How to blow your nose quietly? 6 effective methods
ACHOOOO!!! I was shocked by the sound of that man sneezing not far away from my family and I. I swore it would have been recorded as the world’s loudest sneeze if an official was around. Not only was it annoying, but also seemed unhygienic as he proceeded to blow his nose equally loudly.
Have you ever had experienced this before? Or have you faced this problem yourself?
I think we all have that time where we need to blow our noses. I understand that many people suffer from allergies that can cause discomfort whole year round and it is really unfortunate.
Making loud trumpeting noises in your bathroom might be fine, but certainly not in public spaces, or worse, in a library or classroom!
My kids were amused and shocked at the same time, and I took the chance to educate them a little and gave them some tips on how to blow their noses quietly. Teaching them to soundproof a door is one thing, but teaching them manners is another.
Before you go on though, in whichever situation that you are blowing your nose, always do it gently. Blowing your nose hard will cause extra pressure and get bring germs to your ears too. Ear ruptures and fractured eye sockets can even happen in some bad cases.
Read this too: How to stop chewing loudly?
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Why is it so loud when we blow our noses?
We blow our noses when we want to get rid of mucus or nasal congestions. Effectively, we are pushing air that we breathe in and exhale harder than usual through our nose so that the mucus can be dislodged and expelled.
While this is going on, there is a lot of vibration of air and that causes sounds, in some cases even sounding like a honk.
Why do we need to blow our noses?
Why do we get runny noses?
This can happen for a number of reasons, and the most common ones are you are suffering from a cold or flu, you are allergic to something such as pollen (hay fever), or it could be something as simple as a cold day. When it’s cold, your nostrils try to warm the air and your blood vessels sends more blood, which causes more mucus production.
While mucus are actually beneficial to us, as they trap germs and bacteria, too much of it can be very uncomfortable and the fact that they keep sliding down our noses makes them almost unbearable.
Which is why we need to blow our noses and prevent them from going down our nostrils to our throat or end up in our mouths!
Now that you know the case, let’s check out what the 6 methods to blowing your nose quietly are.
1. Leave the premises temporarily
In most situations especially in public, it is most appropriate if you leave the room to clear your nose.
Let’s say you are watching a movie, attending church, in a classroom or something similar, and your nose starts to act up.
You can leave the room to visit the bathroom and clear your nose entirely before returning. This is a good method simply because you put others’ comfort as priority and you do not want to cause any disturbance. More so if you are in a dining establishment where blowing your noise is a much more sensitive action. People really don’t want to be mixing mucus with their food. And please, do not use the napkin to blow or wipe your nose. That is really disgusting.
Another thing about blowing your nose is that you are expelling mucus, and these tiny droplets can spread around easily if you did not cover up well. Even if you did, these water droplets can get into the air and get passed on to other people who can then catch a disease, so you want to put as much distance between yourself and others.
With Covid so prevalent these days, the best solution is for you to leave a room. Cover your nose with a tissue and walk out to clear it.
No one will be upset at you for doing the right thing.
2. Pack lots of tissue paper in your bag
I personally have a pretty sensitive nose, and it is worst during the mornings. Sometimes when I enter a new environment, for example leaving my home to visit the park, or stepping into an air conditioned room from the outside, or enter a dusty room, my nose acts up and starts dripping.
That is why I always bring two packets of tissues in my pockets whenever I head out. If I have a backpack, I will then ensure that there is always more than enough to last me for the day.
Having said that, if I am in a room, I would avoid blowing my nose as much as possible for the reasons describe in the above point. I would simply use the tissues to dab and wipe my nose. If I have to blow my nose, I would head outside.
When cleaning your nose or blowing it lightly, ensure you use a couple of layers of tissue paper. This will reduce the noise caused and also prevent seepage. One piece of tissue paper is not going to do a good job.
3. Use nasal lubricant
When you are blowing your nose, you are trying to get rid of mucus that is present in your nostrils. These substances can be really annoying when it builds up, causing difficulty in breathing and free flowing down your nose, making for an ugly sight.
Not only is there mucus, you might also be trying to clear away dry crusted mucus, in which case you can do with some lubricant to help you out.
A nasal lubricant/nasal spray can gently moisturize the walls of your nostrils and decongest your sinus. Not only that, it can remove germs, pollution, bacteria, and other irritants.
Consider getting one with Xylitol as an active ingredient, which does a really good job in reducing swelling and getting rid of bacteria.
4. Blow one nostril at a time
It is very tempting to blow both your nostrils at the same time since it is more efficient, but in actual fact, that is an incorrect way of blowing your nose, plus it causes a lot more noise than if you blew one nostril at a time.
What you can do is to use one finger to press and hold one nostril, and use the other hand to wrap a thick layer of tissue paper around your nostril. You should blow gently and not try to force everything out at one go, which can cause serious injuries.
If you are doing this over a sink, then just bend over and blow straight into it. Remember to clean up!
5. Do not blow your nose too hard
First things first to stay on topic, blowing your nose hard is going to create a lot of noise. Period. If you want to blow your nose silently, the first lesson to learn is to be gentle.
By trying to force the mucus out in one go, you are going to exert a lot of pressure in your sinus region. This region includes your ears, so excess germ carrying mucus can be pushed to your inner ear and become infected.
I bet you have experienced this once in your life where your ears feel so blocked and your head becomes so heavy. That will be the end result if you try to blow too hard.
6. Cover up and reduce the noise impact
And lastly, if you find yourself in a situation where you simply cannot walk away or exit a room, you can try to reduce the impact you cause when blowing your nose.
For example, you can turn away from people, bend downwards, or simply use a thicker layer of tissue to cover your nose up.
If there is something going on in the location, like a movie or song playing, you can always wait for a longer sound to come on before blowing your nose. The music can dampen the noise from your nose being blown and make it less obvious to others.
Verdict: How can I clear my nose quietly?
Sounds like a lot of work to do just to blow your noise?
I personally think that nose blowing should always be done away from others as that is the polite thing to do. And you don’t want your germs to spread around others and cause problems for them too.
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