What are the risks of plucking nose hair?

Plucking nose hair can lead to various harms, including damaging the nasal defense barrier, triggering local inflammatory infections, causing ingrown hairs, injuring nasal mucosal blood vessels, and impairing the nasal cavity's moisturizing function. If persistent symptoms such as nasal redness, swelling, pain, pus-like nasal discharge, or recurrent nosebleeds occur, medical attention should be sought promptly.

1. Damaging the nasal defense barrier: Nose hair serves as the first line of defense in the nasal cavity, filtering out dust, bacteria, and other foreign particles from inhaled air. Forcibly plucking nose hair directly compromises this protective barrier, making the nasal cavity and lower respiratory tract more vulnerable to pathogen invasion and increasing the risk of infection.

2. Triggering local inflammation and infection: Improper technique during nose hair plucking can easily injure hair follicles in the nasal cavity. Bacteria may enter through these wounds, leading to folliculitis. In severe cases, the infection may spread to the nasal vestibule or even the sinuses, resulting in conditions such as vestibulitis or sinusitis.

3. Causing ingrown hairs and irritation: Regrown nose hair after plucking may become ingrown. These ingrown hairs can irritate the nasal mucosa, causing discomfort such as nasal itching, sneezing, and runny nose. In severe cases, they may damage the mucosa and cause pain.

4. Damaging nasal mucosal blood vessels: The nasal cavity contains abundant and superficial blood vessels. Excessive force during plucking can easily injure these vessels, leading to nosebleeds. If bleeding is not controlled promptly or if proper care is not taken, secondary infections may occur.

5. Impairing nasal moisturizing function: Nose hair helps retain moisture by supporting the mucus secreted by the nasal mucosa. After nose hair removal, the nasal cavity’s ability to stay hydrated decreases, which may result in dryness and crusting. Long-term impairment could potentially trigger atrophic rhinitis.

For daily care, it is recommended to trim excessively long nose hair regularly using clean scissors, maintain nasal hygiene, avoid digging the nose or frequently touching the nasal cavity, keep indoor air humidified, reduce nasal irritation, and thereby preserve normal nasal physiological functions.