Question about blwing your nose

I read the tablemanners and it say you can't blow your nose while eating,so what happened if you catch a cold and then your nose start becoming a "waterfall"so do you just hold it ...

Alex,

I think the polite way is to turn away from the table and dab rather than actually blowing. If you have to blow, do it as quietly and discreetly as possible.

It is not good manner to blow your nose like a horn, especially during a meal. If your nose is running, you may want to clean it thoroughly just before the meal and then excuse yourself to go to the toilet again just after the meal to clean your nose again. And use a nose spray to temporarily reduce the waterfall to a rill. If the nose is running during the meal, wipe it off with a tissue. Maybe blow your nose very mildly. Or in intervals suck it all back into you nose :) With as little noise as possible, of course. Don't do it too often or too loudly, or it can become even more annoying and impolite than loudly blowing your nose.

Actually, hot soup noodles are very common in Japan, and when you eat them, you cannot help your nose from running.

That's why almost every ramen shop has boxes of tissues around your table. When you finish your noodle, you may pick up a tissue and blow your nose as discreetly as possible, best blowing it after you stand up to leave the place.

In any culture, turn away and blow your nose

But use a tissue and not a handkerchief. Handkerchiefs in Japan are not used for blowing your nose in and you can compare it to seeing somebody blow his nose in a napkin :-)

Hahaha I had a Japanese girl lent me her hankerchief one day (for some reason) and I was too shocked to take it. I politely declined not knowing what might be on it.

If it ain't for blowing noses I still have no idea what its normally reserved for!

@blanc

Lots of time Japanese will carry a hankerchief to dry their hands with after washing them.

There are many restrooms that have soap and water to wash your hands, but offer no towels to dry them.

So you either have to shake your hands dry, wipe them on your clothes, or carry a small towel/hankerchief.

I'm very much sure the girl who offered you her hanky would be horrified if she learn you normally use your handkerchief to blow your nose! ;)

Thanks for the explanation. I actually didn't know that's the main reason for everyone to carry a hanky but now that you mention it, I do remember not seeing a lot of paper towels or even hand dryers in Japan.

Anyway, I personally do not use hankerchiefs for blowing noses it is just disgusting. This kind of thing I'll rather be less environmentally friendly and use more tissue papers. Everytime one re-uses the hankerchief its still wet inside and that wetness plus warmish temperature is only going to breed millions more bacteria over the hours. YUCK!