When you’re suffering from a stuffed, runny nose, you want relief fast so that you can go back to breathing normally without any discomfort. Unfortunately, medications take some time to kick in, and they rely on you properly identifying the cause of your congestion and choosing the right active ingredients to treat the issue.

If you want to know how to unblock your nose instantly, you may be surprised to find that there are a few quick tricks that can get you feeling better quickly, providing some relief while you work on finding a more long-term solution for your symptoms.

How To Unblock Your Nose Instantly

While it might be tempting to just keep blowing your nose until you feel like there is no mucus left in your nasal passages, this approach can be counterproductive. Blowing your nose excessively can actually result in excess mucus pushing up into your sinuses or nasal passages. This can cause increased congestion and make a stuffy nose more challenging to treat.

Instead of repeatedly blowing your nose, there are a couple of tricks you can try to instantly unblock your nose so that you can take a deep breath. However, be mindful of the fact that these tricks won’t treat the underlying cause of your stuffy nose in the first place, so you may need to pursue other treatments to get to the root of the problem.

There are many over-the-counter medications, including nasal sprays, that can be used to treat nasal congestion once you have an idea of why your congestion is occurring.

Hold Your Breath

One quick and easy way to clear your sinuses quickly is to hold your breath for as long as you possibly can. If it helps, pinch your nostrils closed between your thumb and pointer finger and wait as long as you can before taking a deep breath. When you take a deep breath, you may find that your sinuses clear quickly.

While it is not known exactly how or why this strategy works, it is believed that the brain clears the sinuses when it detects a lack of oxygen so that when you do regain access to air, you’ll have a clear pathway from the nose to the brain.

Press, Tap, Release

For those who aren’t enthused about the idea of limiting their oxygen flow in order to unblock the nose, you can try the “press, tap, release” trick. This can easily be done anywhere, including in an office chair, in bed, or on the subway.

The first step is to press the tongue against the roof of your mouth and hold it there. Next, tap two of your fingers on your forehead in the area in between your eyebrows, just above the nose. Then, release your tongue and fingers and repeat the process. Do the same actions (press, tap, release) over and over again for about 20 seconds and you should notice that your sinuses feel less congested.

Other Ways To Unblock Your Nose

There are also other ways to unblock your nose, although they might take a bit longer to work. If the above tricks don’t work for you, consider trying one of the other methods listed below.

Use a Saline Nasal Spray

Saline nasal sprays are unmedicated nasal sprays that can be used to add moisture to the nasal passages and even flush out excess mucus, irritants, allergens, and germs.

Because they contain no medication, saline nasal sprays are safe for use on people of all ages and can be used as often as needed. Saline nasal sprays help to provide relief by adding moisture to the nasal passages and tissues, which can help to reduce inflammation and irritation.

The added moisture also helps to thin and loosen the excess mucus that is responsible for your congestion. Adding extra moisture helps to improve comfort and makes it easier to blow your nose to get rid of excess mucus.

Use a Neti Pot To Drain Your Sinuses

Another relatively simple way to drain your sinuses is to flush them out with the use of a neti pot. A neti pot is a container that is specially designed to flush out your nasal passages and get rid of excess mucus, fluids, germs, and irritants.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provides instructions for how to use a neti pot safely, the most important of which is to rinse your nasal passages using only distilled, sterile, or previously boiled water. It’s not safe to use tap water, as it has not been adequately filtered or treated and can introduce new bacteria, viruses, or other microorganisms into your nasal passages, increasing your risk of infection.

To use a neti pot, fill the pot with safe, clean water and stand with your head over a sink or in the shower. Next, place the end of the neti pot (the spout) inside one nostril and slowly lift the bottom of the neti pot so that water enters your nose. As the water flows through your nasal passages, it will come out the other side into the sink. Continue to flush out your nasal passages for about one minute, then repeat on the other side.

Take a Hot Shower

Taking a hot shower can help to improve your congestion and make you feel a whole lot more comfortable quickly. The steam from a hot shower helps to thin and loosen the mucus in your nose and lowers the amount of inflammation in your nasal passages.

While the effects won’t last for longer than a few hours, it can be a good way to get quick relief. It’s also possible to experience the same effect by breathing in steam from hot running water in the sink.

Once you get the water temperature hot enough to steam, place a towel on top of your head and put your head over the sink. Take deep breaths and avoid getting so close to the water that you burn yourself.

Use a Humidifier at Night

When your body produces too much mucus to clear it out effectively, the mucus can quickly become stuck to the tissues that line the nasal passages or become too thick to expel efficiently.

Using a humidifier by your bedside can help to loosen and thin the mucus and reduce your congestion by soothing your inflamed, irritated tissues and swollen blood vessels. When you wake up in the morning, you might find that it is much easier to blow your nose thanks to the extra moisture provided by the humidifier. Just be sure to use distilled, sterile water and clean your humidifier regularly. When using a humidifier in a child’s room, use a cool mist humidifier rather than a steam humidifier for extra safety.

Use a Warm Compress

If you would like the effects of a hot shower but aren’t ready to jump in, a warm compress can provide soothing relief and reduce pressure from the outside. Warm compresses help to reduce congestion by encouraging the nasal passages to open and reducing inflammation to clear the way for excess mucus to drain.

Simply soak a washcloth or small towel in warm water, wring out the excess, and place it over your nose and forehead. This can offer pain relief and is also a helpful method for young children, plus it is easy to repeat for as long as needed to find relief.

Summary

Nasal congestion is frustrating, painful, and inconvenient, but it is possible to unblock your nose instantly with a few simple tricks, such as holding your breath for as long as you can and then taking a big breath in through your nose.

However, these tricks won’t clear your nasal passages for long, so using a saline nasal spray, taking a hot shower, flushing your nose with a neti pot, sleeping with a humidifier, or using a warm compress may be a more effective strategy in the long term.

It’s important to identify the cause of your congestion and determine what over-the-counter medications might be able to quiet your symptoms or prevent them from returning, in the case of allergies.