Waking up to a stuffy and congested nose is one of the worst feelings in the world. Your throat feels parched, your lips feel dry, your head feels like a train just barged through your brain at full speed… You feel fatigued, have a constant blocked nose, and feel miserable for the entire day. Ugh.
A nose becomes congested when the blood vessels in the sinuses get inflamed. This results in the surrounding tissue becoming swollen and blocking your airways. Irritants in the nose can also trigger the production of thick, viscous mucus that add on to the discomfort.
While it might just be an annoyance for older children and adults, a congested nose may cause life-threatening respiratory distress in infants and interfere with breastfeeding as well. If symptoms persist for longer than a week, seek help from your doctor. If not, try these 6 remedies at home to help reduce mild nasal congestion.
1. Take a steaming hot shower
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Steam helps to decongest your nose by thinning out the mucus in your airways and clearing it out. Another way of doing this is by pouring hot water into a basin and holding your face over the steam. Doing this 3-4 times a day will help you decongest faster.
For younger infants, a warm bath will help clear the congestion and serve as a fun distraction too.
2. Use a humidifier to ease congestion
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The goal here is to calm down your sinuses and thin out the mucus so you can breathe properly again. Humidifiers increase the moisture droplets in the air that help loosen up secretions from your nose.
Cold mist humidifiers work best for nasal congestion, so try placing a few humidifiers around the house to keep the air moist and clean.
3. Drink lots and lots of water
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Drinking plenty of warm water and other liquids is ideal for keeping the sinuses flowing instead of being congested in your nose. It’s also important to keep yourself hydrated and replace the fluids you lose through blowing out your nose.
Just make sure that you are drinking clean (preferably boiled) water so there aren’t any other bacteria or pathogens invading your passageways.
4. Use a warm towel/compress
Using a warm towel or compress on your nasal passages can help reduce a stuffy nose by reducing swelling of the blood vessels and calming the inflammation down.
Soak a face towel in some warm water, squeeze out excess water and apply it onto the bridge of your nose and lower part of your forehead. Repeat until you can breathe normally again.
5. Massage your sinuses
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If your congestion is causing a migraine, try a sinus massage to help alleviate the pain.
Apply light pressure onto both sides of the bridge of your nose and massage in an upwards circular motion. Do the same for both sides of your forehead just above the eyebrows, massaging upwards and outwards towards your temples. Repeat as often as necessary.
6. Use vapour rubs or medicated oils
Another home remedy for relieving a stuffy nose is by inhaling and applying vapour rubs containing menthol, eucalyptus, or camphor to the temples and under the nose.
However, do not use vapour rubs on infants and children under the age of 2 as it may cause convulsions.
Instead, apply a few drops of TYT Herbal Medicated Oil onto the chest area and rub gently until it becomes warm to help your baby breathe better.
Safe for expecting mothers, children, and babies
TYT Herbal Medicated Oil is derived from 100% natural ingredients and includes wormwood leaf, Chinese Angelica, Chinese Arborvitae, Piper betel leaf, lemongrass, ginger, Chinese agarwood bark and palm oil. It can be used to treat wind, stomach ache, minor sprains, burns, cuts, insect bites or insect stings, numbness, backache, post-natal wind, rheumatism and other minor injuries.
It does not contain menthol, eucalyptus, or camphor and is completely safe for the whole family, including babies and pregnant mothers. TYT Herbal Medicated Oil is available at selected pharmacies and our TYT online shop.