Protect and humidify
Every body is full of mucus and snot. If you have a cold and one handkerchief after another is stuffed with muzzle, you may not be happy with that dirty green stuff. Yet it is very important for your body. What’s the use of the slimy stuff exactly?
Your mouth, nose, throat, lungs, stomach and intestines are lined with mucous membrane: a layer of cells that produce mucus. Mucus acts like a protective blanket, keeping the tissue underneath moist.
The sticky substance in the respiratory tract traps and removes dust, preventing it from entering the body. It mucous membrane of the nose moistens the air you breathe. When mucus drips from your nose, we call it snot.
liters per day
Mucus and snot consist largely of water, but also contain all kinds of useful ingredients. For example, antibodies that recognize and disable bacteria and viruses and enzymes that kill invaders. Protein makes the slime thick, so it’s not a nice place for those kinds of unwanted guests.
Even if you are healthy, you will produce 1 to 1.5 liters of snot every day. Most of it disappears unnoticed through the throat into the stomach. Snot only becomes noticeable if it changes consistency or if you suddenly create more. A bad cold, allergy or contact with an irritating substance can cause the mucus to thicken and your nose to run.
Green or red
Snot can be yellow, green, reddish or brownish. You may have heard that yellow or green snot indicates an infection, but that’s a myth. You may have a severe ear or sinus infection in combination with clear mucus. If you catch a cold the immune system sends white blood cells to the airways. These cells contain a green-colored enzyme, which ensures that the snot gets the same color. Thick snot is also often green.
If the nose dries out or is irritated by too much rubbing, blowing or picking, there is sometimes some red or brownish blood in the snot. This comes from the area in the nostrils that contains many blood vessels. A little blood in your snot is nothing to worry about.
Eating out of your nose
While those around you may not be happy about it, getting your snot nose is the healthiest option. This way you suck the mucus and any viruses out of the cavities. If you blow your nose, you’re actually pushing the mucus into the sinuses, putting you at risk for a sinus, sinus, or ear infection.
If your nose is blocked, steaming over a bowl of hot water and dripping with a saline solution may provide some relief. Also nasal drops or spray with xylometazoline allow you to breathe freely again.
In an environment with dry air or a lot of dust, the snot in the nose dries up quickly. 90 percent of the Dutch toddlers sometimes in his nose to free himself from those bits. 10 percent even eat the result found.
