While acne affects most parts of the body, it is widely prevalent on the nose. If you are dealing with a nose pimple or a blown-out acne attack, it is best to understand how to get rid of nose pimples. We will share every detail about how the pimples form, how to treat them and prevent them in the future.
What are Nose Pimples?
When battling acne, it will manifest as pimples on, around, or in your nose. Therefore, a nose pimple is the first indication of any type of acne about to attack your face. Are you wondering why your nose is easily affected? In simple terms, the skin on your nose has larger pores that allow more oil production.
On other occasions, pimples on your nose will be caused by bacterial infection, boils, and ingrown hairs. You can also get pimples inside your nose from acne, excessive nose blowing, nose piercing, or other conditions causing irritated skin.
Types of Acne that Affect the Nose
If you notice tiny bumps on your nose, it is best to investigate the condition further and determine what is causing them. When you have a nose pimple, you can be battling any or both of the two prevalent types of acne;
- Acne vulgaris. It is caused by clogged pores. The pores are be filled with excess oil, excess dead skin cells, and bacteria.
- Acne rosacea. This condition is caused by inflamed blood vessels that create redness with pimple-like bumps.
a) Acne Vulgaris
This type of acne on the nose is caused by clogged pores and is usually more painful. With time, this type of nose acne will spread to other areas of your face and body.
Usually, the pores on your nose's surface are clogged with oil or sebum, which then attracts dirt and acne-causing bacteria to form different kinds of pimples. Mostly, the pimples manifest as;
- cysts
- pus-filled bumps
- blackheads
- whiteheads
While acne vulgaris is caused by clogged pores, it can sometimes also indicate underlying conditions such as digestive problems, hormonal fluctuations, and skin irritation.
b) Acne rosacea
Acne rosacea manifests as red bumps on your nose. The acne is caused by enlarged blood vessels, and they will also be painful and swollen. This type of acne can spread to your cheeks, but it hardly spreads to the whole face or other body parts.
Acne rosacea is categorized as a type of acne because it presents pimple-like symptoms, but in essence, the condition is not caused by acne-causing bacteria. As a type of rosacea, you will need to treat it differently from normal acne.
How to Get Rid of Nose Pimples
1. An acne cream
Acne creams are formulated with the best ingredients to fight bacteria, remove excess oil, and remove excess dead skin cells. A drugstore acne cream with benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid will rid the symptoms faster.
Benzoyl peroxide is a powerful ingredient that helps you kill acne-causing bacteria for faster results. Salicylic acid is an alpha hydroxy acid that can prevent your pores from clogging in the first place. These two products are useful for treating inflammatory acne. They will reduce inflammation and heal skin infection for healthier skin.
Unlike benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid is also ideal for treating non-inflammatory acne such as blackheads and whiteheads. Salicylic acid will break down the clogging matter to get rid of pimples fast.
It is best to take extra caution if you have a pimple inside the nose. In this case, make sure the product you use is safe, non-irritating, and non-comedogenic.
2. Acne medications
When your nose acne is severe, you can consult your doctor to provide medical advice. They can prescribe antibiotics and oral medications to relieve the symptoms. Some common medications include tetracycline, brimonidine, and isotretinoin. In addition to these acne medications, you can also get pain relievers when the pimples are swollen and painful.
3. Regular skin-care routine
One way of treating and preventing nose pimples is by adhering to an effective skin-care routine. Use a gentle face wash with acne-treating ingredients to remove excess oil and more products to reduce inflammation, redness, and dead skin cells. It is also ideal to use the best exfoliators, medicated toners, and moisturizers to keep your skin clean.
4. Home therapies
When you don't have severe nose acne and would like to try out a few remedies at home, you can use;
- Lemon juice. You can squeeze a few drops and then apply them to an infected nose pimple. Since the juice is acidic, it can clean and dry a pimple, while Vitamin C can prevent the pimple from leaving a scar. Using lemon juice will make your skin photosensitive, so it would be better to clean it off and use sunscreen if you have to go outside.
- Ice. You can place ice on your swollen and painful pimples to reduce inflammation and soothe the pimples on the nose.
- Tea tree oil. Tea tree oil is a traditional acne treatment with anti-microbial properties to treat and prevent pimples from occurring in the future.
- White toothpaste. You can apply a small amount of white toothpaste t dry and heal a pimple on your nose. Its anti-microbial properties will all prevent future pimples from appearing.
5. Alternative therapies
If you have tried all the over-the-counter and home medications in vain, you can consult a dermatologist for advice. If you have recurring moderate to severe acne, your doctor may advise prescription-strength treatments or more permanent therapies such as;
- Microdermabrasion
- Dermabrasion
- Laser therapy
In addition, reducing stress and meditating are also common recommendations to reduce all forms of acne, including that which affects the nose. It is also best to consult about medically reviewed treatments for a pimple inside your nose.
How to Prevent Future Breakouts
When healing nose pimples, you will need to continue following a regular skin-care routine to maintain clean skin and keep bacteria away. A simple routine includes;
- Washing your face at least twice daily to remove dirt, oil, and pollutants that could clog your pores. Washing your face twice, in the morning and evening, is ideal so you can apply the needed treatment to relieve pimples. But, take care not to overwash your face as this would deprive your skin of important elements such as oil that it needs to stay hydrated.
- Drink water. When you drink enough water every day, you will stay hydrated, thus hydrating your skin. Therefore, you will prevent your skin from producing too much sebum that can eventually clog your pores.
- Maintain your skin's healthy pH level by cleansing, toning, and moisturizing regularly.
- Exfoliate. When your pimples heal, make sure you exfoliate at least once a week to unclog your pores, thus preventing pimples from forming on your nose or anywhere else on your body.
- Always wear a product with SPF to prevent external elements from dehydrating your skin. Dehydrating your skin will trigger more sebum production that could end up clogging your pores.
- Avoid using oil-based beauty products if you have oily skin. These would eventually clog your pores and attract dirt and bacteria to form acne pimples.
- Avoid popping your pimples. When you have that painful bump on your nose, the last thing you want to do is pop it. Popping it breaks your skin barrier to expose the pore to more infection, while you can also spread the infections to other open pores on your skin.
