Sometimes I just want to cut my nose off. Or maybe just suck all the mucous out with a vacuum. My nose is either stuffy, runny or crusty. Sometimes I wish it didn't produce a quart of mucous a day. But it does, and so does yours.
As much as we all hate our boogers, we should stop taking our noses for granted. They do three wonderful things for us: warm, moisten and filter every breath we take.
Imagine that. The negative five degree Wisconsin air ends up at body temperature by the time it reaches the lungs, which is barely any time at all.
But it also has to moisten the air. For instance, when it's cold outside and you're embarrassed because your nose is running all over your face, take heart. That's just your nose making sure the air you breathe is as close as possible to 100 percent humidity, according to Dr. Diane Heatley, a pediatric otolaryngologist for the University of Wisconsin Hospital.
That's why the cold causes runny noses. The cold air sends mucous production into overdrive, according to Dr. Jens Ponikau, mucous researcher and assistant professor of otolaryngology at the University of Buffalo. There is also an increase in blood flow and thus extra heat and fluid to the nose. Tears also drain into the nose, according to Heatley.
Once all that extra fluid is there, it has nowhere else to go but out. Unless, of course, it just doesn't. Cold viruses seem to run rampant in the winter months, initiating a pandemic of stuffy noses.
According to Dr. Christopher Green, a pediatric pulmonologist for UW Hospital, viruses that cause colds don't live on everyday things like countertops, doorknobs and newspapers. They are spread that way, but inside the respiratory tract is where those viruses thrive.
Mucous in the nose is the body's first defense against those viruses. The nose and the immune system create more mucous in an attempt to flush them out. This brings up an important point. It's not the virus that makes our noses stuffy or runny, it's our own immune system, which doesn't care about whether or not we can breathe. It only cares about winning the war against the invading germs.
But the nose and its mucous filter out more than just viruses. It is also a trap for fungal spores, pollen, dust and other nasty, microscopic particles.
The nose does so much for us, but what do we do for it? Well, we can do our best to prevent colds by washing our hands and keeping them away from our face. And we can wash our nose.
According to Heatley, most Americans don't grow up washing their nose, but there are numerous saline rinse methods on the market. These include the Neti pot, squeeze bottles and mist bottles, among others. They range in cost and effectiveness, but Heatley suggests finding the method that you like the best.
When mucous dries, it thickens, decreasing the efficiency of the system and increasing the risk for illness and discomfort.
New research suggests that viruses prefer dry noses to moist noses, which may be why there are cold seasons all over the world, not just in cold places like Wisconsin. So when cold season annoys your life, whether it's the air or the virus, moving to a warmer climate isn't the answer.
Learn to love your nose, even if it is a love-hate relationship, like mine.
