Your sinuses can make 2 liters of mucus every day. That's almost 8.5 cups or the equivalent of how much water you should be drinking each day! The speed of a sneeze is approximately 100 mph. That's faster than a cheetah can run!
Boogers are made of mucus
It has a slimy, sticky consistency that traps potentially harmful substances in the environment, such as pollen, viruses and germs. The nose and throat produce about a quart or more of mucus a day. Most of it mixes with saliva and is swallowed, but some stay in the nose.
Snot is that sticky, slimy stuff inside your nose. You also might hear it called mucus (say: MYOO-kus). Snot does a great job of keeping all the germs, dirt, pollen, and other stuff in the air from getting into your lungs.
It was used as a term for a goblin or bogeyman before it meant snot, and it seems to be descended from bogy or bogey (which in fact is also a British equivalent to booger) and boggart or boggard, all of which have some relation to either bog (as in where the evil spirits dwell) or bug (in the sense of 'evil creature', ...
Kids eat boogers because they are salty.
Most kids pick their noses and eat the boogers because they taste salty. Try using positive reinforcement to help stop this behavior. In other words, don't scold your child for picking and/or eating boogers.
“Normally, mucus is clear. When you have a cold or infection, it might turn green or yellow,” said Alyssa. Clear snot usually signals allergies or some kind of environmental factor that is triggering your nose to start running, such as inhaling dust or allergens.
While picking your nose from time to time isn't going to kill you, it's a bad habit to develop, like nail biting, and can lead to an infection in your nasal tract. There are some underlying reasons why both adults and children may feel the need to dig around in their noses.
Mucus in the nose helps trap germs and other particles to prevent them from getting further inside the body. When a combination of mucus, germs, and particles dries out, it becomes a booger. Nose boogers can feel uncomfortable and irritating, potentially leading a person to pick their nose.
Black mucus
Similar to brown snot, black nasal mucus can be the result of dried blood or from inhaling something dark like cigarette smoke, smog or dust. However, in some cases, it could also be a symptom of a fungal infection, which tend to affect those with a compromised immune system.
Mucus is made up of a fluid component of around 95% water, the mucin secretions from the goblet cells, and the submucosal glands (2–3% glycoproteins), proteoglycans (0.1–0.5%), lipids (0.3–0.5%), proteins, and DNA.
Here's what the color of mucus indicates: Cloudy or white mucus is a sign of a cold. Yellow or green mucus is a sign of a bacterial infection. Brown or orange mucus is sign of dried red blood cells and inflammation (aka a dry nose).
White snot – White snot may mean that your child is coming down with a cold or upper respiratory infection. Yellow and green snot – Yellow and green snot typically means that the body is mounting defenses against these types of infections and may occur after a couple of days.
Ellis says that, on average, a person produces about 1.5 quarts of mucus per day, and contrary to what you might think, it doesn't vary by all that much. But that mucus gets diluted by a separate, watery secretion (called serous fluid), which can vary widely based on your health.
Now I'm sure none of YOU have ever eaten your boogers, but we have it on good authority that they are salty, like sweat. Those salts are minerals your body uses from your food.
White snot means your mucus has a low water content, which means it will be flowing slower than healthy mucus. White mucus indicates you have some sort of infection brewing. Most commonly, white snot indicates you're coming down with the common cold, which may cause symptoms such as: Sore throat.
Basically, boogers are dried-up mucus, also called snot. Your body makes mucus all the time, and you need it. It provides a protective layer in your nose. The stickiness of mucus traps dirt, bacteria, dust, and other particles so they can't enter your airways or get to your lungs.
Petroleum jelly is generally safe to use. But rarely, breathing in (inhaling) fat-based substances (lipoids) — such as petroleum jelly or mineral oil — for long periods can cause lung problems. Petroleum jelly applied to the inside of the nostrils usually drains down the back of the nose with normal nasal secretions.
About catarrh. Catarrh is a build-up of mucus in an airway or cavity of the body. It usually affects the back of the nose, the throat or the sinuses (air-filled cavities in the bones of the face). It's often temporary, but some people experience it for months or years.
Remember, mucus and boogers exist to trap germs and particles and protect the lining of your nasal passage. "The presence of mucus in the nose is normal and is best left alone," Dr. Cusumano says.
Children with clear mucous at the beginning of a cold are most contagious. Green nasal mucus (usually found toward the end of the cold) is less contagious than clear mucus. A runny nose usually starts with clear mucus which then becomes whitish or green- ish as the cold dries up and gets better.
The three most common reasons for extra mucus or snot are the common cold, sinusitis (infection or inflammation of the sinuses, the air-filled spaces inside the face bones) and hay fever.
A bacterial sinus infection may be behind why the inside of your nose smells rotten, or why you might notice smells when blowing your nose. When healthy, your sinuses are naturally able to drain mucus (which has filtered germs and dirt from the air).