Abstract
The temperature of the nasal skin is related to nasal symptoms ; the temperature of normal noses is lower than that of surrounding regions, whereas temperature of noses with obstruction or hyper-rhinorrhea is higher, and becomes more homogeneous with the surrounding regions. This phenomenon can be explained by one of the functions of the nose ; the warming of inhaled air, which eventually cools the nasal mucosa. This phenomenon is further revealed by comparing skin temperature with ambient temperature in each season, and by analyzing change of skin temperature during and after rapid increase of room temperature with and without cotton plugs in the nasal cavity. The following results were obtained. The skin temperature of normal noses increased with ambient temperature rise. The temperature of obstructed noses, however, remained high despite seasonal temperature changes. In the second experiment, the nasal skin temperature followed even small increase of room temperature, approaching the forehead skin temperature. In the third experiment, cotton plugs in the nose caused temperature to rise, and this returned to the initial temperature after removing the cotton. Through out the above experiments the skin temperature of the forehead was almost constant. This suggests that the temperature of nasal skin can reveal nasal signs as well as the ambient temperature.
