so i've been thinking a bunch about snot and boogers.
what causes hard crunchy ones?
what causes goopy ones?
why are they different colours?
what is snot made of?
is it really totally bacteria-laden, and does it spread diseases like colds? or is that just a myth?
i'm going to google it. but in the meantime, discuss.
thanks wikipedia:
Snot is a commonly used colloquial term used to refer to nasal mucus. Increased mucus production in the respiratory tract is a symptom of many common diseases, such as the
common cold. The presence of mucus in the
nose and
throat is normal, but increased quantities can impede comfortable breathing and may be cleared by
blowing the nose or
expectorating excess mucus from the back of the throat. Nasal mucus may also be removed by using traditional methods of
nasal irrigation. In Western societies, it is more common to treat excess mucus with drugs such as
decongestants.
A
booger or
bogie is better known as a
rhinolith in medical terminology (from the Greek
rhino meaning nose, and
lithos meaning stone). Rhinoliths form when the mucus traps
dust and other particles in the air. Mucus dries around the particle and hardens into a solid or semi-solid sticky object, resulting in the particle's eventual expulsion from the body. Since catching foreign particles is one of the main functions of nasal mucus, the presence of rhinoliths is a good indicator of a properly functioning nose (as opposed to a "
runny nose", which can indicate illness).