Are cold symptoms causing you to have chapped lips and a red, runny nose? Learn how to look your best when you're under the weather.

You may feel miserable thanks to your cold symptoms, but you don’t have to look miserable, too. With a little tender loving care, you can avoid the irritated red nose and chapped lips that signal illness.  From the type of facial tissue you use on your runny nose to your skin care regimen, it’s the little things that will help you show your best face to the world during cold and flu season.

Cold Symptoms: Chapped Lip Relief

The biggest threat to your overall glow is that being unwell dries you out, says Gregory G. Papadeas, DO, past president of the Colorado Dermatological Society and board-certified dermatologist at Advanced Dermatology in Aurora, Colorado. Cold and flu season hits during winter, the weather of which, is already drying for your skin.  Add cold symptoms to that and you are guaranteed to chap and flake.

“Generally speaking, we become dehydrated when we are sick, so the skin is less vibrant,” Dr. Papadeas says.  This drying effect may be particularly noticeable on your lips, which can chap because cold symptoms like a runny nose and congestion force you to breathe through your mouth.

Your strategy for lovely lips is twofold:  Get moisture into your body and then keep it there. Here’s what to do to prevent or fix chapped lips:

• Drink lots of fluid.  Water should be your staple, but any fluid will do, says Papadeas.
• Do not lick your lips. “When you lick them, that dries them out more, so the skin gets even drier,” says board-certified dermatologist Ella Toombs, MD, of Aesthetic Dermatology - Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C.
• Use a lip balm. Apply lip balm generously and often. The brand is up to you - Papadeas recommends Vaseline Intensive Care.
• Use a moisturising lipstick. Once you have lip balm in place, double the soothing with a lipstick that offers moisturising properties.

Cold Symptoms: Red-Nose Relief

A glowing red nose might look cute on Rudolph.. For everyone else, it’s just another annoying, and sometimes painful, effect of cold symptoms.  

Constantly wiping a runny nose or covering a sneeze can irritate the already vulnerable dry skin on and around your nose.

Here’s how to minimise the redness:

• Unscented facial tissue. “Fragrance can be irritating,” warns Papadeas. Choosing a brand with added moisturiser or aloe may help, but avoid those that have a scent.  Papadeas suggests good old-fashioned handkerchieves as a best bet for fighting red, chapped noses, as long as you don’t mind washing them frequently.
• Moisturise. Make sure you use a mild, hydrating facial cleanser followed by a moisturiser or cream, depending on how dry your skin, during cold and flu season.  Pay special attention to the areas that become the most irritated from cold symptoms and a runny nose, especially the delicate skin between your nose and upper lip.
• Ease nostril irritation.  You can use a clean cotton swab to gently and lightly apply a petroleum-based product, such as Vaseline, to the inside rim of your nostrils if they are very irritated.
• Use a liquid foundation. Powder is drying, so if you wear foundation over your moisturiser, choose a liquid or cream base, preferably one with a little green in it to counter the redness, says Toombs. Green-toned concealer can be dabbed on red areas before your regular foundation to neutralise redness.

One final note on skin care during the cold season: Cut back on any exfoliating products when you are unwell.  “You should be a little more gentle and not really exfoliate your skin because it leads to more dryness and chafing,” Papadeas says.

A little pampering is all any of us wants when we are sniffling through a runny nose and drying cold symptoms - so remember to give your skin a little pampering, too. You’ll look and feel better.