Try a warm cup of tea instead of eating your boogers. Photo / Getty Images
OPINION:
Welcome to Ask Doctor Zac, a weekly column from news.com.au. This week, Dr Zac talks about nose-picking.
Question: Dr Zac, What's your guilty pleasure? Mine is picking my nose and I'm ashamed to say sometimes eating it.
My mum always says it will make me sick but I've never felt healthier.
What are your thoughts, Doc? – Alec, 21, Melbourne
Answer: If you must know, my guilty pleasure is J.Lo's Waiting For Tonight on full blast when I'm driving, but that's for another time and place.
I'd like to say first off that you are not an old dog that can't be taught new tricks! Habits can be broken, no matter your age. The entire psychological field has built itself on teaching people how to break mental and physical habits.
The only question is whether you have the discipline and often desire to change your ways. As the old adage goes, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.
There's actually a condition for compulsive nose picking, and it's called rhinotillexomania. It is usually a tic associated with anxiety or stress, just like how some people bite their nails when nervous. You need to ask yourself, am I picking my nose in times of stress or am I doing it out of boredom? If it's the first, I recommend you see a counsellor and get to the root of your anxiety.
Picking your nose can be dangerous for your social reputation, but it is hardly dangerous for your body. So your mother has no need to stress. You aren't hurting yourself by continuing with this habit. There are some ways eating boogers can be dangerous but first let's go through what exactly boogers are made of.
The main component in boogers is nasal mucus known most commonly as snot. It might sound gross but our bodies actually produce up to 1.8 litres of mucus each day in order to lubricate the nose and sinus, shield the delicate tissue and blood vessels in our sinuses and trap dirt, pollen, bacteria and viruses before they make it to the lungs.
When you breathe in, you are inhaling not just air but also a variety of bacteria, viruses and dirt. This mucus is the first line of defence that traps these particles. Typically the body will then initiate a response to dispel the dried up mucus by sneezing, but we have picked up the habit of picking our nose.
When you are sick with the flu, or Covid, our body's immune response goes into hyperdrive. It will ramp up mucus production in order to flush out as many nasties as possible, which is why we tend to have very snotty noses.
If you are sick with flu or Covid, that is when you should just pick and discard. It's not a time for eating your pickings! You don't want to put more stress on your body when it's already working overtime.
Now what are the other dangers of picking your nose? Here are a few you need to know.
Infection
Your fingernails can scratch the inside of your nose, increasing the risk of infection. This gives the pesky bacteria you're inhaling a fairly good chance of making it directly into your blood system without the acid destroying cleanse in the stomach. So be gentle.
If it's difficult to get it out, it's best to simply leave it alone. Or use a saline rinse to help to wash, cleanse and soften the particularly crusty parts that don't want to budge.
An infection that can occur is nasal vestibulitis which is sore at the opening or front part of your nose. This can cause some pretty nasty scabs to develop, mostly as they're a direct opening to your bloodstream.
Spreading illnesses
For obvious reasons, this is one to be especially wary of. Our boogers exist for a reason, and it's to stop the infection from bacteria and viruses. By picking your nose, you are putting these germs on your hands – which will then touch surfaces or other people.
You may be healthy and able to fight off infection, but an immunocompromised person won't be. I recommend you use safe-picking practices and wash your hands after every harvest.
Alec as far as I'm concerned, pick away. Just be safe and responsible, and if you'd like to stop I recommend you read James Clear's Atomic Habits and use his tricks to retrain yourself.
Dr Zac Turner has a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Sydney. He is both a medical practitioner and a co-owner of telehealth service, Concierge Doctors. He was also a registered nurse and is also a qualified and experienced biomedical scientist along with being a PhD Candidate in Biomedical Engineering.
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