You may see improvement by using a saline spray several times a day. Don't pick, as picking will favor the formation of crusts. You'll need to find some alternate things to fidget with for the duration, and on a temporary basis you may need to put some bandaids across the nostrils to deter the habit.
The following is taken from http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/En/HealthAZ/TestsAndTreatments/HomeHealthCare/Pages/Normal-Saline-Solution-How-prepare-home.aspx
Normal saline is a sterile mixture of salt and water. It is called
normal because its salt concentration is similar to tears, blood, and
other body fluids (0.9% saline). It is also called isotonic solution.
Normal saline is soothing and will not burn or sting when applied. It
is used for:
injecting medicines via the veins (intravenous infusion)
rinsing contact lenses
rinsing the nasal passages (nasal irrigation)
cleansing the bladder (bladder irrigation)
How to make normal saline solution at home
Saline solution is easy to make at home. You will need:
1 clean glass bottle or jar with lid
table salt
pot with lid
Put one cup of water and ½ teaspoon of salt into the pot. Put the lid on.
Boil for 15 minutes with the lid on (set a timer).
Set the pan aside until cooled to a room temperature.
Carefully pour the salt and water (normal saline) from the pan into the jar or bottle and put the lid on.
Normal saline solution: A few important points
It is very important to use only fresh normal saline. Bacteria can grow in saline and cause infections
Use a clean glass jar or bottle is that has been recently washed in a dishwasher with very hot soapy water
Do not drink solution
Throw away the solution if it grows cloudy or looks dirty
Keep the saline in a bottle or a glass for a maximum of 24 hours. Throw away any unused solution, wash the container, and make a new
solution.
You can buy an over-the-counter nasal spray, if it is a bottle with a screw-on top, empty it out, rinse well with boiled water, and put the saline solution you prepared in that. Squirt once or twice in each nostril several times a day. Then just leave the inside of your nose alone and be patient. If you feel the need to blow your nose, that's okay as long as you do it gently.
During the first few days, find special activities that will distract you from the urge to pick. Stay away from environments and activities in which you normally engage in picking.
If you don't see improvement within a week, definitely see a doctor. Or sooner if things are really bothering you.
Some additional resources that may be helpful:
In seeking sensory stimulation, people tend to go to the sites where the nerve endings are. Grooming-type behaviors would seem to be a likely choice when it comes to reducing or producing stimulation. Any one of a number of different grooming-like behaviors could be pressed into service to perform this balancing function externally. Hair pulling, skin picking, nail biting, blemish squeezing, cheek biting, nose picking, etc., are only a few of a whole group of behaviors that already exist in the repertoires of all human beings that can be put to this use. [...] Grooming behaviors are something all human beings already engage in on a daily basis. The difference is that those people, whose behaviors have become extreme versus those who are doing them at a low level, are having difficulty regulating their internal levels of stimulation, and are putting the behaviors to another use. http://www.wsps.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=96:a-stimulus-regulation-model-of-trichotillomania-why-people-pull&catid=37:trichotillomania-by-fred-penzel-phd&Itemid=64
Other articles at the same site:
http://www.wsps.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=7&Itemid=64
The section on Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors at https://iocdf.org/about-ocd/related-disorders/
