What are these blisters I have on my nose or what causes them? Are nose blisters painless, painful or do they cause any discomfort? We have what blisters on the nose means, causes, symptoms including the constant sores in the nose, infected blisters, how to avoid blisters and more.
What is a blister?
A blister or what is also known as vesicle is a raised part of the skin epidermis filled with body fluid (serum, plasma, blood, pus or lymph). It usually happens after the skin has is damaged.
Contrary to what many people assume, blisters form to protect the underlying tissues from further damage. Blisters can occur anywhere in the body with the nose a no exception.
In many cases, blisters are not life-threatening and perhaps will disappear without any treatment. However, again, some causes medical intervention.
You can only treat a blister if you know the underlying causes. For instance, if you experience unexplained blistering on your body or in our case the nose, you should call on your dermatologist for evaluation because you cannot begin treating them without knowing their cause.
Blisters on the nose can be due to several reasons; we will not tackle all of these triggers but rather the most common causes of nose blisters. They include:
Skin reactions and sensitivities
If your nose skin is reactive or is sensitivities to certain substances such as certain foods, detergents, cosmetics, medications, cold, among other chemicals, then you are likely to develop nose blisters when these elements come into contact with your nose.
Blisters due to the skin’s reaction to some substances is merely contact dermatitis, and it is primarily due to allergic reactions.
Nose Skin Infections
Many skin infections could lead to the formation of blisters on the nose. Such infections may be viral, bacterial and fungal infections. Let us now explore them in details.
Nose cold sores (fever blisters)
Cold sores or the fever blisters often cause blisters on nose especially blisters on the tip of the nose, side of the nose, or even in the nostrils.
Fever blisters on the nose are due to by the Herpes Simplex Virus (HPV). This infection can also affect the lips, mouth cheeks, fingers, nose among other parts of the body. People who have a weaker immunity system are more vulnerable to getting fever blisters.
Note that herpes in your nose or inside nostrils is contagious.
Impetigo on babies
Impetigo is a bacterial infection often in children and babies. It causes itchy but not painful blisters. The blisters have fluids which if leaked lead to secondary impetigo spots. Friction or scratching of these vesicles is dangerous since it can spread the illness and cause scarring.
Shingles and chickenpox
These are due to a viral infection called varicella-zoster. They accompany symptoms such as fever, headache, and red rash and minor water-filled blisters. Although chickenpox blisters and rashes can heal on themselves, the virus remains in your body.
Blister in the sun
You can also develop sun blisters on the nose after getting exposed to severe sunburn or prolonged exposure to the sun. Such blisters tend to painful but are temporary. They usually leave behind dark spots on the affected skin area. The sunburn spots may take up to 1 year to heal.
Symptoms of sun blisters on nose include white fluid-filled bumps and red skin surrounding the vesicles.
Hand, foot, mouth blisters
Hand, foot and mouth blisters commonly affect infants and children aged below five years. In rare cases, the disease can also affect adults especially those have enfeebled immune system.
According to medicalnewstoday.com, “The virus, which affects mostly children, but can affect adults if they have immune deficiencies, can result in the following symptoms: lesions, ulcers or blisters of the mouth, nose or face.”
Friction on the nose
What are frictions blisters? Well, “friction blisters occur when there is contact, pressure, and movement between the skin and something touching it – such as a heel rubbed by a new shoe.”[dermnetnz.org].They can occur anywhere and can affect both males and females equally.
Friction blisters may occur in the nose if you rub it against a helmet or even literally using your fingers. They seem to form more readily in the warmer and moister environment.
Genetics can also influence blisters on the nose. Certain skin conditions can be inherited and result to blisters on the nose. These skin problems will make the skin on your nose to be very fragile such that any slight trauma or friction can trigger blisters on the nose or any other affected area.
More causes of blisters on nose include the following:
- Chronic bullous dermatosis of childhood
- Bullous ichthyosiform Erythroderma
- pemphigus vulgaris
Blistering occurring on the nose would have the same sign as those blisters elsewhere in the body. The symptoms here will vary depending on the cause. Some of them include:
- Reddened or itchy nose skin
- Small bumps on the affected area of the nose
- Red bumps before the blister develops
- Muscles aches
- Painful bumps
- Wound inside nose
- Scabs inside nose, actually this signifies healing process
These blisters symptoms can be mild or severe. Any unexplained nasal blisters require you seek medical attention. This is to be sure you do not have an underlying medical condition that may worsen at some point.
White bumps inside nose and infected blisters
A bump inside the nose could be irritating and can be an indication of an infection. Make efforts diagnosis to reveal the cause of such bumps or blisters. Also get medical advice on how to care for the resultant infected blisters to help heal and stop the disease from spreading.
So what exactly leads to white inside nose? There are many possibilities, for instance, they occur when the hair follicle gets blocked with excess oil. The presence of bacteria will result in inflammation, redness and make the bump to be very painful, and you have a blister like bumps inside your nose.
Blistering occurring inside the nose can be very painful or lead to pain inside the nose. However, this will also depend on how you treat your blisters. If you tempt to squeeze or pop them then, they will worsen. Popping will even exacerbate the infection which can result in severe nose wound.
If the infection is the cause, it can spread to the outer nose skin leading to niggling nose lesions because whatever could cause a blister inside the nose can also it outside nose although some causes tend to be specific. However, as they start to heal, blisters leave same symptoms such as scabs inside the nose, crusts, and so on.
Constant sores in nose
Among the causes of the chronic sore nose could be constant blistering. On the other hand, persistent sores could also lead to constant blisters. Note that when sore from various source get infected, new blisters may occur on the nose.
If you have them, blisters usually tend to vanish after a short while however, blisters that last more than four days may reveal something severe, i.e., infections. See your doctor for further help.
If you want to treat nose blisters effectively, do not worry, many treatment options are available. You just need to consider the causes of the blisters before setting on a particular treatment option.
Also, the severity of the symptoms, age, and more factors are important considerations too. Below are the examples of treatment that your doctor would prescribe for nose blister treatment:
- Corticosteroids creams or pill for eczema
- Antivirals for simplex infections and shingles
- Over counter anti-itch lotions for chicken pox
- Antihistamines for allergies
There are more options that your doctor would prescribe depending on the kind of blisters and how severe it is.
Some vesicles can also be healed at home efficiently using some home products. Let us explore the now.
In mild cases of nasal blisters, you can avoid nose blisters treatment, and try the below natural remedies or solutions.
Drink Enough Fluids
Drinking plenty of fluids will flush out harmful toxins that can trigger blistering. This will also relieve the cold sores or fever blisters from worsening.
Aloe Vera gel is an effective home remedy for nose blisters. It has antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties that will help keep nose skin infections away.
Take aloe leaf and cut it into two to extract the gel. Apply some amount of the gel on the blister. Continue to apply the remedy twice daily you get desired results.
These are the solution for cold sores on your nose. There are sinus rinse bottles available over the counter, which you can use to wash the insides of your nose before retiring to your bed. They work by clearing nasal passage and relieving inflammation.
A warm shower will help you also to clear your nasal passage. It will also help to reduce inflammation. You can also add aromatic oils to your warm bath for better results. This remedy is pretty good for those struggle with sinuses and nasal blockage.
Apply witch hazel
Witch hazel is also another useful home product, especially for cold sores. Apply witch hazel using cotton wool to the affected areas. This will enhance the healing process and stop the infection from spreading to other areas.
Besides the above, other home remedies can be used to relieve and treat blisters on the nose. However, if there is no noticeable change, see your physician.
Here are more tips to prevent or to treat nose blisters:
- Strengthen your immune system by turning to a healthy diet, exercising and reducing stress
- Avoid contact with substances that your body may be reactive or allergic to
- Start treating your blister immediately you discover first signs
When to see a professional
When you have tried the above home remedies or over the counter products, and your blisters do not show any sign of healing after four days, you should see your doctor.
You should also schedule an appointment with your doctor if you experience the following alongside blisters on the nose:
- Weakened immune system
- Blisters close to your eyes
- Difficulty when you swallow or eat
- Chronic outbreak
- Severe outbreak
- Severe pain inside nose among severe other nose blister symptom
Your doctor will conduct a proper diagnosis to identify the exact cause and evaluate potential complication before administering treatment.
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