Hi, Angela, one of the problems that may extend or cause this issue to be chronic is that once that rupture in the contour of the nostril is there, it reopens very easily - goes from being healed to ruptured again - is that your experience? I have been told that once the crack is there, the divot - as I call it - epithelializes - the skin grown over the wound rather than the two sides of the wound pulling together and mending. i have considered going to a plastic surgeon to have the epithelium removed and the crack stitched shut. what has stopped me from doing this is not having a sound diagnosis, and having the surgery when the underlying condition could cause it to happen all over again has seemed pointless. i am incline to think that the growth of skin over the wound might have been furthered by over-care of the wound, constant cleaning and ointments rather than leaving it to heal as nature would have intended, but this is our FACE and we're not inclined to ignore things staring at us in the mirror, and cleaning is always good, right? maybe not so much. what do you think? whether the initial break was caused by over-dry skin or - in my case - getting clipped by the razor sharp fingernails of a nursing infant - once it's there the problem is compounded and chronic. thoughts?