I’ve got a cold. There’s not much to love about a cold. As if the misery of the symptoms wasn’t enough, a raw red nose often results from keeping up with the flow of goo that plagues your sinuses. You can resort to the pills and sprays, but it’s hard to say which is worse…the sludge flow or the desert your sinuses become. So anyway, you’ve got a red, sore nose. Here’s what you do.

• Buy the facial tissues that promise to be soft on your nose, or have lotion. These are much easier on skin that the cheapy ones, which are fine for catching random drips, but are like sandpaper when things really get going.

• Keep vitamin E oil on hand. Not cream, as it may have other stuff in it that will sting your abraded skin. Either buy a bottle of pure vitamin E oil, or buy capsules that you can clip open and dab on. This is good during the day if you can put up with a little shininess. With the way I look when I have a full blown head cold a little shininess is the least of my worries.

• Butter on some Penetan cream at night. That’s the stuff in the pale blue and white tin used for diaper rashes and other first aid. White and gummy, you probably don’t want to been seen with this stuff on your face. But this really works, even though it looks awful and feels sticky.

Incidentally, Penetan cream works within a night or two if you’ve got cracked lips or finger tips from being out in the cold. Mush some on your lips and go to bed. Don’t be surprised if you don’t get a goodnight kiss. On your fingertips, glob on a dab, and cover it with an adhesive strip.

You can try aloe vera, but I find it stings a bit after the coolness wears off. Some aloe vera products have alcohol in them—and that will hurt, as will many products that contain petrolatum.

| | | | | |