We will be true, though. Most of us choose our noses – some 91% according to the same similar study (small and old) that has ever been done on the subject, perhaps showing how little even scientists want to think about it. Looking around the world, however, it is not entirely uncommon to see someone with a finger up the nose, either cautiously or not so much, as ‘Queen Elizabeth.
Mocking to one side, nose-raising is deadly bad.
Not only do humans spread their own bacteria and viruses on everything they touch after digging for gold – but you also “move germs from your fingers into the nose, which is just the opposite of what you want, “said an infectious disease expert. Dr. Paul Pottinger, a professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.
This means that you can spread coronavirus to others from your nose-raising session, and you are more likely to introduce that virus, along with others such as the flu or rhinovirus (the flu). common), into your body.
How the coronavirus enters your body
The nose is one of three main ways in which viruses can enter the body – the other two are the mouth and eyes. The nose has several immune systems to block out pathogens, including hair in front of the nostrils to prevent larger particles and the mucous membrane.
The moist lining of the nose contains “microscopically small glands that can enter mucus into the airway in response to foreign invaders. This includes large substances such as pollen and dirt and dust and also microscopic material, which would contain bacteria and viruses, “Pottinger said.
COVID-19 ‘ate through,’ say 18-year-old parents killed within days of contracting virus
Some mucus is a good and healthy thing, keeping most invaders out. But when it dries, along with anything it has caught, it turns into what most of us call boogers (scientists call them fleeces). When you feel one in your nose, it’s easy to want to pick it up without thinking.
What many people don’t realize is how delicate that skin inside the nose can be. Nasal lift can create small cuts in the delicate epithelial layers in the nasal passages, said molecular physiologist Cedric Buckley, a former associate professor of biology at Jackson State University in Mississippi who now undergoing STEM curriculum development.
“As soon as that barrier is broken, you’re right into a capillary bed, which becomes the catalyst for viral infection,” explained Buckley, who also serves on the Covid- 19 Jackson City. This breakup increases your chances of transmitting whatever bacteria are in your hands directly into your bloodstream.
Breaking practice
Picking up a nose is something that – more than ever in a pandemic – should be avoided. But habits can be hard to break, especially the ones you do without thinking.
Nasal lifting, such as biting nails, lifting skin, chewing lips and pulling hair, is considered by mental health professionals to be a “repetitive behavior that aim on the body. “These are” activities that focus on your own body and often focus on beautifying or removing parts of the body, “says Dr. Elias Aboujaoude, senior clinical professor of psychiatry at Stanford University in California and director of the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Clinic there.
These behavioral practices can become a clinical disorder if they cause serious harm or damage to someone’s personal or professional life, Aboujaoude said via email. For many of us, however, they are just bad habits, not disorder.
Habitat reversal therapy, a form of cognitive behavioral therapy, is a tool used by psychologists to help people with repetitive behaviors that are aimed at helping the body. This treatment “increases awareness of the behavior and the outcome, and trains the individual to lift a nose with a‘ competitive response, ’” Aboujaoude said. That means doing something less destructive and socially acceptable with one ‘s hands, such as making and holding a fist, or pushing a weight ball.
This is where wearing a mask can be especially helpful. In addition to the effectiveness of masks in reducing the transmission of coronavirus-containing airborne particles, they can also help reduce nasal congestion by inhibiting physical finger-to-nose function. normal or unconscious.
“If they want to stop snoring, boy, what a great opportunity to take advantage of this moment in human history where everyone has a right to be. covering the face, “Pottinger said.
Best practices for nasal health
If you find that lifting your nose is not as common a practice as having a nose reaction that is always uncomfortable or clogged, see your doctor or a local clinic. Your business may not relate to these noses and more to 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, where your nasal organs are always swollen,” Buckley said.
The best way to get rid of boogers is to blow your nose into a tight and then wash your hands, instead of lifting the fleeces.
Neti pots or saline sprays are an alternative. “Remember, the booger is just a piece of dried mucus. If you rehydrate the mucus, you should be able to blow it out or come out by itself,” Pottinger said.
However, he said everyone should get their own bottle – without sharing, not even with close partners. It should be kept clean, and the tip removed regularly so that germs are not moved into the nose from use to use. And if you use a neti pot, Pottinger said, be sure to use sterilized water. Humidifiers to keep water indoors can help reduce crust formation.
Prevent COVID – and odor loss
Taking care of your nasal health, which certainly includes not lifting your nose, will reduce your risk of catching a coronavirus – and pass it on.
In working with patients who caught it, Pottinger said that anosmia is a long – lasting side effect of viral infection, or loss of sense of smell, which also affects the ability to taste.
For patients who experience this condition, “they are terrified, depressed, depressed and sad that they cannot taste their food. Now I hope that some of the people that’s back to the sense of smell, some do. some, it ‘s a long recovery, “he said via email. “If you want to eat food, and you want to taste good things, please make sure you don’t stop yourself from catching COVID-19.”