Why is snot salty?

Snot is a secretion from the human nasal cavity. In life, everyone cannot avoid having a runny nose. In contrast, those who are weak and have poor resistance, such as the elderly and children, are most likely to have a runny nose. Sometimes it is clear snot, and sometimes it is very thick snot. There are many reasons behind this. I believe many people have had snot flow into their mouths, and then they will find that the snot is salty. Why is this?

Why is snot salty?

Mucus contains a lot of nutrients, mainly water, inorganic salts, a small amount of sugar, fat, protein, a small amount of shed mucosal cells, adsorbed dust and chemicals in the air, etc. The snot tastes salty because the content of inorganic salts is greater than that of sugar, and it contains adsorbed dust and chemicals in the air.

Nasal secretions are often a mixture of tears and nasal mucosal secretions, which contain a certain amount of salt and have a certain degree of saltiness.

Nasal secretions, saliva, sweat and other natural secretions of the body will contain certain electrolytes and salts to a greater or lesser extent. But it doesn't mean that a salty nasal discharge is unhealthy. Don't take it too seriously.

Mucus and phlegm are secreted from the body and contain body fluids, which include sodium chloride, so they taste salty. Human tears are also salty for the same reason.

When tears flow into the mouth, people will taste salty. Why are tears salty? Scientists used trace analysis methods to discover that in people’s tears, 99% is water and 1% is solid, and more than half of this solid is salt. No wonder it tastes salty! It turns out that there is a gland the size of a little finger on the upper outside of the eyeball, called the lacrimal gland. The lacrimal gland uses blood as raw material and produces tears after processing. Knowing that human blood, body fluids and tissue fluids all contain salt, it is not surprising that tears made of blood contain salt. Salt accounts for 0 in the blood.

The treatment is mainly to eliminate the viral infection and actively repair and rebuild the bronchial mucosal wall. Under the guidance of a local doctor, you can take anti-inflammatory and expectorant drugs such as levofloxacin and compound licorice mixture.