There are some tips for preventing dry mouth and nose in winter

This is the 3518th article of Da Yi Xiao Hu

Due to the cold temperature and dry air in winter, the water in the human body evaporates quickly, which can easily cause symptoms such as chapped lips and dry nasal cavity. You can easily prevent these symptoms by doing the following.

1. Tips for preventing chapped lips

Pay attention to replenishing water. Under normal circumstances, an adult needs to replenish water about 2000 ml per day, especially in the dry winter, it is necessary to replenish water in time. Because the lip epidermis is very thin, water evaporates quickly, and it is easy to become dry and cracked in cold weather. Drinking enough water can moisturize the skin around the lips from the inside out and prevent lip cracking.

Proper diet adjustment

Eat more fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins, such as tomatoes, white radishes, bean sprouts, apples, pears, etc., and eat less spicy and greasy food. In addition, vitamin B2 deficiency in the human body can easily induce diseases such as angular cheilitis and cheilitis. If such diseases occur, you can take appropriate vitamin B2 supplements under the advice of a specialist.

Don’t make a habit of licking your lips

When the lips are dry, chapped, or peeling, many people lick their lips to keep them moist. However, this is counterproductive and can damage the skin around the lips. In addition, the amylase in saliva can destroy the acidic protective film of the lips, causing the lip mucosa to become dry and wrinkled, and even cause chronic cheilitis. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate this bad habit of licking lips.

Apply lip balm scientifically

Many people wait until the symptoms of chapped lips appear before using lip balm. In fact, you can use lip balm to care for your lips when the lips are not chapped. It is recommended to use lip balm rich in natural nourishing ingredients such as beeswax, shea butter, coconut oil, sweet almond oil, etc. If you are allergic to lip balm, you can apply some sesame oil or honey on your lips, which can also moisturize and moisturize the lips and relieve the discomfort of chapped lips.

Remember to wear a mask when going out

Winter is dry, so when people go out or exercise outdoors for a long time, they should wear masks to reduce lip moisture evaporation and prevent chapped lips. Especially in the current normalized epidemic prevention and control situation, it is more important to wear masks when going out, which can be said to have many benefits.

2. Prevention of dry nasal cavity in winter

Hot steam for nose

In daily life, if you have symptoms of dry nasal cavity, you may as well pour a cup of hot water, inhale hard towards the cup mouth, and use the steam to fumigate the nasal cavity, 3 times a day, 3 to 5 minutes each time, and you will see good results after a few days of persistence. It is worth noting that the temperature of the hot water should be at a temperature that you can tolerate, and be careful not to burn your skin.

Rinse your nasal cavity with saline solution

Practice has shown that rinsing the nasal cavity with saline is also an effective method, which can relieve the symptoms of dry nasal cavity and moisten the nasal mucosa. People are reminded that they should never use tap water to clean the nasal cavity directly, but must use medical saline.

Increase indoor air humidity

When the indoor humidity is high, the nose will feel much more comfortable. When the weather is dry, if conditions permit, you can use a humidifier to increase the indoor air humidity. If there is no humidifier, you can put a basin of clean water in the room, which can also increase the air humidity.

Pay attention to scientific adjustment of diet

Pay attention to dietary balance, eat more foods rich in vitamin C, and drink more teas that can moisten dryness, such as chrysanthemum tea, honeysuckle tea, etc. This will help prevent dry nasal cavity and even nosebleeds.

It is worth noting that if dryness of the mouth and nose cannot be effectively relieved through home prevention and treatment, or even if symptoms such as lip inflammation, herpes, and nasal bleeding occur, you should go to a regular hospital in time and ask a professional doctor to diagnose and treat it.

Author: East China Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University

Han Rui, attending physician of the emergency department

*Narrated by Han Rui, edited by Han Zhanmin