- Perceived as dirty, all droppings (or almost) have their usefulness, however. Elimination, filtration or hydration: each plays its role to ensure the proper functioning of the body.
- Do you know the usefulness of earwax, or how much excrement is eliminated in a lifetime?
- This summer, 20 Minutes reveals all the secrets of droppings. And today, head for the nose.
"Don't put your fingers in your nose! Among the commandments frequently repeated to children by their parents, that of not falling off the nose figures prominently. That's how it is, little ones love to tamper with it. But also some of the biggest.
Mickey, dumplings or even "mock-up" as we say among the Ch'tis, whatever name we give to our nasal production, too many are those who love to roll them between the fingers. But is it safe to get your nose off? And besides, what is in a booger? It's summer, so 20 Minutes takes the time to answer the scientific-shameful questions that we don't always dare to ask.
What are the droppings made of?
Before drying in the form of droppings, the nasal mucus is rather "watery and viscous. It is synthesized by the glands located in the nasal mucosa, these are glands quite close to the salivary and lacrimal glands, "explains Dr Nicolas Boulanger, ENT doctor. In case of colds, winter viral diseases or even allergies, the production of mucus gets carried away and we turn into a snot factory. "In the nasal mucosa, there are therefore glands, which form small bags loaded with secretions, whose production is regulated by the nervous system, specifies the ORL. In the event of viral attack, the virus will kill the cells, and will, in a schematic way, explode these small bags, therefore one has the runny nose and which is blocked.
And the droppings, it's the same thing in a dried version? " Not quite. They are made up of large particles present in the air we breathe throughout the day, mixed with a little dried mucus ”.
If not, have you never noticed that what many call "snot" strangely resembles egg white? This is due to the composition of the nasal mucus, a clever mixture of water and enzymes with antibacterial properties. And in particular lysozyme, which is found in other secretions such as tears and saliva, but also in ... egg white. Eureka!
What are they for ?
"The nose has a respiratory and an olfactory function," says Dr. Boulanger. In their respiratory function, the nasal secretions have the role of humidifying and warming the air in order to prepare it for better pulmonary oxygenation. This is why if you do a sports session, the trainer will tell you "breathe in through your nose, breathe out through your mouth". By breathing through the nose, the passage of oxygen to the lungs will be better. ” But nasal mucus has other properties. “The surface of the nasal mucosa, inside the nose, is lined with eyelashes. These eyelashes "flap" and thus capture the foreign particles that we breathe, and will then degrade them. The phlegm flows on these eyelashes and forms a "carpet", a layer of sticky mucous which will trap the particles of the air and make barrier to the penetration of viruses and bacteria: it is a filter ".
These particles are therefore trapped in our nasal mucus. Thus, those who live in urban areas will notice by blowing their nose that their production is sometimes stained with black. This is due, among other things, to the particles of pollution present in the air.
How to clean them?
If your nose is congested with an overflow of mucus or droppings, the easiest way is to blow your nose in a tissue, "not directly with your finger," insists the ENT specialist. Otherwise, there is a risk of depositing bacteria on your fingers, such as golden staphylococci, for example ”. If your "production" is really abundant or tough, we do as with babies: "we clean our noses with physiological saline, which is the most compatible liquid, and not just with clear water," says Dr Boulanger. . But people tend to use small pods or sprays based on sea water, which is not effective because it requires larger volumes. For a good nose wash, you need to use a syringe of at least 20 milliliters of physiological saline, which you run through one nostril and flow out through the other ”.
The droppings in numbers
Each day, an adult breathes on average 10,000 liters of air! To filter it, the nose makes between 1 and 2 liters of nasal mucus daily. We told you, that the body was a real dung factory! Much of this production is carried to the throat by the eyelashes that line the nasal mucosa. In practice, it is swallowed and it ends up in the stomach, which will be responsible for atomizing the microbes with which it is responsible.
What about you?
"I can't help but take my nose off, at home, at work, in the street, on the terrace, it's like an uncontrollable reflex," says Paul, in his thirties. I don't know how many times I do it, it's unconscious and conscious at the same time, but if I was told that it is several dozen times a day, it wouldn't surprise me! To the utter disgust of my wife, who gives me glares when I take my nose off in her presence. She said to me: "Stop! You're really a pig" ". A not very glam habit called rhinotillexomanie (word triple account in Scrabble!).
Unusual info:
You have seen (or you remember), children love to eat their boogers! Just like some indelicates that we spot in transport, or at a red light, driving their car (we see you, gentlemen). Even Pope Francis, badly stashed behind a porthole, obviously does not resist the urge to eat a little Mickey Mouse.
via GIPHY
These are mucophages, literally those who eat their mucus, or droppings. This is not uncommon, since one in 70 people would eat their boogers. Well, this gesture, which one could describe as frankly gross, could turn out to be good for health. Very serious work, led by Professor Scott Napper, professor of biochemistry at the University of Saskatchewan, in Canada, has demonstrated the protective role on the immune system that ingested boogers play. "When the mucus gets into the intestines, it works like a vaccine that boosts immunity," he says. So if you have an overwhelming urge to take your nose off and eat the fruit of this hunt, listen to yourself. ”
How it works ? As we said earlier, "the nose is a filter in which many bacteria are collected," confirms Professor Friedrich Bischinger, an Austrian lung specialist, who also studied the virtues of nasal mucus. Eating the droppings that you remove from your nose is a great way to strengthen the body's immune system. ” But don't see it as an invitation to mucophagy!
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