Cold and flu season is here, and with it comes a runny nose,sniffling, or worse—feeling completely stopped up withmucus. Your first instinct may be to blow your nose to clear everything out. This may help a little, but it could also make things worse.

“When someone feels their nose is blocked, this is typically a result of inflammation along the lining of the nose,”Gregory Levitin, MD, an otolaryngologist at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, told Verywell.

A number of things can cause this inflammation, including viruses, allergens, pollution, and temperature changes, Levitin said. “This results in swelling,congestionfrom increased inflammatory mediators, and often excess mucus that leaks out of the nose into the back of the throat.”

Blowing your nose to relieve this congestion isn’t necessarily a bad idea, but it doesn’t tackle the problem. “It does not reduce the inflammation of the tissues,” Levitin said. Plus, if you blow too hard, you might end up hurting your eardrums.

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How To Safely Blow Your Nose

Another tip? Don’t blow both nostrils at once. “One should safely blow one side at a time because if you were to blow both sides of the nose, this can push pressure back into theEustachian tubes, which is the tube that connects to the middle ear space,” said Levitin. When the Eustachian tubes get clogged, it can lead to anear infection.

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Over-the-Counter Medications for Nasal Congestion

You can also try over-the-counter medications to make your nasal passages a little less miserable.

“Over-the-counterdecongestantswork very quickly, but they should only be used for a few days at a time, as they can actually make the congestion worse if used for extended periods,” Reisacher said.

Examples of over-the-counter decongestants arepseudoephedrine(Sudafed) andoxymetazoline(Afrin).

Saline rinses, like theNeti Pot, may also be effective, Levitin said, but you “want to be careful about pushing water too aggressively through the nose, which can cause additional discomfort and/or inflammation,” he explained.

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Home Remedies for Nasal Congestion

If you don’t feel like making a trip to the pharmacy, there are some tips and tricks to relieve congestion from the comfort of your home.

“Steam therapy—breathing in a hot shower or over a bowl of hot water—can be very helpful to loosen excess secretions that have either dried up or are very thick inside the nose,” Levitin said.

Reisacher added that “at nighttime, elevation of the head of the bed with a foam wedge under the mattress, or using adhesive breathing strips, can also help you get a better night’s sleep when you’re congested.”

How to Stop a Runny Nose Quickly

What This Means For YouWhen you’re experiencing nasal congestion, your first instinct might be to blow your nose. Doing so the wrong way can actually make things worse. It’s not necessarily dangerous to blow your nose when you’re sick, but you may want to try over-the-counter decongestants or other methods to avoid complications. If your congestion doesn’t get better, reach out to your healthcare provider for next steps.

What This Means For You

When you’re experiencing nasal congestion, your first instinct might be to blow your nose. Doing so the wrong way can actually make things worse. It’s not necessarily dangerous to blow your nose when you’re sick, but you may want to try over-the-counter decongestants or other methods to avoid complications. If your congestion doesn’t get better, reach out to your healthcare provider for next steps.

1 SourceVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institutes of Health (NIH).Ear infection.

1 Source

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institutes of Health (NIH).Ear infection.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

National Institutes of Health (NIH).Ear infection.

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