several antihistamines to control an autoimmune disorder, and while these are drying they haven't changed the nature of my nose picking problem. My snot is the same stupid unwieldy beast that it has been my entire life. Flonase gives me a nose bleed without impacting the problem. A netti pot works AFTER I pick my nose, because before it's too clogged for the water to get through! Even if I use a squeeze bottle.

I have an allergist, please do not suggest I go to the doctor about this. They have no answer for me. I've asked for many years.

I'm open to trying just about anything. If smelling salts helped you or someone you know, tell me! If there's an herbal tea that will thin out my mucus, tell me about it! If I should learn how to hork a loogie, I guess I can try?

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (17 answers total)

Can a damp Q Tip substitute for a finger?
posted by slateyness at 11:04 AM on March 6, 2020

The Navage works similarly to a neti pot but uses gentle suction to pull the saline through your nasal passages and suck it out the other side. I am always appalled by what comes out. (Do not buy the pricey salt pods, there are YouTube hacks to get around that part.)
posted by anderjen at 11:08 AM on March 6, 2020

I have super-thick nasal mucus, and the most helpful thing has been to spend large amounts of time with a powerful humidifier. I don't mean one of those eensy ones that sit in a mug of water or hold like two cups. I mean this running at full blast six inches from my head at night with the stream pointed over my face and this spraying in my face for six hours a day when I'm at the office.

Constant humidity really, really helps the snot come out when I blow.
posted by joyceanmachine at 11:11 AM on March 6, 2020

A dry Q-tip works better than damp in my experience as the little fibres help snag the boogers out.

Irrigate with a neti pot to flush things out

Shave inside your nose with a $10 gadget like this

Picking your nose is fine as long as your hands and nails are clean. Maybe just only do it right after a hand wash or after using sanitizer if you’re in the car or whatever (and then wash hands again for everyone else of course!)
posted by nouvelle-personne at 11:25 AM on March 6, 2020

I was gonna say: just pick your nose after you wash your hands after you use the toilet? That should be a nice regular interval, and you're doing it in a place with some privacy (maybe) and a sink nearby to facilitate the post-pick handwashing.
posted by batter_my_heart at 11:27 AM on March 6, 2020

I hate to suggest A Product, but give Arm & Hammer Simply Saline nasal spray a try. It's basically a pressurized neti pot that you can, for instance, keep in your car or office or anywhere else a neti pot isn't practical. In my experience, I don't need to resort to full-on neti style irrigation--in most cases, just blasting a small amount of saline up my nose, waiting 2-4 minutes or until I can't stand it any longer for the mucus to soften, and then blowing is enough (and each can lasts a lot longer when used this way).

Three packs at Costco are the most economical way I've found to purchase it.
posted by pullayup at 11:38 AM on March 6, 2020

I like the Neil Med Sinus Rinse, it's basically a neti pot that doesn't make you feel like drowning. It's amazing how much it gets out.

If I'm on vacation or just feeling lazy, I use a bottled saline spray like pullayup mentioned, but it's not as forceful.
posted by radioamy at 11:43 AM on March 6, 2020

(To be clear, if you're a picker it's going to be hard to stop picking your nose, but this will at least clear things out. Putting vaseline in your nose can help stop the urget to pick.)
posted by radioamy at 11:44 AM on March 6, 2020

I blow my nose extensively in the shower and use a wet towel to gently clean the inside of my nose whenever I feel like it's funky. Then saline spray on the regular, and gentle reminders to myself that doing this is normal. :)
posted by Kitchen Witch at 11:52 AM on March 6, 2020

Saline spray then blow. The Arm & Hammer spray recommended above is what I use with a similar, spray, wait blow my nose then, spray again method. Also if you use a Netti pot morning & night after you've cleaned out the blockages, it helps stop them reforming, or just just use the saline spray a few times a day even.
posted by wwax at 12:09 PM on March 6, 2020

FWIW, I feel like being able to breathe is more important than giving up what seems like a fairly benign habit as long as you do it with clean fingers, somewhere private.
posted by penguin pie at 1:07 PM on March 6, 2020

Vaseline or the generic petroleum jelly of your choice, apply with Q-Tip (IMO generic cotton swabs are trash). Helps keep things from sticking. Consider using a humidifier if you haven't tried that already (reviews, cleaning instructions). You're probably already on this if you're seeing an allergist, but work on keeping dust at bay in your home if that's a potential contributor.
posted by asperity at 1:17 PM on March 6, 2020

I found that applying a light layer of petroleum jelly to the inside of both nasal passages had the effect of both making me more comfortable and making it easier to blow out those nuggets which were blocking my breathing .
posted by summerstorm at 1:23 PM on March 6, 2020

Petroleum jelly should not be applied inside the nostrils; your respiratory system has no way of dealing with fats and you risk lipid pneumonia. Not worth it. Use water-based lube instead or do one of the other things suggested here.
posted by Acheman at 1:41 PM on March 6, 2020

Oh something to remember too is most people only ever actually breathe through one nostril at a time, they alternate, you're not supposed to be able to breath through both at once unless you take a deep breath, so you might not be as blocked up as you think. .
posted by wwax at 1:45 PM on March 6, 2020

A sterilized Bobby pin would work... a qtip with miceller water helps loosen my son’s very sticky bogeys.
posted by catspajammies at 2:20 PM on March 6, 2020

It's for ears but you might find a mimikaki useful for the nasal mining. (In my case it tickles too much, and I wind up resorting to fingertips anyway.)
posted by Rash at 7:16 PM on March 6, 2020