The great snot debate- to wipe or not to wipe?

[BiffChipsandKippers]

DD, nearly 3 has an awful cold. Snot constantly streaming down her face, bloodshot eyes, cough... the works. Wiping get nose constantly is making it really sore (skin becoming very red and tender, she's crying everytime it's wiped).

I'm a wipe it once every hour/thirty minutes type whereas DH would do it every 5. At pick up for my elder DS from after school activity the volunteer ran off immediately to find a tissue and wiped her nose (they do know her in another context so not a weird overstep by any means) and I couldn't help but feel a bit judged. I had wiped it when we left the house which is approx 8 minutes away.

AIBU?

YANBU- continue to wipe at frequent intervals but don't overdo it
YABU- wipe it more often you neglectful grunt

Also, if IABU, any tips on what to use/how to wipe to prevent it getting so sore??

It's really grim not to wipe her nose, really not ok. I grew up in another culture and snot/mucus of any kind is utterly taboo. It makes me heave to see a child with a snotty nose :(

Cotton flannel hankies were a god add when we were nonstop ill. NOT FLANNELS, flannel like brushed cotton fabric

You have to wipe their noses tbh. It's gross for snot to be going on other people and their belongings. I have a 3 year old the same at the moment. She has very sensitive skin. I put Nivea soft cream on her face daily, which helps. Vaseline isn't something you should put on your skin - it clogs the pores.

Get one of those battery powered snot suckers. Unless it's realllllly thick it can handle most snot

Make her sit in the bathroom when you have a really steamy shower tomorrow morning, hopefully this will open the tap as it were. Then get her to lean over a basin of hot water and blow into it. I like to play a game which teaches them to blow through their nose; you cover your mouth and blow through your nose to push a ping pong ball from one side of a table to another.
Another tip is to put sudocrem on when she is asleep.

Well no, but you wipe every time you notice it after cooking/eating/peeing/driving/walking etc.

I'm very chilled about hygiene but I couldn't leave a toddler with snot hanging out of their nose. Its germ central and its gross for other people to look at.

Also I wouldn't say there's any debate about it. I think it's a consensus that you wipe and I think people who don't feel the need are bizarre, to put it kindly.

are you Japanese? I remember reading that it's considered the height of revolting behaviour in Japan to blow one's nose in public.

Palmer's bottom butter on her nose, it's very soothing

Wipe straight away then it doesn’t get sore. Don’t pinch the nostrils.

You are being lazy; I can’t stand seeing constant snotty noses. If your child has a runny nose a lot the chances are they’re cold, as opposed to just being ill, put an extra vest on them.

My DS has never had a sore nose from it being wiped - sounds like your child’s soreness is being caused by the snot being left for too long, that’s what causes the soreness.

Agreed, it’s not possible to keep on top of it 100%, just try for every few minutes. She’ll stop fighting it one day

Battery powered snot suckers?! 😲Jesus Christ, the things you learn on this website.

I use Bepanthen on my own nose if sore. Doesn't sting and is really soothing. Please wipe it though. I want to retch if I see nose candles. Bleurgh

Definitely use a nasal aspirator, fantastic things!

You need to buy the expensive tissues unfortunately. The balsam ones make a massive difference. I’ve used a ridiculous number of them so far this winter and do in summer too thanks to allergies and they don’t make noses get red or sore at all.

Muslins are way too rough to use frequently.

Wet wipes, soft muslins or cotton bib type material to wipe sore, snotty noses in this house - and wiping as often as is necessary to keep face clean (obviously there will be times that it takes a few minutes until I wipe it - toilet, going out of room for anything) but it’s only ever a couple of minutes.

We also use Vaseline to protect their delicate skin when they’re got streaming colds

I said yabu, but the reason is that the wet skin gets sore in the cold air. My toddler can't figure out blowing his nose and his face definitely gets more sore than his sister's did. She started blowing her nose at about 1, so it was much easier to keep her face dry.

Vaseline to stop it getting sore. Wait until they’re asleep.

Squeeze (very gently) the nose with your fingers so that the currently load of snot comes fully out, then gently remove with tissue.

Dont squeeze their nose with the tissue and pull/squeeze the snot off.

Teach her how to blow her nose. Make a game out of it. My DS loves to see his snot on the tissue (gross) but means he will blow his nose to get a fair amount of it out so it's not running constantly. Some vapour rub to help stop it running so much makes a huge difference too.

I'd stick a bit of sudacreme (much better in my opinion than Vaseline) on and wipe often because snot makes me 🤮

There is an ointment called Happinose that's great for sore skin around the nose

I put it on DC when they're asleep. Usually a thick layer of Lansinoh / Lanolin / whatever it's called does the trick and stops the soreness

I always dried a pack of baby wipes out. So so soft on the nose unlike tissue

Could you use a snot sucker? Let her use a wet sponge to do it herself?