Winter Nose
My nose is driving me crazy. I have declared a moratorium on attributing every new health issue to radiation, but instead this one can probably be blamed on the fact that (a) it is winter, (b) the heat is on and therefore the air is dry, and (c) our fucking humidifier is probably broken again. Hence, my original name for this condition: WINTER NOSE.
What are the symptoms of winter nose? You nasal passages are swollen and dry and you feel like you are always on the verge of a nosebleed (I won't go into the specifics of the latter, other than to say that you know when you blow.) In fact, I have this fear of sitting in my beautiful young boss's pristine office, feeling a giant sneeze come one, and making one hell of a mess of her desk and her fuchsia wool jacket.
So what do I do about my winter nose? I mentioned this to Deborah (my doctor and bass player friend) after we played duets on Monday and her advice was "Just live with it." This is the same person who also says "A little dirt never hurt anyone." All I can say is that I was glad that I hadn't shlepped into her office and paid $85 to get this particular professional advice. Other people have suggested saline irrigation. To me, this is too much like drowning in the Gulf of Mexico, one of my worst and recurring fears. My friend Mary, who is the wife of my pilates teacher and has a good answer for everything, suggested saline ointment or a saline spray by Ayr.
As I sat in yoga this morning trying to do various breathing exercises (pranas I think they are called), I realized that I have to do something about my winter nose. I'll mention it to my acupuncturist today, but maybe a trip to CVS is in order.
Does anybody else out there have this problem? If so, what works to fix your winter nose other than the arrival of spring?
What are the symptoms of winter nose? You nasal passages are swollen and dry and you feel like you are always on the verge of a nosebleed (I won't go into the specifics of the latter, other than to say that you know when you blow.) In fact, I have this fear of sitting in my beautiful young boss's pristine office, feeling a giant sneeze come one, and making one hell of a mess of her desk and her fuchsia wool jacket.
So what do I do about my winter nose? I mentioned this to Deborah (my doctor and bass player friend) after we played duets on Monday and her advice was "Just live with it." This is the same person who also says "A little dirt never hurt anyone." All I can say is that I was glad that I hadn't shlepped into her office and paid $85 to get this particular professional advice. Other people have suggested saline irrigation. To me, this is too much like drowning in the Gulf of Mexico, one of my worst and recurring fears. My friend Mary, who is the wife of my pilates teacher and has a good answer for everything, suggested saline ointment or a saline spray by Ayr.
As I sat in yoga this morning trying to do various breathing exercises (pranas I think they are called), I realized that I have to do something about my winter nose. I'll mention it to my acupuncturist today, but maybe a trip to CVS is in order.
Does anybody else out there have this problem? If so, what works to fix your winter nose other than the arrival of spring?
posted by Barbara at 12:42 PM
3 Comments:
I had the same thing the entire two years I lived in Colorado. Guess I didn't really figure out how to cure it, but boy, can I empathize.
I'll tell you what to do, but I don't want one person going "ew" or "gross." Take a glass of mildly warm water and stir some table salt into it. Enough to make it saline, but not overkill. Take it into the bathroom with you, and when you shower, cup your hand, pour some of this mixture into it, snort it up your nose, then you'll be opening your mouth to spit it out. You don't have to be in the shower, but it's tidier. You can also lean over a sink or bowl. It's up to you. Saline is a great natural healing agent. It's also good for sore throats. Same thing. Warm salt water. Gargle instead of snort. Old-fashioned, but it works. The salt will heal the interior of your nose and stop the bleeding problem. It's also moisture, so it's solving the dry problem. They sell little tubes of saline solution at CVS, etc. if you want to mist your nose during the day. It acts as a normal nasal spray, and it's nothing more than water and salt. You can also put some humidifers around the house. O.K. I'm outta here. See ya.
Cube, your technique is what one of my yoga teachers suggested to me. But they suggested we do it every day. Like forever. Barbara...where do you take yoga? I've been looking for a yoga studio since I moved back from NYC...my yoga teacher at my gym just cheeses me off b/c she doesn't teach in the manner I'm accustomed to.
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