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@holly09

Has anyone found an answer?

I am a 34 yo female, I've had a scab on one side of my nose ever since high school. I think it started from a scratch while picking way back then. It was much worse and much larger when it first started and would bleed a lot when I picked it, which I kept having to do to clear my nose. However recently I've gone years without touching it at all and while the scab is a lot better than it used to be, and no longer bleeds, there is still a small scab that always keeps coming back no matter what. This is going on 17 years now. I also always have some inflammation/obstructed breathing on that side of my nose as well. I never heard something like this could be serious like cancer so that's why I never got it checked out, I figured it would heal eventually and forgot about it. Now that I've heard the word cancer from this post I'm terrified and going to see an ENT asap. Does anyone know what else this could be?

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Replies to "Has anyone found an answer? I am a 34 yo female, I've had a scab on..."

Hi @holly09, Welcome to Connect. I've always had trouble breathing through one side of my nose which always seemed to have gunk in it and I have a deviated septum. I went to a Mayo Clinic ENT about 4 months ago and he got me doing twice daily nasal rinse followed by a Mayo proprietary nasal spray and it has worked miracles for my breathing. I wouldn't be afraid to see an ENT. Just write down your list of concerns and questions and take them with you to discuss with the ENT. I went back to the first few posts on this discussion and found a few recommendations from members that might be helpful. One was Rosewater and glycerin - here's the post if you want to read through several it might be helpful - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/100599/ One of the first few posts mentioned a product called Ayr Saline Nasal Gel that helped them - https://www.amazon.com/Ayr-Saline-Nasal-Soothing-Count/dp/B01IKJ22DU/ref=sr_1_5.

Have you ever had it looked at by a doctor?

A referral to an ENT specialist may be warranted. Apparently the scab returning indicates a possible small bleed. The ENT may remove the scab and then cauterize the spot with silver nitrate. I had this done when I developed spontaneous nose bleeds. The ENT visit may be your best way to start.