The dangers of picking your nose

People often find that picking your nose is a bad habit because it is not only unhygienic but also prone to bacterial and disease infection. For example, rhinitis is often a disease problem, and the treatment of rhinitis is very difficult. Therefore, you need to pay special attention to the many harmful effects of picking your nose. The more you pick your nose, the bigger it will become, which will affect your body's image. So what are the other dangers of picking your nose?

What are the disadvantages of picking your nose frequently?

1. Bacteria, viruses and other pathogenic microorganisms on your hands can be brought into the respiratory tract, easily causing respiratory infections.

2. Mechanical stimulation of the nasal mucosa can easily cause nasal inflammation, such as acute rhinitis, sinusitis, etc.

3. If you accidentally puncture a blood vessel in the nasal cavity, it may cause heavy bleeding.

4. Picking your nose often removes your nose hairs, making the nasal cavity a portal for microbial invasion and easily causing anterior nasal infection. Since the nose is located in the medical "danger triangle", if the inflammation is not well controlled, it may invade the skull and endanger life.

5. Long-term (usually 20 years) mechanical and inflammatory stimulation of the nasal mucosa can cause a variety of benign and malignant tumors in the nasal cavity, such as: benign ones include intranasal papilloma, nasal sinus osteoma, nasal sinus hemangioma, fibroma; and malignant ones, among which nasopharyngeal carcinoma is very scary.

6. Picking your nose is also an unsightly behavior that makes people feel uncomfortable.

Picking your nose is certainly not good, but there are always some abnormalities in your nose. How should you deal with it?

1. What to do if there are dry scabs in the nasal cavity

When you have a cold, the excessive secretions in your nasal cavity can easily cause dry scabs. You can use a cotton swab dipped in water to moisten the nasal mucosa and then gently remove the dry scabs. Never pick your nose with your hands to avoid bleeding and infection.

2. What to do if your nostrils itch

Normal nostrils can easily become itchy and dry when irritated by polluted air or dry air. Using a cotton swab dipped in some warm water to moisten the nose can effectively relieve symptoms; you can also use your palm or a hot towel to gently massage the tip of your nose to soothe it.

3. How to deal with blood scabs in the nasal cavity

Damaged skin will also form a layer of scab when healing. It is very uncomfortable to have scabs in the nostrils, so I always want to dig them out with my fingers. If the blood scab is not completely healed, it will grow again after being dug out, and will easily cause inflammation.

When the scabs in the nose cause discomfort, you should be patient and restrain yourself and do not pick them with your fingers. Usually after a few days, the wound heals, the scab falls off, and the uncomfortable feeling disappears. If the scab is too large and the itching is unbearable, you can apply some ointment or zinc oxide oil to soften the scab and the itching will be relieved.

4. Can you pick your nose gently without causing any pain?

This is not advisable! Sometimes, even if you don’t feel any scratches or pain, it can still cause slight abrasions, bacteria can invade and cause infection, and form boils. Once a boil occurs in the nostril, it is not only very painful, but the inflammation in this area can easily spread. The consequences of infection in the "Danger Triangle" are very serious, as described in detail above.

5. Can I trim my nose hair when it gets longer? Will it become thicker the more I trim it?

Many people think that nose hair is unsightly and often use small scissors to reach into their nostrils to cut it, or even pull it out with their hands. This is very harmful to the nose. When nose hair grows out, it must be trimmed short, but only the part exposed outside should be trimmed short. It should not be trimmed too short (new nose hair should never be trimmed), otherwise, the nose hair will lose its proper function.

The trimmed nose hair will indeed be thicker than before, but don't worry, each nose hair has a certain lifespan and it will not grow thicker endlessly. It will slowly become loose and fall off.

6. Picking your nose has become a habit that you can’t stop

If you can control yourself, try to do so; in addition, you should trim your nails frequently to eliminate this biggest accomplice. If you really can't help it, you should wash your hands before digging, this can reduce the chance of direct infection of the nasal cavity by bacteria on your hands.

How to clean the nasal cavity correctly?

You can use clean water or light salt water to clean your nose at home: soak your nostrils in salt water, inhale the water into your nasal cavity as you inhale, allowing it to fully contact the nasal mucosa, pause for a while, then exhale the water, and repeat for 1-3 minutes. Be careful to prevent water from entering the trachea.

Friends with dry nose can drop 1-2 drops of vegetable oil into the nasal cavity to keep the nose moisturized.

Massage techniques to relieve nasal discomfort

Rub your hands together to warm them up, use your middle finger to move other fingers along both sides of the nose from bottom to top, rub until your forehead spreads to both sides, and then go down from both sides, repeat several times; bend your two thumbs slightly, lightly clench the other four fingers into fists, and use the back of your thumbs to rub the "Yingxiang point" up and down along both sides of the nose bone with a little force, up to the Jingming point.

Summary: If you pick your nose frequently, it is easy to pick out the nasal hairs in the nasal cavity, which will make it easy for bacteria to enter the nasal cavity, which can easily cause anterior nasal infection. If the inflammation is not well controlled, it may invade the skull and in severe cases it may be life-threatening. Moreover, frequent nose picking can easily lead to rhinitis or sinusitis. Some people even think that the nose hair in the nasal cavity is very unsightly. Some people's nose hair will grow out, so they want to pull it out or even cut it off. This is also not surprising.