Rarely does anyone attach great importance to the fact that a runny nose has begun. Meanwhile, in the absence of treatment, the pathology can turn into a chronic form, which is fraught with the appearance of sinusitis, sinusitis, pharyngitis, adenoiditis. If you start to warm your nose in the early stages of rhinitis (runny nose), then you can quite successfully avoid many problems with the sinuses and nasopharynx. How to warm your nose at home? The most popular methods are described in the article. Almost every one of them can be used by both adults and children.
The benefits of warming up: what is the procedure for?
Nasal discharge can be of different consistency and nature, but in most cases the cause of their appearance is the inflammatory process on the mucosa, provoked by viral diseases. The body produces mucus in an attempt to stop the reproduction of the infection. In more rare cases, the cause of rhinitis may be inflammation of the dental canals, adenoids, and nasal polyposis. Therefore, before asking how to warm your nose, it is advisable to get an accurate diagnosis and find out the causes of rhinitis. You can do this by consulting your otorhinolaryngologist.
What is the warming up procedure for and why do it? Warming up leads to the expansion of blood vessels in the sinuses, resulting in improved local blood circulation. Swelling subsides, mucus leaves, the patient can fully breathe.
Before warming up the nose, you should familiarize yourself with the features of the procedure:
- optimally carry out the procedure at the initial stage of the development of the disease, 1-3 days after the first signs of rhinitis appeared;
- if the patient is already on antibiotic therapy, then warming up will help to recover faster and facilitate the patient's condition (liquefaction of pus will give a chance for full breathing);
- it is undesirable to warm the nose if the patient has a fever, while an indicator of 37-37.2 degrees is quite acceptable;
- Before using this or that component for heating, you should make sure that there is no allergic reaction (for example, medicinal herbs quite often lead to irritation of the mucous membrane);
- when using hot salt, eggs, care must be taken: these components, if used inaccurately, can cause a burn;
- Do not underestimate the temperature of the steam: it is very easy for them to get a burn on their face, and the consequences will be serious.
Contraindications to the procedure
Contraindications to the procedure:
- body temperature above 37.2 degrees;
- unknown diagnosis, unknown causes of rhinitis;
- purulent discharge with greenish or bloody veins;
- exudate from the sinuses should not have an unpleasant, putrid odor;
- in chronic or acute sinusitis, heating is also prohibited, since pus can go not through the sinuses, but upwards into the frontal sinus.
In order to avoid serious complications, before starting a warming course, you must visit an ENT specialist and find out the exact diagnosis. Often patients do not even suspect that they have chronic sinusitis and large accumulations of purulent exudate in the sinuses.
Dry Warming Methods
How to warm up the sinuses at home without resorting to steam? For example, for young children, the treatment of rhinitis can be quite complicated by their injustice. In this case, the use of hot liquid and steam from it can cause burns. How to warm your nose without using steam? Several effective methods of dry heating come to the rescue:
- salt method;
- use of iodized salt;
- pepper patch;
- use of a blue lamp;
- warming with chicken eggs.
Using iodized salt to warm your nose
The effectiveness of this method depends on which salt the patient uses - regular or iodized. The principle of the procedure is no different. But the result will be better if iodized is used. When performing the procedure, caution should be used: it is very easy to burn with hot salt. How to warm your nose with salt at home? You will need the following accessories:
- a few tablespoons of ordinary rock or iodized salt;
- a pan in which it is possible to evenly calcine the salt;
- a small bag (10 x 10 cm) made of dense natural fabric into which hot salt should be poured.
After the salt has cooled slightly, pour it into the bag as carefully as possible. How to warm your nose with salt at home:
- apply the bag to the nose;
- leave for 10-15 minutes.
If the salt is still hot, you can extend the procedure time to half an hour. It should be two to three times a day to warm the nose with this method to the child, and three to four times to an adult.
How to warm your nose with eggs
Chicken eggs are also able to retain heat for a long time, so they are great for the procedure. How to warm your nose with an egg at home? This is even easier than salt. It is enough to boil one hard boiled egg. Its freshness and size are not critical.
How to warm your nose with an egg? You should wrap the boiled egg in a rag made of natural material, and then attach it to the nose. After 10-15 minutes, remove it from the face. If the child undergoes treatment, then repeat the procedure twice a day, if the adult - three to four times.
Instead of an egg, you can use boiled potatoes in their skins: boil medium-sized potatoes, wrap them in a rag and keep them near the nose for about 15 minutes.
Rhinitis treatment with a blue lamp
Warming up the nose with a lamp is very convenient, but not everyone has it at home. The official name of this medical device is the Minin reflector. When it is exposed, there is no direct contact of the heat source with the patient's skin. This minimizes the possibility of burns even in people with very sensitive skin.
The lamp is installed at a distance of 20 to 60 cm from the face. With a farther arrangement of the device, the therapeutic effect does not occur. To achieve maximum effect, the rays from the lamp should fall on the skin at an angle of 45 degrees. His eyes remain closed. You can use the lamp in the treatment of rhinitis in both children and adults.
Using a hot pepper patch
This method is very effective, but at the same time potentially dangerous. Before using the patch, make sure that the patient does not have an allergic reaction and that his skin is not too sensitive for exposure to pepper. To do this, cut a small piece of the patch and stick it on the temple area. If in a few hours the site does not swell, itch, and tear does not start, then you can perform warming with a patch.
The pepper patch is glued to the nose bridge and nose wings for half an hour. Reuse of the patch is made no earlier than 12 hours. If, when using a patch with pepper, the burning sensation is excessively strong, then it is better to immediately peel it off and subsequently choose a different heating method.
Hot nose warming
How to warm your nose with steam? The most important rule is not to bring your face too sharply to the source of steam. Otherwise, there is a high risk of getting a steam burn.
A simple algorithm for performing the nose warming procedure with steam:
- heat a herbal decoction or just water with a Zvezdochka dissolved in it or another eucalyptus balm;
- put the container with water in front of you, make sure that the steam does not burn;
- bend over the steam, cover your head with a towel;
- inhale the vapor of the treatment solution.
It is better to abandon the idea of warming a child’s nose with steam, as there is a high risk of burns. Small children often touch the container with liquid with their hands; they can easily overturn it on themselves. So if the parents still decide to carry out such a procedure, they should be next to the child throughout the entire time.
Potato Steaming
You should boil a few potatoes (it doesn’t matter, in their uniform or not) in a small amount of water. The steam from the potatoes is usually very steep, so you should remove the pan from the stove and allow the liquid to cool slightly. Potatoes themselves can be extracted.
After the first steam leaves, you should sit face down over the pan with the liquid, cover your head with a towel or blanket. Inhale the vapor with the nose and mouth for 10-20 minutes. Repeat the procedure two to three times a day. The result - already after the first procedure, breathing will become free, nasal congestion and swelling of the sinuses will decrease. However, after two to three hours, the symptoms of rhinitis will return, so the procedure will need to be repeated. After a few days, the disease should recede.
Potato steam has a local anti-inflammatory, astringent and soothing effect. Patients note that after the procedure, profuse sweating is observed. This helps to recover faster with ARVI, flu and other diseases of a viral nature.
Herbal Nose Waxing
For warming, it is optimal to use a steep infusion of the following herbs:
- calendula;
- succession;
- chamomile;
- yarrow.
You can mix herbs. For example, in the morning, steam up the infusion of chamomile and string, and in the afternoon, steam from the infusion of calendula and chamomile.
How to warm your nose at home with infusion of herbs? Dry grass is taken at the rate of 10-15 grams per liter of water. The grass is poured with boiling water and infused for half an hour to an hour. After the mixture is heated, but not brought to a boil. You can simply breathe this therapeutic anti-inflammatory steam, or you can use it as a filling for a home nebulizer.
Plus of this procedure - the nose quickly puts off, also herbs have anti-inflammatory and healing effects. Minus - with an allergy to certain herbs, tearing may increase, runny nose, facial swelling may begin. As a rule, adults are aware of their allergies to a particular type of medicinal herbs. But when warming up the sinuses, the child is better not to experiment with medicinal herbs.
Using a nebulizer to warm your nose at home
A nebulizer is a professional medical equipment, the purpose of which is to warm the sinuses both in a hospital and at home. This is a safe device to use, with which you can perform the procedure even for a restless child without unnecessary problems.
Using the device allows you to achieve the following therapeutic effects:
- moisturizing dry mucosa;
- eliminate pain and burning in the nose;
- relieve congestion;
- make nasal mucus thinner, so it leaves the nostrils without problems;
- does not cause pain during use, so you can use the device to treat childhood rhinitis;
- provides a uniform flow of the drug to all parts of the nasal cavity, the maximum distribution of the pharynx and sinuses throughout the mucosa;
- the medicinal composition of the steam reaches the upper parts of the bronchi, due to which the use of the device is effective for coughing, pharyngitis, etc.
Compositions for the use of aerosol steam
In a nebulizer, it is necessary to fill in a liquid into which various drugs should be added. It can be the same medicinal herbs, or it can be pharmacological preparations - for example, Interferon, Tonsilgon, Furacilin, alcohol tinctures of eucalyptus or propolis, and others.
It is better not to experiment with pharmacological drugs alone, since there is a high risk of side effects. The optimal drug can be prescribed by an otorhinolaryngologist. One or two procedures are performed per day, usually this is enough for a quick recovery without subsequent relapses.