As someone who suffers from hay fever, I feel like I can expel enough snot through my nose to fill a swimming pool during a good sneezing session. But how exactly is it formed as I don’t see how that amount can just be stored in/around my nose?
In: 60
It is produced by mucus glands. It is composed of salts, enzymes, and proteins and covers the mucus membrane.
Essentially mucus is like your bodies way of protecting your nose from foreign invaders, whilst also keeping your internal parts wet. When you have a dry throat it’s actually because your mucus is insufficient. Now your body is always trying to be in “homeostasis” – this is basically your body trying to keep your body at its optimum capacity. You will always have snot in your nose as it’s trying to prevent a dry environment from occurring.
So why do we get so much snot during hayfever or when we are ill?
In your nose and respiratory passages you have cells dedicated to creating mucus to keep things lubricated. When pollen particulates come into your nose, your nose reacts as if these are foreign invaders such as a virus – your nose then assumes it’s under attack and screams to your brain that it’s being attacked. As a result, your brain releases chemicals which tells your nasal passage to essentially go into overdrive and capture everything going into your nose. Mucus is designed to entangle foreign invaders, it’s why frequently you will feel fine in most scenarios aside from a blocked nose when you have hayfever.
Because the pollen in the air is always present during summer, your body is then in a constant defence mode. Unfortunately you then feel unwell as theirs an unjustified amount of pressure in your nose, alongside the inability to breath using your nasal passages.
I suffer from hayfever as well, and I would say to recommend going to the doctor – I got prescribed mometasone furoate a nasal steroid and it’s sorted my problem. I can now run with no issues about my breathing, can even run through grass fields.
Your nose is like an iceberg: Most of it is hidden beneath the surface of your face. Only the very tip actually pokes out. The total volume of a nasal cavity is about 15-20 cubic centimeters, slightly bigger than a tablespoon.
The nose can produce a lot of mucus – in fact, normally people produce about a quart of mucus per day (almost 3 soda cans). Most of this slides into the throat and gets swallowed, but when you have a cold mucus gets thicker and stickier, and inflammation makes it less likely to go down the back so some of it comes out the front instead.
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