Hi. I’m a Newby to snuff and the forum. I am currently like a kid in a sweet shop trying all sorts of different snuffs, my two current favourites are Gawith Hoggarth, Kendal Brown and Toque, Spanish Gem. The problem I’ve got is that in the month or so I’ve been trying snuff I have developed an uncomfortable feeling in my nostrils, not dissimilar to having spots up there. I have kept my nostrils clean using Q tips but the irritation seems to be getting worse. My nose has been broken six times and it has been rebuilt by the hospital about 10 years back. I, like another of your members, have a rather battered septum ( not too noticeable at first glance). Could anybody tell me if they’ve had similar experience or whether it’s just something I’ll get used to. I can imagine it is something of a shock to the sensitive skin inside the nose to have something like Spanish Gem thrust upon it but nonetheless I’m really enjoying this hobby and any help, information or opinions would be gratefully received. Cheers Paul.

stop cleaning it with q-tips. It cleans it’s self perfectly well. Try diffrent snuffs some sit in the nose diffrently. But I would bet that your q-tipping has more to do with any extra issues you are experiencing.

Thanks Bob. I’ll give the Q’tips a miss but just to clarify, I actually started using them as a result of the irritation but I see where your coming from

I like the occasional clean-out using saline nasal spray–a couple good squirts and blow out accumulated crud. I do go in with a Kleenex once in a while, but too much of that will result in a sore nose. Any discomfort I get is usually around the nostril openings from too much wiping.

Thanks Mecompco. A good point. With me not being a seasoned snuffer I automatically assumed I was supposed to be constantly wiping or blowing my nose. A lot of images of snuffers seem to portray the image. I couldn’t quite get my head around the fact that I appeared to be blowing the snuff back out less than five minutes after putting it in. I know I sound really naive but we all start somewhere right? lol

I’ve been snuffing heavily for about 2 months now. I would get what felt like sore spots inside my nose from time to time that were not ingrown hairs nor zits. At one point I thought that snuff left in hard to reach areas (cleaning) was creating the problem. I think that the nose becomes accustomed to snuff over time. I just stopped snuffing for a day or so and then ramped up again and any nasal problems ran their course. I have noticed that the episodes of nasal discomfort have lessened over time and I haven’t had any issues for a couple weeks now. I seemed to have nasal soreness on and off fairly regularly during the first month and a half of snuffing. Just take a break when the nose tells you it needs one. It will reward you with continued enjoyment.

Thanks for that Jim. I reckon you guys have answered my questions really well so thank you all. It brings new credence to the old adage "If you pick it, it won’t get better! Lol. Thanks again

@ranco61‌, I would look into using a neti pot. I use one daily and it is amazing how much snuff crud comes out after a day of snuffing and its not irritating at all. Its takes a couple times getting used to but its very effective at keeping the nasal passages clean.

do you have nose bleeds often? When I started on snuff 5 years ago I never had any kind of irritation whatsoever. But I do have a very sensible nose. I used to scratch the inside when I was a kid a lot to get rid of blobs I didn’t liked. And at that time I had lots of nosebleeds almost every morning at getting up. When I got older this dissapeared, and it completely healed when I used snuff. I’m a regular nose blower >10 mins. but irritation no way. For a few days now I’ve been using only chewing tobacco as a kind of nose fasting and cleansing, but this morning my nose keeps asking for something!

No, I’ve never really suffered from nose bleeds. I reckon I’m going to try and ignore it and see if I get used to it and if it still persists I might give the neti pot a go! Thanks for the advice guys, helps to have people to ask. Much appreciated

I’ve been using a neti pot since before I started snuffing (mainly in allergy/cold season), but now I use it daily with a nice solution just to give the old nostrils a fresh start daily. I can really feel the snuff hit me (both flavor and nic wise) after a fresh neti rinse.

Also, the way I look at a neti-pot is the same way I look at dental floss and I compare brushing/flossing with blowing your nose/netipoting. When you brush your teeth you may think you got all that junk out but when you go to floss you find many little pieces of food were still stuck in between your teeth. When you blow your nose or rinse in the shower you may think you’ve cleared out your nostrils but when you do a netipot rinse you will see how much brown was trapped up in your nose. And like I said, clean nostrils give me a cleaner snuff experience daily. =)

Aha, one ordered and on the way! If you don’t hear from me for a while it’s because I was dumb, used it wrong and somehow managed to accidentally drown myself! In which case I’m going to my father in laws to haunt him for being a miserable s.o.b for the past twenty odd years!

Just make sure you use filtered water. You don’t want the junk in tap water getting in your nose. =)

Hi SoCalSnuffer. When you say filtered water, would boiled water be ok, and are there any alternatives to prepacked bought formula’s? Thanks for taking the time to help by the way, much appreciated.

Hi SoCalSnuffer. When you say filtered water, would boiled water be ok, and are there any alternatives to prepacked bought formula’s? Thanks for taking the time to help by the way, much appreciated.

I think boiled and cooled water is OK. I don’t use a neti pot often but when I do I use distilled water, it’s only like 99 cents for 4L. Apparently there is a very small chance that you could get some sort of brain parasite from tap water.

Always assuming the little fella could find what remnants remain of mine. Been a working musician for the past 38yrs and my wife assures me even the parasite would have a clearer grip on reality… I don’t know why I let that woman bear my children