Lists of “things you must never do after a nose job” circulate widely, usually with fixed numbers and no sources. Real aftercare instructions come from your surgeon and the leaflet they give you, and they vary. This guide gathers ten restrictions that appear most often and shows what six published sources say about each. Where they differ, I show the range instead of choosing one.

Key takeaways

  • Hospital leaflets agree on the main restrictions (no nose blowing, no strenuous exercise or contact sports, avoid heat, protect from sun) but give different time frames for each.
  • Typical ranges in the leaflets I opened: no blowing for 3 days to a week, sport and strenuous exercise for 6 weeks (contact sport up to 3 months), sun protection for 6 months.
  • Where leaflets differ or are silent, such as on glasses, ask your own surgeon and get the answer in writing.

The sources are patient leaflets from the NHS trusts of Hull, Cambridge, Royal Berkshire and Tayside, a West Suffolk leaflet issued in 2019, and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) recovery page. Most describe septorhinoplasty in a hospital setting. Your surgeon’s instructions override all of them.

What do hospitals tell patients not to do?

Restriction What the leaflets say
1. Blowing, picking or poking your nose Hull: “Do not pick, poke or blow your nose.” Cambridge: no blowing for about a week. Royal Berkshire: not for the first week, and no picking off crusts. Tayside: at least 3 days.
2. Removing splints or dressings yourself Hull and Cambridge both say not to remove them yourself. Hull gives 7 to 10 days with the splint on; Cambridge about one week for an outside splint. Tayside says 7 to 14 days.
3. Strenuous exercise and contact sport Cambridge: exercise and contact sports, six weeks. Royal Berkshire: contact sports or any strenuous activity, at least 6 weeks. Tayside: contact sports and swimming, 6 weeks. West Suffolk: sports where the nose could be knocked, six weeks. Hull: strenuous exercise especially in the first few days, and contact sport for about 3 months.
4. Bending forward and head movements Hull: avoid excessive head movements and bending forwards, at least for the first few days.
5. Sleeping flat Royal Berkshire: two or three pillows for two weeks. West Suffolk: sleeping upright with extra pillows for a few days.
6. Hot baths and hot drinks Hull: avoid hot baths, which may cause bleeding. Royal Berkshire: avoid very hot baths and drink warm instead of hot for the first 48 hours.
7. Alcohol, smoke and dust Royal Berkshire: avoid alcohol for two weeks, and smoky or dusty places for two weeks. Cambridge: stay away from smoky places. Tayside: avoid extremes of temperature and alcohol.
8. Sneezing with your mouth closed Royal Berkshire: try to avoid sniffing or sneezing for two weeks, and sneeze with your mouth open. Cambridge and Tayside give the same mouth-open advice.
9. Sun on the nose Tayside: protect from direct sunlight for 6 months. West Suffolk: strong sunscreen and a hat for at least six months. See sun protection after a nose job.
10. Ignoring warning signs Royal Berkshire: contact the team for persistent excessive and smelly discharge, fever, or pain not relieved by painkillers.

Two further items often appear on “never do” lists. The Royal Berkshire leaflet advises avoiding aspirin because it can affect blood clotting, and none of the leaflets I opened says anything about glasses. Which painkillers and other medicines are suitable for you is a question for your surgeon, not something a general guide can answer. For glasses, see our guide on when you can wear glasses after rhinoplasty.

Why not touch your nose?

Several leaflets give reasons that do not depend on myth. Royal Berkshire says to use a tissue rather than a cotton handkerchief if you need to wipe your nose, because it reduces the risk of infection, and not to pick off crusts, which can interfere with healing and start bleeding. Hull and Cambridge say the external splint stays on until the clinic removes it. Tayside asks you to make sure no one hits or injures the nose for six weeks.

I found no source for the claims that a light touch causes a deviated septum or permanent scars, so I have not repeated them. The documented concerns are infection, bleeding and moving a splint.

Can you read, use your phone or work during recovery?

None of the leaflets restricts reading. The restriction closest to it is Hull’s advice to avoid bending forwards and excessive head movements for the first few days. It does not mention books or phones, so ask your surgeon how it applies to looking down at one. Time off work is given as 2 weeks in Hull, Cambridge, Royal Berkshire and Tayside, and one to two weeks in West Suffolk.

How long do the restrictions last?

Short answers do not exist, because swelling does not follow a schedule. The ASPS recovery page says initial swelling subsides within a few weeks, but it may take up to a year for the new contour to fully refine, and that swelling can come and go and worsen in the morning during the first year. The hospital rules above are about the first days to weeks; they do not mean the nose has finished healing.

Our guides on sleeping after rhinoplasty, exercise after a nose job, showering and bathing and reducing swelling cover each topic in more detail.

What if the leaflets disagree with your surgeon?

Follow your surgeon. Leaflets are written for a specific operation and hospital: a closed septorhinoplasty without grafts has different needs from an open approach with a rib graft. Ask your surgeon for a written list that covers exercise, sun, sleep position, glasses, travel and what to do if you bleed. If you are travelling for surgery, our guide to travel after nose surgery explains how to plan the days before you fly home.

Sources

All pages were opened and checked on 10 October 2026.