If we do a survey, I believe that many people will have the "small habit" of loving to dig their nostrils, is it often unconscious, the fingers begin to reach into the nostrils, every time a large piece of snot is dug out, not only the nose is ventilated, but the whole person will also feel an inexplicable sense of satisfaction? If you have such a habit, please believe that you are not alone, there are many people who have such a "hobby" of digging their nostrils.
Some friends think that digging nostrils can clean up the mucus and dirt in the nostrils in time, can reduce the probability of nasal blockage, is a kind of "good habit" that is not very elegant, but beneficial to health, but in fact, digging nostrils with fingers is not a healthy habit, but a "bad habit" that may bring related health hazards.
Love to dig nostrils, is it really that bad?
When our nose feels uncomfortable, many people will have a strong urge to dig it, whether it is to relieve itching or clean up the nose, digging the nostrils is one of the hobbies of many friends, but if we talk about whether digging the nostrils is a healthy and good habit, the relevant ENT experts pointed out that although this habit is not necessarily fatal, it is definitely not a "good habit", this nostril digging behavior is similar to a repetitive habit, and squeezing acne, nail biting, etc., although the risk of causing serious complications is low, But these behaviors are also not recommended for medical and health reasons.
Love to dig nostrils, what are the harms?
1. It may bring the risk of infection
It's true that a nose gouging carries a risk of infection.
The mucus and snot in the nasal cavity, although it may seem disgusting, actually have important physiological functions, playing an important role in preventing and trapping bacteria and avoiding germ invasion. Therefore, when you dig your nostrils, the snot or snot you dig out may carry the trapped bacteria on it, and if you don't pay attention to clean up, it will spread through your fingers to your mouth or body, increasing the risk of bacterial infection problems.
A January 2018 study in the European Journal of Respiratory Medicine found that nostrils can transfer some serious harmful bacteria, including bacteria that can cause pneumonia; a 2016 study published in the journal Hospital Infection and Epidemiological Control noted that nostrils-diggers were more likely to carry Staphylococcus aureus, which led to an increased risk of staphylococcal infection.
In addition, excessive cleaning of the nasal cavity will weaken the barrier effect of the nasal cavity on bacteria, and sometimes we dig the nostrils, and also change the position of the mucus and snot in the nasal cavity, which will cause infection of the nasal cavity or upper respiratory tract, which is also another infection risk caused by digging the nostrils.
2. It may damage the health of the nasal cavity
The tissues of the inner wall of the nasal cavity are very fragile, excessive nostrils, frequent nostrils, especially digging too deep may damage the health of the nasal mucosa, so that the nasal mucosa and even the inner tissue are traumatized, and this trauma can cause nasal bleeding problems at a low level and infection inside the nasal cavity.
Over time, repeated abrasions and traumas can affect the appearance of the nose, which in turn may form scar tissue, which in turn can lead to obstruction of the nasal airway, and in an August 2018 case report in the journal Cureus, there were cases of perforation of the nasal septum due to long-term nostril digging.
Is there a benefit to snippeting?
Digging out the nose from the nose will bring a strong sense of satisfaction, and there are rich nerve endings in the nasal cavity, in the process of digging the nostrils by stimulating these nerve endings, you can also stimulate the brain to produce a sense of pleasure, which may be the only positive effect of digging the nostrils, but the presence of mucus and nasal mucus in the nasal cavity is to capture bacteria and particles, protect the health of the nasal cavity and airway, therefore, digging the nostrils, especially excessive nostrils, brings health risks, more than the benefits, and there is a certain amount of mucus in the nasal cavity, In most cases, this is normal and does not have to be over-cleaned. Therefore, if you have a friend who is used to digging your nostrils, you should still change it as soon as possible.
Can Snot Be Eaten?
This is a bit of a "disgusting" question, but there are indeed many people who have such "special hobbies", and readers and friends have raised such "questions", so let's answer it for everyone. Snot is actually a dry nose that our bodies produce all the time, which helps protect the lining of the nasal cavity as well as trap bacteria and form irritating particles. In fact, in our daily lives, we will also swallow a part of the nasal secretion without consciousness, which is not essentially different from picking out the snot from the nose and eating it.
However, it should be noted that the nasal feces may carry bacteria or particles that are blocked by it, and it is difficult to keep these harmful substances out of the body, and if we eat it again, it may introduce the germs into the body again, which will cause health risks, and if the fingers are contaminated with other bacteria, it will also enter the body with this habit, bringing unnecessary risks.
Since nausea is still risky, this small habit of eating snot is still better to change.
4 ways to improve the bad habit of often digging nostrils
Through the above introduction, we should be able to understand that it is not a healthy habit to often dig out the nostrils, but what if we change this small habit that has been formed? The following four suggestions are worth learning from.
1, blowing the nose: when too much mucus in the nasal cavity leads to discomfort, try to use the way of blowing the nose to clean, instead of digging the nostrils, you can wrap it up with a tissue and discard it, which is safer than digging the nostrils.
2, rinse with salt water: for stubborn, hard snot, blocking the airway caused by nasal congestion will indeed make people uncomfortable, in this case, may wish to use sterile saline rinse or spray to clean the nasal cavity, salt water helps the moisturizing of the nasal cavity can also dilute mucus, help the natural removal of nasal feces.
3, understand the triggers: many times, we are unconscious, we began to dig the nostrils, therefore, want to improve the habit of digging nostrils, in fact, we still need to pay more attention. The American Society of Dermatology pointed out that if you want to change the habit of nostrils, you must first find the triggers, such as stress, boredom, anxiety, etc., understand what kind of situation leads to this impulse to dig your nostrils, and you can take measures to avoid this behavior at the right time.
4, keep your hands busy: If your habit of digging your nostrils is still difficult to change, you may wish to try to make your hands do more other things, such as when you want to dig your nostrils, choose some alternative behaviors to alleviate the impulse, such as choosing to grasp a "decompression ball" or play some other hands-occupying games, etc., which will help reduce the number and habit of digging nostrils.
For friends who have developed the habit of digging nostrils, it is usually difficult to completely change them at once, so while paying attention to improvement, we must also pay attention to taking some measures to avoid infection or damage nasal health, such as cutting short nails, washing hands frequently, etc., which are important aspects of reducing the health hazards caused by nostrils, and it is worth paying more attention to.