It’s spring and the start of itchy, wheezing allergy season once again across the U.S.
More than 80 million Americans suffer from uncomfortable allergies to pollen and other plants each year, experiencing watering eyes and blowing stuffy noses.
And believe it or not, there is a right way to blow your nose, experts say.
“The key to blowing your nose correctly is to blow gently and to clear one nostril at a time,” the doctors at ENT & Allergy Specialists say.
“Press one nostril shut with your finger, then blow out softly into the tissue, using as little pressure as possible. Switch to the other nostril,” they instruct. “If you blow and nothing comes out, do not try again.”
Blowing both nostrils and blowing too hard can lead to other consequences for your health.
These actions can clog the Eustachian tubes, which connect the middle ear with the nasal-sinus cavity, leading to an infection.
They can also result in a ruptured blood vessel in your nose, causing a nosebleed.
In extreme cases, forceful nose blowing can even lead to a tear in the esophagus – the swallowing tube that connects your mouth to your stomach – Vinmec Healthcare system warns.
These tears can also be caused by extreme coughing or vomiting and can lead to life-threatening complications, the Cleveland Clinic says, such as chemical inflammation and infection in the chest and bloodstream.
Excessive blowing may also result in a ruptured eardrum, the Ohio State University cautions.
“If there is a substantial blockage in front of the nose and you blow really hard, it’s possible to suddenly generate high enough pressure to create a hole in the ear drum,” the school said. “This isn’t very common.”
If the first method doesn’t work out, there are other options.
You can squeeze the mucus out of the nose into a tissue by pressing your fingers on the bridge of your nose and massaging the nostrils in a downward movement, ENT & Allergy Specialists say.
If the mucus is difficult to get out, people can use a humidifier or a saline nasal spray to help free it, according to Sutter Health.
Placing a warm washcloth over the nose and forehead for a few minutes can also help, the Allergy & Asthma Network says.
“What we don’t want in our body is for anything that doesn’t belong, such as mucus, sitting inside our nasal passages and sinus cavities,” advises Dr. Jonathan Young, a pediatric otolaryngologist with Sutter. “That can become prime real estate for bacterial infections.”
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