Let’s be real, though. Most of us pick our noses – about 91% according to the only study (small and old) that seems to have ever been done on this topic, revealing perhaps how little even scientists want to think about it. Looking around the world, however, it is not uncommon to see someone with a finger in their nose, either discreetly or not as much as Queen Elizabeth.
Jokes aside, picking your nose is extremely serious.
Not only do people spread their own bacteria and viruses in everything they touch after digging for gold – but also “transfer germs from your fingertips to your nose, which is the exact opposite of what you want,” said the disease specialist. infectious. Dr. Paul Pottinger, a professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.
This means that you can spread the coronavirus to others in the nose lift session, and you are also more likely to bring that virus, along with others such as the flu or rhinovirus (the common cold), directly into your body.
How the coronavirus enters your body
The nose is one of the three main ways viruses can enter the body – the other two are the mouth and eyes. The nose has a number of defense systems to keep pathogens out, including hair on the front of the nostrils to block larger particles and the mucous membrane.
The wet lining of the nose “has small microscopic glands that can secrete mucus into the airways in response to foreign invaders. This includes big things like pollen and dirt and dust, as well as microscopic things that would include bacteria and viruses.” said Pottinger.
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Some mucus is a good and healthy thing, keeping most invaders. But when it dries, along with whatever it catches, it turns into what most of us call boogers (scientists call them crusts). When you feel one in your nose, it is easy to want to choose it without thinking.
What many people do not realize is how delicate the skin inside the nose can be. Harvesting the nose can create small cuts in the delicate epithelial linings of the nasal cavity, said molecular virologist Cedric Buckley, a former associate professor of biology at Jackson State University in Mississippi, who is now developing the STEM curriculum.
“Once the barrier has been broken, you are in a capillary bed, which becomes the conduit for viral particle infection,” said Buckley, who also serves on the City of Jackson Covid-19 Task Force. This violation increases your chances of transmitting any germs to your hands even in the bloodstream.
Violation of a habit
Raising your nose is something that should be avoided – more than ever during a pandemic. But habits can be hard to break, especially the ones you do without thinking.
Taking the nose, such as nail bites, skin, chewing the lips and pulling the hair, is considered by mental health professionals as a “repetitive behavior focused on the body”. These are “actions that go to one’s own body and often focus on caring for or removing body parts,” according to Dr. Elias Aboujaoude, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Stanford University in California and director of the Obsessive Compulsive Disorders Clinic. There.
These behavioral habits can be a clinical disorder if they lead to significant impairment or impairment of one’s personal or professional life, Aboujaoude said in an email. For many of us, however, these are just bad habits, not disorders.
Reversal therapy, a form of cognitive behavioral therapy, is a tool that psychiatrists use to help people with repetitive behaviors focused on the body. This treatment “raises awareness of the behavior and its consequences and trains the individual to replace the nose with a” concurrent response, “Aboujaoude said. This means doing something less harmful and more socially acceptable with the hands, it would be to punch and hold it or to squeeze a stress ball.
Wearing a mask here can be especially helpful. In addition to the effectiveness of masks in reducing the transmission of airborne particles that may contain coronavirus, they can also help reduce nose harvesting by physically blocking the usual or unconscious action from finger to nose.
“If you’re eager to stop picking your nose, boy, what a great opportunity to take advantage of this moment in human history where everyone is supposed to cover their faces,” Pottinger said.
Nasal best health practices
If you find that raising your nose is not a habit, but a reaction to a constantly uncomfortable or clogged nose, consult your doctor or a local clinic. Your problem may have less to do with those nostrils and more to do with another issue that needs to be addressed:
“You could have a deviated septum, you could have nasal inflammation, you could be prone to seasonal or chronic allergies, in which the nasal membranes are constantly swollen,” Buckley said.
The best way to get rid of boogers is to blow your nose into a napkin and then wash your hands instead of choosing the crusts.
Neti pots or saline sprays are another option. “Remember, the booger is just a piece of dry mucus. If you rehydrate the mucus, you should be able to throw it away or take it out on its own,” Pottinger said.
However, he said that everyone should receive their own bottle – without sharing, not even with intimate partners. It should be kept clean and the tip should be wiped regularly so that germs are not transferred to the nose from use to use. And if you use a pot of neti, Pottinger said, make sure you use sterilized water. Humidifiers to keep indoor air hydrated can also help reduce crust formation.
Prevent COVID – and odor loss
Caring for nasal health, which certainly includes not lifting your nose, will reduce your risk of catching coronavirus – and transmitting it.
Working with patients who caught it, Pottinger said a sometimes long-lasting side effect of viral infection is anosmia or loss of sense of smell, which also affects the ability to taste.
For patients suffering from this condition, “they are very, very depressed, discouraged and discouraged that they can no longer taste their food. Now I hope that some of these people will regain their sense of smell, some do. For some, it is a recovery. long, “he said in an email. “If you like to eat food and want to taste good things, then make sure you stop catching COVID-19.”