A runny nose is not only a very unpleasant disease, but also a dangerous one. Many people for some reason ignore this fact, do not take measures to cure it, believing that it will pass by itself, or use special sprays, not trying to figure out the reason. As a result - a chronic runny nose, constant nasal congestion, sprays cease to help, breathing is disturbed, microbes and bacteria "go" further: throat, bronchi, lungs. Atrophy of tissues (not only nasal, but also brain) can also develop. In order not to reach the point of no return, a runny nose should be treated from the first minutes of appearance. Warming up the nose is the most effective method in the fight against rhinitis and its consequences. But first you need to understand the causes of the disease.
Causes of the common cold
Rhinitis can appear as a result of exposure to the mucous membrane of cold air, and in viral or allergic diseases. Most often, a runny nose occurs in children. A symptom is not dangerous in itself, but with those complications that appear with the prolonged absence of suitable treatment.
The nasal mucosa performs protective functions against the entry of viruses, fungi and bacteria into the respiratory tract that trap small villi on its surface. A runny nose is an inflammatory process that occurs when foreign bodies, dust, allergen, medicine, or the result of an inborn pathology of tissues and cartilage get into the nose. It may appear due to polyps, adenoids grown in the nose, due to Cartagener syndrome.
If you do not go to the ENT and do not understand the cause of the common cold, do not treat it at all or treat it with inappropriate medications, a complication will quickly develop. Inflammation spreads to the throat and beyond. Only a doctor can correctly choose a complex of drugs, avoiding complications.
If a runny nose is formed due to contact with an allergen, this is accompanied by frequent sneezing and lacrimation, the eyes and nose itch, the nasal mucosa swells, and nasal congestion occurs, but there is abundant and watery discharge from the nose. In this case, it makes no sense to warm it - you need to exclude contact with the allergen.
In case of violations of the blood vessels, when they stop responding to the external environment and there are diseases of the vessels or the central nervous system, one also does not need to deal with warming the nose - the vessels will have to be treated.
But rhinitis that arose due to a viral infection or due to hypothermia of the body needs treatment by heating, but not on the first day of the viral infection, but on the third. The procedure will reduce the amount of mucus secreted and speed up the healing process.
With damage by fungi or bacteria, with an atrophic form of the common cold, it is strictly forbidden to warm the nose. In the latter case, ultraviolet heating is sometimes used, but only as prescribed by the doctor and based on the diagnosis of the disease.
Warming nose with rhinitis
After you figured out the causes of the common cold, you can already consider warming up. You can warm in different ways: with a device for warming the nose, folk methods, using a combination of washing products from inflammation, medications and light massage. Such a set of measures will contribute to a speedy recovery.
Each doctor, prescribing medicines for the common cold, recommends staying at home for the period of treatment, avoiding meetings and long walks to avoid complications that may appear as a result of usual rhinitis: otitis media, bronchitis, pneumonia, sinusitis, etc.
Before warming, be sure to clean your nose. This can be done by washing the nose with ready-made solutions sold in each pharmacy, or preparing a slightly salted home solution (stir half a teaspoon of sea salt in a glass of water). After removing the mucus, you can make a light massage in the nose and under the eyes, along the cheekbones, towards the nose and ears. You can also walk around the area between the eyebrows. Massage helps to reduce swelling in the nose and facilitates the release of mucus.
In addition, you should maintain high humidity in the room, for which it is better to spend money on a simple humidifier. But while it is not there, the same effect can be obtained if you turn on the hot water in the bathroom and let off the warm steam from there into the room. This will also help get rid of congestion and blow your nose all the mucus in which microbes and bacteria actively multiply.
Steam can also warm your nose. But a one-time procedure will not give such an effect as repeating it 3-5 times a day. Then a positive result will be noticeable and relief will come immediately.
Is this useful?
Wet and dry warming is also beneficial for the nose: during the procedures, the vessels dilate in the sinuses, blood circulation is accelerated, and swelling is relieved, mucus comes out better, and the person begins to breathe fully. Here, regularity, constancy is important. Warming up contributes to:
- cleansing and restoration of the nasal mucosa;
- reduction of edema;
- normalization of breathing;
- increase the body's resistance to harmful influences from the outside.
In addition, the thermal effect, directed not only to the nose, but also to the entire face, has a beneficial effect on the nervous and vascular systems.
It is important to observe a set of measures, since the use of only warming up or just a spray from the common cold and infections will not save.
When to start warming?
Warming up is ideally carried out at the very beginning of the disease, i.e., in the first days of the onset of a runny nose. The procedure is also suitable at the stage of recovery in order to facilitate breathing, to thin and facilitate the excretion of mucus or pus. If the patient takes antibiotics, heating can be carried out only on the 5th day of taking the drugs.
With a cold, warming is prescribed if the following indications are present:
- watery transparent discharge comes out of the nose;
- body temperature does not exceed 38.5 ° C;
- there are no adenoids and polyps in the nasal passage;
- there is no allergic reaction.
If a runny nose is already lingering, but caused by viruses, cold, etc., warming up also needs to be done. Chronic rhinitis can be cured - this is not for life.
When it comes to children, especially infants, consultation with a pediatrician is required.
Who should not warm their nose and why
It is impossible to warm the nose if the mucus is green, the discharge is purulent and thick. In this case, the first to be put into battle are medicines according to the testimony of the attending physician. It is also necessary to exclude the appearance of complications in the form of sinusitis. If you start to warm your nose when there is a lot of pus in it, this pus goes up to the frontal sinuses, and it ends badly - hospitalization and puncture of the sinuses so that the pus does not penetrate the eyes, ears or brain.
The cause of chronic runny nose can be adenoids, polyps or a curved septum, and an increase in body temperature is not observed. Therefore, to take a picture of the sinuses will not be out of place.
A person suffering from rhinitis should not warm his nose if these signs are present:
- high body temperature;
- purulent discharge from the nose;
- runny nose became chronic;
- there is swelling around the eyes;
- otitis media, which affects the middle ear region;
- purulent inflammation in the oral cavity (sore throat);
- adenoids or polyps;
- hypertension;
- problems with blood vessels in the brain.
A person is not able to determine half of these signs on his own or close ones, therefore the treatment of a cold by warming needs to be discussed with a specialist.
The device "Fairy"
There are a lot of devices for heating the sinuses, they all act in their own way, which often leads to confusion for all customers. Which one to choose is not clear. But it’s easy to figure it out. For example, the “Fairy” apparatus is designed to warm tissues in a specific area, and is great for warming the nose and throat. Rays directed to the affected area contribute to vasodilation, restoration of damaged tissues, elimination of edema and nasal congestion.
It can not be used for cancerous tumors, tuberculosis, high body temperature, nosebleeds, purulent formations.
Apply treatment with this device only with the permission of the doctor, since self-use can lead to side effects.
First, the device is prepared for the procedure - it undergoes disinfection, while it cannot be washed and soaked in liquids.
The procedure itself: heating elements of the device are installed around the nose on the skin, the desired time mode is selected depending on the disease - from 5 to 25 minutes, several times a day. The mode needs to be discussed with a specialist.
Does the "Miracle" inhaler help with a runny nose
Such a device for warming the nose, such as the Chudopar steam inhaler, effectively copes with inflammation, swelling, and even pain. The beneficial effect of the device on all forms of the common cold formed due to infections has been scientifically proven.
The therapeutic effect is exerted by medicines (for which there is no allergy), which enter the nose in the form of fumes, acting on the affected tissue, and at the same time warming them.
The inhaler is used no more than 3 times a day, and the duration of the session is not more than 3 minutes for children and not more than 10 for adults. It is forbidden to use for nosebleeds and in the presence of high temperature, otherwise the patient's condition worsens.
The apparatus can warm up not only the nose, but also the throat, respiratory tract. For inhalation, the solutions prescribed by the doctor are used.
Warming up with electricity - apparatus "Darsonval"
There is nothing wrong with the Darsonval apparatus, yes, it affects inflammation with a weak electric current, but a person does not experience any pain or discomfort. This device is used not only in medicine, but also in cosmetology. With its help, the protective functions of the body are activated.
An electric discharge helps to relieve swelling, increase the flow of oxygen to the cells, restore metabolic processes, favoring the regeneration of affected tissues.
The Darsonval apparatus is treated as standard no more than 10 days, each daily procedure lasts from 3 to 10 minutes by acting separately on each nostril.
But it is forbidden to use during pregnancy, to people suffering from epilepsy, oncology and cores. With purulent inflammation, treatment with the device is also ineffective.
How to warm your nose with a Minin reflector
The popular name for the Minin reflector is a blue quartz lamp for warming the nose. This device differs from many types of heating in that there is no contact of the skin with a heat source, i.e. the lamp is installed at a distance of 25-60 cm from the face and heats with rays, which helps to prevent burns, as happens when heated by folk methods.
During the procedure, you need to close your eyes, the session lasts 15 minutes, the frequency is no more than 2 procedures per day. You can use it even in a dream, which attracts many parents, because often small children refuse such procedures and are very capricious. But for adults, the device is very effective.
To correctly determine the distance, you must first hold a hand under infrared rays and determine when the heat is pleasant, and when it is too hot. If you install the lamp further than 60 cm, it will not have the desired effect, since it is too far, but also closer to 20 cm, to keep to the face.
Babies are heated for no more than 5 minutes, older children can be longer. Physiotherapy is carried out 1-2 times a day. After 4-5 such sessions, a runny nose ceases to cause inconvenience, the patient's condition improves significantly:
- nasal breathing is normal;
- bacteria, fungi and viruses are eliminated from the nasal cavity;
- vessels are strengthened;
- mucosal functioning improves;
- damaged tissues and cells are restored;
- pain disappears.
The Minin reflector can be used even for infants to warm the nose and throat. But there are contraindications:
- heat;
- the presence of purulent inflammation in the warmed area;
- chronic rhinitis;
- tuberculosis;
- pregnancy;
- malignant tumors.
This method of dealing with the common cold and other inflamed areas is the oldest way, but its effectiveness and safety have been tested by millions of people.
The “Sun” apparatus has the same characteristics, which warms up with ultraviolet radiation, but here the rays are directed exclusively into the nasal passages.
How to treat a runny nose with medications
Treatment of the common cold with steam inhalers or nebulizers is very effective in healing. A home device for warming the nose is inexpensive and throughout life will help to fight all sorts of infectious diseases.
For treatment, medical solutions are used, which are sold in each pharmacy, but the use of drugs must be discussed with your doctor. With the help of a nebulizer, the medicine enters the distant corners of the nasal passages, which cannot be achieved by heating over a bowl of boiling water, the more so with this procedure, the mucous membrane will not be burnt and will not be damaged even more, as happens when using alternative methods.
After the procedure, the patient should not go outside and get cold, therefore it is better to do inhalations at night. Ideally, you need to observe bed rest until recovery.
Special warming patches are also effective - they can be glued onto the bridge of the nose in the evening and peeled off in the morning: it is convenient to warm the nose at home.
But pepper, for example, is glued only for 30 minutes. But first, you need to check if there is an allergy to the warming components of such a patch. It is better to stick the patch on the back of the hand first and after 15 minutes check for redness on the skin. In any case, you need to read the instructions for each drug.
Also in pharmacies you can find special heating pads for warming the nose with salt and not only it. In the heating pad there is a liquid solution of sodium chloride, and there is an applicator on it, which must be broken before use so that the liquid begins to turn into crystals. During this process, you need to warm your nose for about 15 minutes, repeating the procedure no more than 2 times a day. Until the next use, the heating pad is placed in warm water so that the crystals get their original state. Or you can find a special nook to warm your nose.
You can buy alcohol tincture of eucalyptus. For inhalation, you will need only a few drops added to a half-liter jar of hot water. Tincture acts effectively against germs. Approved for use by children from 3 years.
The use of essential oils of eucalyptus, fir, pine, sea buckthorn and tea tree gives the same result. Only 1-3 drops of one of them are needed per liter of hot water. But sold and ready-made solutions with essential oils.
Next, alternative methods of treating a runny nose by warming will be considered.
Traditional methods of warming with rhinitis
The most commonly used oldest folk way of warming the nose with rhinitis is the egg. It is effective only with the correct procedure. The method is suitable for those people for whom the lamp for warming the nose and throat or medications are contraindicated. This method can be used even by pregnant women and children.
This method perfectly copes with nasal congestion and swelling in the sinuses, if all the rules are followed:
- hard boiled egg;
- it has cooled, but still quite warm (ideally, the egg temperature is about 55 degrees);
- the egg is wrapped in a thin towel;
- applied to the upper part of the nose for no more than 15 minutes;
- the patient after the procedure is in a warm room without drafts for at least 2 hours;
But this procedure is effective only for viral rhinitis. In other cases, it can not be used, especially with nose injury and purulent discharge.
Also recommended themselves:
- An iodine grid is the easiest way. Superimposed on the wings of the nose and nose. Cover the drawn grid on top with several layers of bandage, cotton wool or gauze, plus cover it all with a piece of plastic bag. In this case, the patient needs to lie down for at least half an hour. Repeat the procedure after 12 hours.
- Compresses can be made from radish juice, to which a little warmed-up sunflower oil is added. A cotton wool or bandage is wetted in this solution and applied to the nose, on top - polyethylene. The patient is also recommended to lie down for half an hour.
- Inhalation with hot steam, potatoes or herbal infusions - steam penetrates directly into the nose, normalizing breathing, relieving swelling, improving blood circulation, quickly removing mucus from the nose from infection. Suitable for those who are contraindicated in the drug method. It is better to carry out inhalation 2 hours after eating. It is necessary to ensure that the water does not exceed 70 degrees, and inhale the steam very carefully so that this does not lead to a burn of the mucosa. You can just breathe over freshly boiled potatoes or add a pinch of salt and soda to the water. During the procedure, you need to take 10 breaths through the nose, while exhaling through the mouth. For herbal infusion, you will need dried sage, chamomile, calendula, yarrow, raspberry leaves - each herb for a teaspoon per liter of boiling water, infuse for an hour, and warm the mixture before use, without bringing to a boil.
- Juice or squeeze of onion, garlic or Kalanchoe, which have an antiviral and antimicrobial effect - a liter of hot water needs a few drops of juice from one of these medicinal plants. The main thing here is not to overdo it - too much can cause irritation of the mucosa.
The regular use of one of the methods will significantly alleviate the symptoms and will have a positive effect on the sick body for a long time, accelerating the healing process, unless the method is agreed with the doctor and there are no purulent discharge and other contraindications.
Additional recommendations
For the most effective effects of nose-warming procedures, doctors advise you to follow these recommendations:
- warm your nose in the evening or before bedtime;
- strengthen immunity by taking vitamins and using tinctures of echinacea or ginseng;
- create a favorable microclimate in the room, moistened, without drafts;
- treat nasal passages with oxolinic ointment after heating;
- apply in combination with medicines (if prescribed by a doctor), massage and warming up the feet with mustard powder.
After the procedures, doctors also recommend putting on warm clothes and always socks, drinking warm tea with honey and spending time alone, on the bed, or at least just at home, not doing household chores.
Warming up the nose during a viral runny nose has a beneficial effect on the well-being of the patient, facilitates breathing through the nose, and restores the mucous membrane of the sinuses. But you should remember about contraindications.