Have Whiteheads Inside Nostrils, Painful. What Are These? How Do I Stop Them?

Posted on Fri, 7 Sep 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 7 Sep 2012 Answered on

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi I am a 47 year old woman and I am constantly dealing with up to 30 or more whiteheads INSIDE of my nostrils. They are VERY painful. I try to pop them sometimes with tweezers to releave the pressure but they just come back and get worse. What are these? How do I get them to stop?

Answered by Dr. Sudarshan (25 minutes later)

Hi AAAAA

Thanks for writing in.

What you are suffering from is called nasolabial dyssebacea.

A whitehead forms when a skin pore becomes clogged with sebum, the body's natural oil.

It is due to increased sebum secretion by the body.

Scrubbing is an effective way of dealing with them.

Scrubs are available over the counter.

Also few home remedies like Honey,tea tree oil , lemon juice are effective way of dealing with white heads.

Tea tree oil facewash is also availble in market. Which can prevent or slow down new white head formation.

Avoid using oil-based make up, sunscreens or moisturizers on your nose. Oil-free sunscreens and moisturizers will not interfere with the process of killing the bacteria that forms the whiteheads.

Also salicylic acid gel is effective in treating white heads.

A visit to dermatologist will be helpful.As he can prescribe a few medications to clear white heads and reduce sebum production.

Hope this helps.

If you need further clarification do let me know.

Regards
DrSudarshan

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar