Tissue vs Hanky: Health vs Environment

I was born with a runny nose. Well, not literally, but I might as well have been. I can't remember a time when I didn't need to blow my nose. Between the incessant dripping of my everyday rhinitis, to the raging rapids when I get sick, I forced to keep something to wipe my nose handy.  

Growing up my mother advocated the use of a hanky (a cloth handkerchief). To this day she carries a hanky with her and is ready to whip it out when someone has a wet nose. Personally, I'm not a fan of hankies. I don't like how the snot gets all clumpy after it's dried. And, when I'm really sick, I don't like that the cotton becomes saturated so quickly.

There is no denying that hankies are more environmentally friendly. Even taking into consideration textile manufacturing and regular machine washings, hankies come out on the greener side of things. The problem is that in order to handle the snot from a cold you have to have like a million hankies lying around.

But hankies lose the health argument. All the health agencies I visited in my search to find evidence in the hankie vs. tissue question advised the use of facial tissue. The reason? Hankies can store viruses and bacteria.

The lifespan of most viruses outside the body is short. And they don't live as long on porous surfaces, like fabric, as compared to non-porous surfaces. But viruses and bacteria can breed given a damp environment. And what better environment than the constantly damp folds of a well used hankie? Also, using a hankie exclusively means your making repeated contact with infected mucous.

Up until recently I was unaware of the arguments one-way or the other. I just knew that hankies didn't work for me. Unfortunately, as an adult, I didn't turn to facial tissues as an alternative to the hankie. Instead I used the cheapest and most readily available tissue available to me, toilet tissue.

That's right. I spent almost a decade of my life carrying around a roll of toilet paper. And running to the bathroom when I got a cold. And living with a red and irritated nose. I was very unkind to my face.