How do eucalyptus/mint scents clear up a stuffy nose?
In: Biology
The most popular response is wrong I think. Mint/Menthol/Eucalyptus do not actually reduce or clear nasal congeston they simply trick your brain into thinking you are breathing clearly through your nose.
I am a Pharmacist and my University Professor taught that menthol and eucalyptus activate cold (thermo) receptors when you inhale them into your nasal passage. These are the same cold receptors that are activated when you are inhaling normally via your nasal passages (focus on it now and feel the sensation of cool air in your nasal passage).
The activation of the receptors when your nose is blocked gives you the sensation of achieving adequate imhalation of air through your nose HOWEVER you will also be breathing in through your mouth aswell to compensate for the reduced intake of air through your nose.
Doing steam inhalations with or without menthol/eucalyptus can help to clear your congestion as the steam will help to dissolve the mucus blocking the nasal cavity.
Psuedoephedrine helps to clear nasal congestion by constricting the blood vessels in the nasal passage and reduce mucus formation.
The nasal passagea do not really increaae or decreaae in size it is the amount of mucus up there that restricts airflow.
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