How and where does the body produce nasal mucus? And why is it worse when you are sick?
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Mucus comes from the mucus membrane which is a lining in body cavities and canals that lead to the outside of the body, for example, in the respiratory system, digestive system, and reproductive systems. Nasal mucus comes from the mucus membranes in the reproductive system.
The membrane lining consists of three types of cells—basal cells, ciliated cells, and goblet cells. The basal cells are the bottom layer which connects the other cell types to muscular tissue on the other side. The ciliated cells are the most common top layer of the membrane and contain the ingredients necessary to produce mucus. When the ciliated cells are triggered they gather the ingredients together to form mucin, at which point that cell is considered a goblet cell (think of it as a cup of liquid). Once the goblet cell released the mucin, that gel is officially considered mucus.
Ciliated cells are triggered to form mucin randomly in a healthy environment to coat the membrane to prevent external bodies from entering rest of the body, especially the blood system. This is as part of the immune system offense, but when the system has been compromised and there are known external bodies (ex bacteria, viruses, etc) already in the system, more ciliated cells will turn into goblet cells to release more mucin into the mucus as a defense to help usher those external objects back out of the system.
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