What do you call that icky, green substance that comes out of your nose, ever so often? Commonly known as mucus, snoot, booger or phlegm, it is probably the most disgusting by-product of the human body (second to pooping, obviously). But did you know that in spite of being labelled as gross, boogers are actually good for your health? Yes, you read that right.What are boogers?
When we think of boogers or mucus, we automatically think of the substance coming out of our nose, but mucus is actually much more than that. In fact, mucus is a viscous liquid that our body produces to protect us against harmful bacteria and viruses. If the lining of your nose is dry, you are more prone to catch infections.
Why are boogers essential for good health?
The runny mucus is what actually keeps the lining of our nose moist. It prevents the irritants present in the environment like dust particles, pollen grains, bacteria and virus floating in the air from reaching our lungs and airways by trapping them.
This happens as follows:
After the mucus traps these particles, the tiny hairs present inside your nose push them towards outside the nose.
After this, we either let the mucus dry on its own, become a booger and pick it out ourselves or we blow out the mucus.
Here are 5 really interesting theories about mucus that we bet you did not know before:
1. Your body produces 1-litre booger every day and this quantity increases if you catch a cold. This protective mucus is found all over your body parts including your stomach and intestines.
2. The gross habit of eating and picking your nose is actually found to be healthy, according to several reports, as it may prevent bacteria from sticking or forming on your teeth. (Sorry, we are not the one to try and confirm this theory, try at your own risk).
4. When you fall sick, the mucus present in your body gets thicker.
5. When one becomes obsessed with picking his or her nose, this disorder is known as rhinotillexomania.