I've been like this all my life, I have extraordinary difficulty with virtually everything about my nose. Blowing me nose isn't easy, I require at least 10-15 tissues to blow it properly, and I really have to blow as hard as I can. Gently blowing it does absolutely nothing but dislodge the dried mucous built up back there.
I can't pinch my nose without dislodging the dried mucous. If I pinch my nose, I sustain immense discomfort until I blow my nose. Often times I simply cannot even BREATHE through my nose if the hardened mucous has been unsettled by pinching my nose.
I also cannot breath through my nose when physically exerted from running. If you taped my mouth shut, put my on a treadmill and killed me if I fell off, I'd simply suffocate to death.
Whenever water enters my nose, it causes the same problems as pinching my nose does. It causes unrest among the dried up mucous and it inhibits my breathing and also rubs uncomfortably against the inside of my nose.
This is the most important part of this message - I do NOT have allergies. I've been to two allergists and my doctor several times and I simply have no allergies. Everywhere I look when searching for nose- and blowing-related problems I only ever hear "allergies". "You have allergies". "You probably have allergies, see your doctor". "Get allergy medications". This is not the case for me.
I've also been to two ear-nose-throat specialists and they've identified nothing but mild deviated septum.
I don't have any easy answers, but you mention "dried mucus" several times in your post and that's a bit unusual. There shouldn't be that much hardened dried mucus in your nose (the mucus should be thin and clear).
Dryness can be a real problem so I'd recommend that you focus on dealing with it by drinking lots of water, taking Mucinex (which helps thin out mucus), and maybe using some petroleum jelly inside your nose (use a Q-tip to spread it around inside the entrance to your nostrils).
The other thing you might consider is trying saline irrigation using a neti pot or SinusRinse bottle to get all of that dried mucus out of there (obviously this is going to cause "unrest" among that dried up mucus, but over the long term you're much better off getting the dried up mucus out of there than ignoring it or trying to leave it alone).
I already have a bottle of saline rinse that I sometimes use before I blow my nose. Should I be using it more often, not just preceding a nose-blowing?
aelius28 - when you say "saline rinse" are you talking about a little pocket spray bottle or a something that gets a larger volume of saline up into your nose?
A SinusRinse bottle will shoot 200 Ml of saline into your nose when you use it to help rinse out any dried mucus - you have to hold your head over a sink to catch the water draining out (I know it sounds weird but it really helps get any dried junk out of there).
The little saline nose sprays will help moisturize your nose but they don't get enough liquid up there to get the dried stuff out.
aelius28 - when you say "saline rinse" are you talking about a little pocket spray bottle or a something that gets a larger volume of saline up into your nose?
A SinusRinse bottle will shoot 200 Ml of saline into your nose when you use it to help rinse out any dried mucus - you have to hold your head over a sink to catch the water draining out (I know it sounds weird but it really helps get any dried junk out of there).
The little saline nose sprays will help moisturize your nose but they don't get enough liquid up there to get the dried stuff out.
Are you sure you mean 200 Ml? That's nearly the same quantity of liquid in a juicebox. It's physically impossible to hold even 20 Ml of water in your nose.
you don't hold it in your nose... you flush up one side and it comes out the other. I use a neti pot and you can do a search how to use a neti pot and there are little videos. Same concept with the squeeze bottles..in one nostril and comes out the other. It loosens up hte old dried 'mucous' or snot which ever term you prefer and flushes it out
Dolysods is right on - the point of a neti pot or SinusRinse bottle is to "rinse" the junk out of your nasal passages and sinuses - 99% of the liquid sloshes around and runs out right away (you don't try to hold it in your sinuses, the point is for it to run out and take the dried mucus with it).
Remember too that your sinuses are basically a web of small chambers inside your head (one in each cheek, two in the forehead, two deep in your head behind your nose and some smaller ones on either side of the nose), and you can get a lot more liquid up there than you might imagine.
Again, the point is to get that junk out of there so the volume of liquid is important - it won't all get up there at once, but you hold your head over a sink while you do it so that the liquid can drain out and take the dried mucus with it (by the way, don't use plain tap water - be sure to get the pre-mixed saline packets and add the powder to the tap water before you do it. The packets contain the right amount of salt to match the body's salinity. Without the packets it will burn like crazy.)
I've been like this all my life, I have extraordinary difficulty with virtually everything about my nose. Blowing me nose isn't easy, I require at least 10-15 tissues to blow it properly, and I really have to blow as hard as I can. Gently blowing it does absolutely nothing but dislodge the dried mucous built up back there.
I can't pinch my nose without dislodging the dried mucous. If I pinch my nose, I sustain immense discomfort until I blow my nose. Often times I simply cannot even BREATHE through my nose if the hardened mucous has been unsettled by pinching my nose.
I also cannot breath through my nose when physically exerted from running. If you taped my mouth shut, put my on a treadmill and killed me if I fell off, I'd simply suffocate to death.
Whenever water enters my nose, it causes the same problems as pinching my nose does. It causes unrest among the dried up mucous and it inhibits my breathing and also rubs uncomfortably against the inside of my nose.
This is the most important part of this message - I do NOT have allergies. I've been to two allergists and my doctor several times and I simply have no allergies. Everywhere I look when searching for nose- and blowing-related problems I only ever hear "allergies". "You have allergies". "You probably have allergies, see your doctor". "Get allergy medications". This is not the case for me.
I've also been to two ear-nose-throat specialists and they've identified nothing but mild deviated septum.
What's wrong with me?
Aelius28,
I seem to be having the exact same experience as yourself. I have no allergies and proved such by visiting allergist. I have no known cold, etc. But my nose is stuffed. Feels very dry and irritated and nothing seems to help it. Keeps me from sleeping properly. Have you found a remedy?
I've been battling this for close to 12 months but am actively trying to defeat it now realizing it's not a cold or something that will just go away on its own. Today my ENT prescribed an ointment for me to try.
