Playa Nose? Prevention and tips?

[LowePro]

#Ouch
The dust really got to me this year, my nose, nostrils and sinuses are all messed up, getting bloody noses and dry as fuck. Does anyone have tips to recover faster and prevent this from happening on-playa? Thought about a neti-pot? I did daily saline mist but it didn't help much. Thanks, hope your decomp is going well. Mine sucks!!

[Token]

I use a squeeze bottle with some soft tubing and just flow a bunch of mild saline solution through.

That's about as much as you can do.

This is a symptom of insufficient hydration is all. Not just chugging of water but actual cellular hydration, as in your mucosa got dried out.

Google up on cellular hydration.

Omega 3,6, etc fatty acids help.

Better diet and nutrition needed.

[GreyCoyote]

I havent tried this yet, but it was passed along by a friend who is a doc, and I'll try it next year.

He suggests sleeping with a surgical mask (or any type of fiber-based mask) on your face. The logic is on the exhale moisture is trapped in the fibers, and on inhale it is evaporated back into the air entering the lungs. Apparently the effect is fairly significant. It delays somewhat the dehydration effects.

YMMV, but worth a try.

[AntiM]

I havent tried this yet, but it was passed along by a friend who is a doc, and I'll try it next year.

He suggests sleeping with a surgical mask (or any type of fiber-based mask) on your face. The logic is on the exhale moisture is trapped in the fibers, and on inhale it is evaporated back into the air entering the lungs. Apparently the effect is fairly significant. It delays somewhat the dehydration effects.

YMMV, but worth a try.

I haven't tried sleeping in a mask on playa, but I do wear my VOGmask when flying. I dry out badly on planes, a mask really helps. Protip: do not wear it through TSA.

Not sure I could sleep in one, I do not like things touching my face at night. Sounds like a good idea, I'll have to see if I can tolerate it.

[Ratty]

Darn it. I thought it said playa noise.

[Eric]

We tried something new this year & used a humidifier in the RV at night. It was almost magic - helped keep the crusts down to a tolerable level, and as a bonus helped warm the RV at night. This is the least amount of playa nose I've had in 11 years.
It should work in a yurt or similar as well, not sure about a tent.

[maladroit]

I use a CPAP machine which had a humdifier function, definitely helped last year. Didn't set up the humidifier this year, but our yurt was pretty dust-free.

These days I'm not dealing with nose-clods, but rather some kind of head cold 12 Monkeys virus shit imported from Europe and absorbed through my ass skin in the porta-potty (so goes my theory).

[TT120]

A campmate used Vaseline in her nose to keep it from drying out. She just got some on her finger and spread it all around inside her nose. She said it worked pretty well.

[some seeing eye]

The Figjam Cooler is a humidifier. On return steam rooms are good for me.

Each person's nasal system is different and time varying. I had to evacuate a friend who had been doing a lot of airline travel previous to the event and maybe caught a nasal infection. The combination of those and playa dust was severe enough to cut short their burn.

[Savannah]

I typically just try to:

* stay hydrated generally (lots of Gatorade & water).
* drip saline into my nose daily (I am a contact lense wearer and use that sort; I'm just careful not to touch the tip directly TO my nose).
* keep my mouth & nose covered during dust storms.

I have used a thin layer of Neosporin in my nose as well from time to time (at night), although not this year.

Between keeping my face covered during dust storms more regularly this and doing shots of lemon juice, my voice did better than usual, and my nose was its usual well-behaved self.

We tried something new this year & used a humidifier in the RV at night. It was almost magic - helped keep the crusts down to a tolerable level, and as a bonus helped warm the RV at night. This is the least amount of playa nose I've had in 11 years.
It should work in a yurt or similar as well, not sure about a tent.

That sounds magical, and I would totally do this if I had an RV or hexayurt . . . .

[VultureChow]

Picking playa nose clods is one of the highlights of my burn.

[danibel]

I usually just use a silk scarf or handkerchief for dust abatement for my face during the burn. Well this year my nose was not having it. It was very dry and hurt like no other year. Even saline spray didn't help. A campmate brought some paper filters and I grabbed a few to try on a whim. Though my nose still burned when touched around my nostrils, my sinuses have had a much better recovery than past years. I rubbed aloe all over it and on the inside as far as my finger would push it, careful not to suck too much up but more of a coating.

I've decided that a vog mask is on the purchase list for next year. The scarf/hankie just doesn't cut it. I think the paper things helped but are moopy and another *thing* I had to throw away. Also they got dirty pretty quickly so I went through a few faster than I wanted too.

Vog mask users - do you have multiples? Do you keep it in a ziplock when not in use to keep it clean?

[AntiM]

I have three VOG masks (because one has little men on it, so I had to have it too). I keep them in a cloth bag in my pack/purse, but a plastic bag would not be unreasonable. Biggest problem is wearing one with my sunglasses, the over the ear strap and arms of the glasses make it crowded. The nose piece also does not work well with some goggles. However, those are minor issues, and I do well with one overall.

I wear mine more at home or traveling than at Burning Man. This year I barely wore anything over my nose/mouth at all, and had no issues. Sniffling now, but I think that's from the cats.

[Oldguy]

My thrift store has plastic netti pots for a dollar. Rinse out each nostril with normal saline as needed. Use nose plugs and mask. Maintain electrolytes, Gatorade or pedialyte. Salts.

I was so dehydrated once that I was pissing red blood because the membranes in my penis were dryed out. Painful and not fun!

[Popeye]

I was getting fairly regular nose bleeds, some Aussies gave me a tube of Lucas PawPaw ointment. Works great, a dab in each nostril every morning and evening kept my nose working fine

[Captain Goddammit]

Reducing the amount of cocaine you do sometimes helps.

[sadie]

Picking playa nose clods is one of the highlights of my burn.

Hahahahaha! You crack me up!
I must admit I am sometimes startled by what playa + nose can create.

[Captain Goddammit]

Note to self: do not ever return to this thread especially while eating cereal.

[delle]

Last year, for the first time – and pretty much right off the bat, I started having troubles with my nose: Not only painful and hard to breathe, but also frequent and hard-to-stop nosebleeds.

Seeing my suffering, our neighbour gave me a small tin of Burt’s Beeswax. The oils, peppermint and comfrey root also in there was absolute heaven up my nose and was crucial to the healing.

Washing out with saline spray before applying the beeswax brought the situation under complete control, healing it perfectly within just a few days.

Every year is different, but that stuff will forevermore be on my packing list.

[misfit]

carbon nose filters work great. had a friend who was having a bad time this year with nasal problems,,, red nose syndrome with runny nose and itching. gave him a set of my filters and the next day, better. also looks like your wearing a nose ring when the filters are in place... playa fashionable.

[DrCook]

Someone on the interwebs a few years back (forget where) recommended Ponaris Nasal Emollient https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000N ... =UTF8&th=1, I tried it and have been using at the burn ever since. It's basically moisturing goop for the inside of your nose, it really works wonders.

* I'm not affiliated with this company or with Amazon, I just like the product!

[Jackass]

A little Carmex on the inside of your nostrils will cure the raw spots, and end the crispies in short order.

You could probably get away with using any lip balm if that's all you have at the moment.

[dragonpilot]

Use my Neti pot twice a day...after waking up and before going to bed. Small packets of saline added to DISTILLED water in the pot. Do not use tap or regular bottled water...too risky getting sinus infections. I discovered Neti pot 6 years ago and have been in nasal and sinus bliss on the playa ever since! YMMV.

[Mountain Bobby]

Picking playa nose clods is one of the highlights of my burn.

Your nose clods or someone else's?

[Leap]

There are great tips! I

I wasn't aware of how by my sinuses were until the first hour off playa when it started to get back to normal. This was followed by 24 hours of playa taste in the back of my mouth.

[VultureChow]

Picking playa nose clods is one of the highlights of my burn.

Your nose clods or someone else's?

My OWN! I mean I do have limits.

[patrickwolf]

I felt very tired with a clocked up nose and headaches after the burn.

What helped me the most was using a neti pod with saline solution and two table spoons of 5% distilled white vinegar.

It was pretty much an immediate relieve!

[unjonharley]

You can pick your friends

You can pick your nose

But

Yo can Not pick your friends nose ..