Learning how to stop water going up your nose when swimming comes down to one small, almost magical habit: breathing out gently through your nose while your face is underwater. That steady trickle of air is what keeps water out — and once it becomes automatic, that stinging, choking nose-full-of-water feeling disappears. Here’s how it works.

The short answer

To stop water going up your nose, breathe out slowly and gently through your nose whenever your face is in the water. As long as air is flowing out, water physically can’t flow in. The mistake almost everyone makes is holding their breath or breathing only through their mouth, which leaves the nose open. If nose-exhaling is hard for you — or for backstroke — a simple nose clip seals the problem completely.

Why water goes up your nose

Water goes up your nose for one reason: there’s nothing stopping it. When your face is under and you’re holding your breath (or breathing only through your mouth), your nostrils are open passages, and water flows right in — especially when you tilt, push off, or move.

The fix isn’t to clamp your nose shut with muscles (you can’t reliably). It’s to keep a gentle outward airflow going through your nose, which quietly blocks the water.

The breathe-out trick

Here’s the whole technique: hum or blow a slow, steady stream of air out through your nose the entire time your face is underwater. Air going out means water can’t come in.

Practice it standing in shallow water:

  1. Take a normal breath.
  2. Lower your face into the water.
  3. Gently breathe out through your nose (you’ll see or feel small bubbles).
  4. Lift your face and breathe in. Repeat.

Do this until the nose-exhale feels natural and automatic. It’s the same skill behind calm swimming breathing — see do I need to hold my breath underwater and how to put your face in the water, which both build on it.

Why holding your breath makes it worse

It feels natural to hold your breath and “seal up” when your face goes under — but holding your breath does nothing to stop water entering your nose, and it leads to the panicky gasp-and-snort that pushes water in even more. Breathing out, not holding, is the answer. Once you trust that, the whole thing gets calmer.

The backstroke exception

Backstroke is the one place the breathe-out trick is trickier, because you’re face-up and water can trickle down over your nose while you’re breathing in. Two fixes:

  • Puff a little air out through your nose whenever water runs over your face.
  • Wear a nose clip — honestly the easiest solution for backstroke, and many swimmers use one.

When a nose clip is a good idea

A nose clip is a small, cheap device that pinches your nostrils shut so no water can enter. It’s worth using if:

  • You’re doing lots of backstroke.
  • You find nose-exhaling genuinely hard and it’s holding back your progress.
  • Water up the nose is a big source of panic for you and removing it entirely helps you relax and learn.

There’s no shame in it — plenty of swimmers use one. Most people can eventually swim without one once the breathe-out habit sticks, but it’s a perfectly good tool while you learn.

Stay safe while you practice

  • Practice in water you can stand in, with a lifeguard or capable swimmer present. Never alone.
  • Stand up and breathe any time you need to.

The next small step

Next session, stand in the shallow end and practice only the nose-exhale: face in, hum a slow stream of bubbles out through your nose, face up, breathe in. Twenty calm repetitions and you’ll have the habit that keeps water out of your nose for good — and makes every other part of swimming feel less stressful.