HOW TO BLOW YOUR NOSE: What happens if you do it the wrong way?

Throughout my profession of nearly 35 years,?I have surprisingly witnessed a lot of people who do not know how to blow their noses properly. Many of us probably underestimate this procedure and think of it as a simple spontaneous practice like breathing. Nevertheless, it is not true and incorrect blowing has its potential side effects. There are two important anatomical structures neighboring the nasal passages; paranasal sinuses and the Eustachian tube. Paranasal sinuses are air-filled spaces located around the nasal cavity and adjacent to the eye, and the brain. Their functions are air conditioning, filtering, warming of inspired air, and potentially forming an immunologic response for microbes, allergens, and other particles to protect the airway passages. The ventilation of the sinuses is performed by small openings into the nasal cavity. The Eustachian tube is a gateway that connects the middle ear cavity to the back of the nasal passage. It has important roles such as protecting and ventilating the middle ear cavity and draining middle ear secretions.

Since nasal passages are directly connected to middle ear and paranasal sinuses, blowing your nose correctly is of crucial importance. If you don’t properly or gently blow your nose, both paranasal sinuses and the Eustachian tube are affected unfavorably. Normally, one nostril should be blown at a time and the other one must be closed by finger. If one blows both nostrils at the same time, the increased intranasal pressure reverses the natural flow of the mucus and changes the pressure in the cavities of sinuses and middle ear. Hence, the contaminated/infected mucus goes directly into these critical structures by this increased intranasal pressure. This will affect the middle ear and sinuses, which, in turn, would trigger possible infection and disrupt the normal pressure in both middle ear and sinuses. Correctly blowing your nose protects your middle ear and sinuses from infections, while also helping these vital structures to be cleaned easily and function appropriately. Try blowing each nostril at a time when you need to cleanse your nose.