Too much cold air entering the nostrils

@bleuscootergal- Hi. It could be that you need a little help to get your nasal mucosa function/moisture back to functioning pre-sinus infection. This represents a sign of irritation/inflammation if you had not felt it ever before. The lining/function in your nose provides moisture/humidification and changes rapidly to inhaled air. The delicate tissue in your nose might need a little boost getting back to optimal health after fighting off infection/imbalance. The inflammation in nasal mucosa can stick around for a while after an infection. Your body might have had to use a lot of resources to fight off Covid. Assuming while you were getting over it, you were probably inside a lot with dry air. Dryness brings on the cold feeling when inhaling. Focus on Vitamin/Mineral replenishment specifically Vitamin C and Vitamin D, Humidification and lots of hydration. Try to stay a way from forced indoor heat.
Some people naturally experience this feeling, yes, in transient situations of outdoor cold air and or being around dry air. This is due to everyone’s sensitivity being different, nasal mucosa thickness and normal function. If you are only noticing this suddenly and can pinpoint the start of it, then restoration is key when it first begins. Too long of drying nasal mucosa(tissue lining) can damage the little cilia in the nose needed for proper function..

@bleuscootergal Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect, a place to give and get support.

You mentioned having recently having COVID-19. Below I have linked the COVID-19 group.

- COVID-19 https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/covid-19/

You are experiencing a cold feeling when you breath since you contracted COVID-19. May I ask what your provider has said and if/how it is being treated?

Hey guys. I've been having some similar symptoms. Cold air in nose and back of throat. Though I did have a turbinate surgery 3 years ago I've seen 2 ENT specialists that said my turbinates look fine and didn't diagnose or recommend anything really.
They also ruled out that it would be from the surgery. Though a few weeks ago I did give my nose a pretty strong nose massage/rubbing to try and reduce my still swollen nose (after 3 years of surgery my nose is still swollen). I feel this may have triggered some of the symptoms I'm having now.
For those feeling a lot of air in nose I found that using a head phone cover is good to reduce air flow in the nostril (The small plastic covers that you put on ear phones simply put them in your nose). I've also spoken to Doctor Das who is a specialist in ENS and he said I may have turbinate dysfunction which is like a lesser ENS and recommended I do Stem Cell injections to regenerate my turbinate function.
My symptoms come and go, some days I feel minimal to no symptoms and then other days I have them for hours at a time.
I pray we all recover from our ailments.

@du6721- May I ask what the surgery was originally for? And did you have more than inferior turbinate reduction?

I had a deviated septum and so they corrected it and reduced my inferior tubrinate in Nov 2017.
Doctors say its too long ago to cause ENS.
I believe its a combincation of my guy (I had a bad reaction to Doxycycline recently) and massaging my nose a little too roughly.

@du6721-
- what were the symptoms you were having that originally took you to the ENT to have them suggest surgery?
-did you have anything you noticed post surgery? You said you have always felt stuffy?

I was having sinus infections several times a year (3 to 4 times) and I couldn't breathe fully from my right nostril.
Post surgery things seemed fine but my nose and cheeks were pretty much swollen for the last 3 years up until I decided to give my nose a rough rubbing/massage. About a week later (19 Feb) my swelling subsided completely but I then had symptoms of ENS (low mucus, increased air flow, then pain and cold in my nose). Symptoms subsided over time and I saw 2 specialists since then who said my nose looked fine and recommended small things (Like change bed covers, use saline, etc).
I'm now watching my diet as I feel it plays a role in how my nose behaves. I also had a bad reaction to an antibiotic a few months ago that affected my sleep and gut. I feel this may be playing a role as well.

@du6721-
•3 years of fascial/nasal swelling post surgery does not sound right.
•I’m sure you went for follow ups and were told you were healing fine and that inflammation/ swelling can take up to a year to go away. Am I correct?
•What happens during this time is that anything you may start to feel indifferent about is chalked up to healing nerves and swelling.
•If the nose is too open, and the tissue is exposed to too fast, dry air, swelling can occur as a defense mechanism and response, keeping your tissues in an inflammatory state, but we naturally think it’s from the trauma of surgery. So you keep just telling yourself “I’m swollen from surgery”. That is not the case.
•The swollen feeling is the tissue response to air not flowing properly and hitting nerves and tissues differently. Not having a streamlined smooth flow. Ultimately disrupting the entire nasal cycle.
•For example-lets say patient explains a subjective feeling of not being able to breathe trough right side. Well truth is you can breathe, it just doesn’t feel the same as on your left. So what could be a very small 1mm of space causing you to feel uncomfortable, a surgeon comes in and visually determines on their own, how much space you need to breathe. That is not how the body works. Another person, ENT, can not look at your nose and know what you would need to feel better. It is all a guess, and you hope it ends up close to comfortable.
So an ENT makes a 2mm difference on your inferior turbinate and then makes a 2mm difference in your septum. Now all of the sudden you a 4 mm difference when you barely needed anything. So you now have a new subjective feeling.
Although air felt constricted before it hadn’t disrupted a whole natural cycle.
•Antibiotics can also have an anti inflammatory affect. So if you took a round and feel more open, it could be that the antibiotics reduced the compensatory inflammation that had been occurring with the new changed airflow.
•Ultimately ENTs know little about the form and function of the nose. It is an embarrassing specialty that puts many patients at risk.

Yeah I'm not really sure what's going on my symptoms are fluctuating but thankfully I feel much better than I did a few weeks ago. I'm watching my diet for now and monitoring my symptoms, diet and behaviour. That's all I can do really.

If things don't improve significantly in a few months I may consider the Stem cell injections.
What do you think?

Du721, I'm unfamiliar with the use of stem cells for nasal symptoms and to regenerate turbinate function. To my surprise I found this review of regenerative medicine and nasal surgery from Mayo Clinic proceedings. The paper discusses findings from 1994-2014.
- Regenerative Medicine and Nasal Surgery https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(14)00877-5/pdf

It can be really difficult to tell which stem cell therapies and regenerative medicine practices are effective and which institutions are offering evidence-based proven therapies. What's hope and what is hype?

To help people learn more about the proven therapies and the promise of developing therapies, Mayo Clinic offers a free telephone consult service. When you call the consult service, they will tell you about the availability of approved stem cell therapy at Mayo Clinic and elsewhere, and for what conditions. They can also tell you about research studies that are actively recruiting participants. Furthermore, you can add your name to a database to be notified when additional studies and information become available. You can learn more about the Consult Service here http://www.mayo.edu/research/centers-programs/center-regenerative-medicine/patient-care/clinical-services/regenerative-medicine-consult-service.
Or call 1-844-276-2003 to speak with one of Mayo's experts.