Cold oxygen into warm nostrils

Hi again, - I am sorry for the delay in getting back to you here. We generally try to address most comments/posts within a day, if not sooner.
I hear you, and you are not alone!
Many patients who are using supplemental oxygen have expressed similar concerns about having a runny nose, when they use a nasal cannula. In many cases, the cause of the runny nose may be attributed to the constant flow of dry oxygen on the nasal mucosa. I have seen this happen repeatedly (for some patients), in both the hospital setting and the home care environment as well.
The solution may be simple. The use of a basic, simple humidifier, placed in line at the oxygen source, generally provides a sufficient amount of 'comfort humidity', to ameliorate the runny nose concern. These devices are inexpensive, and can usually be provided by the same company that supplies you with the oxygen cylinders and/or oxygen concentrator.
You may want to give this a try.
What do you think?
Leon (site moderator COPD.net)