Handkerchiefs.

I remember getting embroidered cotton hankies in a box usually at Christmas time. There was no alternative then so it was accepted practise to use them. I know some people still prefer to use cotton hankies for whatever reason.

The thought of blowing your nose putting the cotton hankie in a pocket or sleeve then in the washing machine is totally gross. There is a reason why paper tissues came out they are cleaner more hygienic and convenient.

I use hankies when I have a cold as I find them more substantial than a tissue . My DH is also a hankie user . My mother has rhinitis and uses tissues . I do her laundry and have to check pockets and sleeves for stray tissues . Weirdly any missed tissues are always in a dark wash 😩.

My OH uses cotton hankies and my teenager has some, which she uses now and again nowadays although she loved them when little!

My husband, has and always has had a multitude of white cotton handkerchiefs, therefore so do I, what's his is mine, I believe that's how it works!

My late DH always had a clean cotton hanky every day, washed and ironed b6 yours truly. I use tissues.

I use them and so does my mum, cousin and many friends. Most men l know, including my husband, also use them. I have bought many unused vintage boxed sets of handkerchiefs from eBay and Vinted and, once washed, they are lovely to use. Those from the eighties and earlier are generally much better quality, too. As long as they are washed on a hot wash, they are hygienic and much greener and less wasteful than tissues. I have very bad hayfever in my spring and summer months and am prone to allergies in general. In addition to this I also have very sensitive, eczema prone skin and find tissues exacerbate this. Tissues also disintegrate with one sneeze for me.

M0nica

I hate, and have always, hated paper tissues they are insubstantial and useless if you have a bad cold. I use kitchen towel. It can withstand the runniest cold and if you pop a few in a pocket or up a sleep to access when required it is not reduced to a useless shred of crumpled tissue paper when you dive into your pocket or sleeve to use it.

I have a beautiful hanky case, full of the handkerchiefs the OP describes. It lives quietly at the back of my undie drawer, has done for years and will until my descendants are clearing my house.

Kitchen towel? doesn’t it make your nose very sore? When we have colds it’s Kleenex Balsam for us.

I always use tissues but DH uses cotton hankies. He has a sinus problem, so tissues wouldn't cope at all.

I use both, but just love hankies. I buy from a lady on Etsy who makes hankies from Liberty fabrics, they make lovely little gifts too.

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I still have my handkerchief case, full of pretty handkies.

That should read “out with the dogs”!

I have a large cotton hanky under my pillow, sprinkled with drops of Olbas oil or lavender oil.

As a child I often had a rolled hanky tied around my knee after falling over.

My eyes stream when I’m outstretched dr in cold weather and a hanky is much easier than a pocket full of soggy tissues. They go in the wash with towels and a hot iron is good enough.

Balsam tissues for a cold, otherwise I use proper handkerchiefs I’ve inherited from DH and my Mum. Oddly enough DGS2 who is 4 insists on a small cotton hanky in his trouser pocket for school.

I use both. My eyes are forever watering and I discovered that using a tissue to blot them often left a filament in my eye which made them water all the more! So I now use nice hankies for my eyes, and tissues for my nose.

There is a post on Facebook about the pretty hankies we used to get as children especially at Christmas. It’s surprising how many of us still gave them tucked away! Not that I’d blow my nose on “Jack and Jill” anymore!

More or less the same answers from everyone, including me. I wonder how old you have to be to have never had or used one?

My OH is an engineer and I keep reminding him that his handkerchief is not for wiping oil off things - forever buying new ones and adding the stained ones to his rag bag but he never gets an old one out. Think I will just give up.

I remember the days of first soaking handkerchiefs in salt water, then rising, followed by boiling in a large saucepan, kept specially for that purpose.

We both use cotton hankies for preference, tissues when colds strike.

I have loads, inherited from my parents. Very few pretty lacy ones,most of them sensible men's hankies. I have cut them up and used them for dolls' clothes, linings for little bags and pouches, and the lacy ones are about to be transformed into lavender bags.

For my own nose I use tissues but I'm lucky enough not to need them very often.

Yes, I do. Flowery patterned ladies ones and also men’s hankies that belonged to my DH.

Yes we do. DH has heaps, laundered and ironed by me. We have to put them in two piles. One, for best. The other rather larger pile has stains, paint, oil etc and are used only in or around the house.

Whenever I have a cold I always use proper mens handkerchiefs, never tissues. I have found tissues make my nose very sore, whereas cotton hankies do not. I pop them into a bowl of disinfectant and hot wash after use. No problems. My husband is a tissue user and it is like a game of Hansel and Gretel following him around, he leaves a trail of tissues on chairs, on the floor, on the stairs, in bed, in fact everywhere. I always think if he used a large cotton hankie, he would just keep it in his pocket

DH uses cotton hankies (except when he has a cold) and they go in with the hottest wash. I use tissues and regularly clear out my coat pockets to find the crumpled up ones (yuck). Think I might go back to cotton “proper” hankies!

I hate, and have always, hated paper tissues they are insubstantial and useless if you have a bad cold. I use kitchen towel. It can withstand the runniest cold and if you pop a few in a pocket or up a sleep to access when required it is not reduced to a useless shred of crumpled tissue paper when you dive into your pocket or sleeve to use it.

I have a beautiful hanky case, full of the handkerchiefs the OP describes. It lives quietly at the back of my undie drawer, has done for years and will until my descendants are clearing my house.