Q. After nose surgery, if I want to pick my nose, should I only use a cotton swab?

Hello. I’m Dr. Seo Chan-eol from AB Plastic Surgery.

Today, I’d like to go through a Q&A about rhinoplasty that you may be curious about.

Q. After nose surgery, if I want to pick my nose, should I only use a cotton swab?

After nose surgery, it is only natural for the inside of the nose to feel very stuffy.

The inside space of the nose is swollen just like the outside, so the passage becomes narrower. On top of that, the nasal mucosa is irritated, so there is often a lot of discharge,

and there can also be a lot of scabs around the wound.

Because of this, what should you do if your nose feels so stuffy that you cannot help but touch it?

It is best not to touch it if possible, but if you really cannot avoid it, you should do it “gently with a clean sterile cotton swab.”

After nose surgery, there are solid structures inside the nose in multiple layers.

There is also an implant in the nasal bridge, and in the tip there are cartilages using autologous material or cartilages placed to correct unevenness, all of which exist inside the nose.

If you touch the inside of the nose with your finger, the finger is larger than the internal space, so these structures may be pushed, shift, become displaced, or change shape, so caution is needed. Also, fingers are contaminated from contacting all kinds of objects, so bacteria can spread through wounds that have not fully healed and cause inflammation. The same can be said for unclean cotton swabs or tweezers.

If it is unavoidable, the better choice is to gently touch only as much as possible without disturbing the structures, using a properly sterilized cotton swab. If the inside is dry and itchy or there are many scabs, using a saline spray to keep it moist may help relieve the symptoms, and if there is a lot of runny nose or symptom control is needed due to allergies, medication may be helpful.

Most cases improve as the swelling goes down, but if the nose still feels stuffy even after some of the swelling has subsided, the area around the internal wound or the septal mucosa may be excessively swollen, so it is a good idea to have the condition checked at the clinic where you had the surgery.

I hope this was helpful in answering your questions.

This has been Dr. Seo Chan-eol from AB Plastic Surgery.