Why do stuffy noses get more productive when you’re recovering from getting sick? If the point of a runny nose is to expel the bad germs through mucus, then wouldn’t it make more sense for them to get less productive as you recover because the bad germs are mostly gone?
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I don’t have the answer to this question, but I want to mention that it’s not always good to assume everything in biology has a purpose. Evolution is a flawed and messy process that often comes up with a “good enough” solution, rather than an ideal one. And there are two evolutionary processes going on here. Humans evolve in response to viruses, but viruses also evolve to affect humans in a way that makes it easier for them to spread.
This is entirely speculation, but I’ll give an example of how this *could* hypothetically evolve without having a purpose. It’s good for viruses if you produce a lot of mucus, because then you sneeze, blow your nose, and spread germs. The virus benefits from you producing as much as possible while you’re infectious. When you’re recovering, the virus doesn’t benefit from you producing mucus, but it doesn’t hurt, either. Maybe the easiest way for the virus to make you produce more mucus when you’re sick and infectious also makes you produce more mucus when you’re recovering.
You could make a similar argument on the human end. Producing more mucus during the illness helps flush out the virus. If the response lasts too long, that’s not ideal, but will it actually cause you to have fewer kids and not pass on your genes? Probably not. And if it doesn’t stop you from passing on your genes, evolution doesn’t care.
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