I know I am not the only Sjogren's patient who suffers from a dry nasal passage.

For me, this is one of my most annoying symptoms, day or night, its always aggravating.

The past two years I have seen a pattern. I do a really good job of keeping on my Sjogren's Hygiene, including my nose!

But right around Christmas time, when festivities happen, meal planning, visiting with family (yes, even virtual), and all these exciting things happen... I tend to get too busy to keep up on my routine.

I know this because two years in a row, right at that time, I got severe dryness which lead to cracking inside my nasal passage.

Cracking led to an open wound bleed inside my nose, and the open nose bleed led to a staph infection.

And let me tell you, that is no fun!

Coming out of that experience I decided to commit to a nasal hygiene routine, and I am doing much better.

I hope that in sharing what has worked for me that you can start changing your routine to live with less nose pain day to day.

Here's a list of things that can help combat nasal dryness due to Sjogren's:

1. Humidifier

Humidifiers help bring moisture into your home; and moisture is the best friend of someone with Sjogren's.

Some houses have built in humidifiers with their furnace system, always check to make sure it is working.

In addition to the built in humidifier, I have a stand alone humidifier on each floor of my house.

It is ideal to have a warm mist humidifier in your bedroom, and try and run it overnight.

The ideal house humidity is 40% for someone with Sjogren's.

2. Nasal Rinse

Personally I use the NielMed Sinus Rinse. It takes a little bit of prep work, but its worth it.

You need to use distilled water, and I like to warm it up for 10 seconds in the microwave. This helps the nasal passage to be less irritated.

3. Nasal Spray

There are other nasal sprays on the market that help keep your nasal passage moist.

The Ayr nasal spray has rave reviews among the Sjogren's community.

If you are looking for other options I recommend checking out the possibilities at your local pharmacy, and don't forget to ask the pharmacist for their recommendation.

4. Nasal Gel

The Secaris nasal gel was a game changer for me.

I apply Secaris nasal gel twice a day, once in the morning and once right before bed.

This helped the most with reducing daytime and nighttime irritation, and it reduced the amount of dry painful open sores in my nose.

5. Facial Steamer

Two years ago a relative gave me a facial steamer for Christmas.

I was blown away, I didn't know such a thing even existed!

I use it religiously in the winter the help steam up my nostrils to get them feeling moist again.

6. Lymphatic Drainage Massage

Doing a Lymphatic drainage self massage can do wonders. I like to perform one on my chest, neck and face to help get the fluids flowing. This can help stimulate moisture in the nose and throat.

If you have troubles performing a self massage, there are specialist massage therapists who can perform a massage for you. Go ahead and treat yourself if you need it!

There is no shortage of self care activities that Sjögren’s patients need to be on top of in order to help manage their dryness.

Sadly, for me, I had to learn the hard way two Christmas holidays in a row.

I can tell you, I will be prepared for next year!

I know I need to do these self care activities to help me avoid a nasty nasal infection next year!

I really hope that this information can help you start or reignite your nasal hygiene routine.

If you are struggling with severe dryness due to Sjogren's and want to connect with other Sjogren's Warriors, come on over to Facebook and Join the Sjogren's and Lupus Warriors Support Group.

I really love hearing from you.

Do you want to get more updates with helpful tips like this article?

Sign up for our Newsletter below!

Wondering what is in our Newsletter?

We've got tons of goodies including reading resources that help to:

1. Educate patients and support their own advocacy

2. You can follow along with my story of being a young mother with disabling autoimmune diseases and chronic pain

3. Receive updates on our children's book which was inspired by our son during a difficult time with my illness

4. Updates with tons of other resources that can help you heal

5. Updates on giveaway contests and products that can help aid you with pain and disability

Wishing everyone Health, Healing and Happiness,

Heather 💜

If you are new to my website be sure to check out my blog here.

If you are newly diagnosed with Sjogren's be sure to check out my webpage here.

If you want to learn more about Sjogren's be sure to check out this webpage.

If you want updates on my newsletter and children's book, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter on my main page.