As a child, your mother always slapped your wrist saying “Hey! Get your finger out of there.” Yes, we’re talking about those unsightly little things called boogers. As big of a pest as they may be, and however unsightly they are, they actually play a vital role in your health- as they say: ‘all the unattractive things that taste really bad are actually good for you’.

Mucus, which is the correct term for boogers and nunu’s, actually has a pretty important job in that they protect your lungs from infections. When you breathe in air through your nose, the current of air that you are inhaling contains a lot of tiny particles such as dust, dirt, pollen and germs, things you wouldn’t want in your lungs.

Tiny hairs found in the inside of your nose, known as cilia help trap these particles. Your nose is also naturally moist, or should be, and also warms the air passing through the passageway because of the heat given off from the blood flow in the lining of your nose. These minor processes result in mucus, and those subtle yet stubborn blockages.

While all this may seem pretty obvious, it’s scary to note that your nose produces approximately 1 litre of mucus every day, all of which is a sign that you are healthy. However, Ear, Nose and Throat specialists’ advice that you may be suffering from allergies if you are constantly battling with built up mucus and always have to reach for the nearest pack of tissues.

If so, you may want to purchase some form of nasal spray or else an anti-histamine to help your body fight against allergies from pollen or dust for instance, as constant nose blowing can irritate the nose even more and result in burst capillaries in the lining of the nose.

While we stand unconvinced, an Austrian doctor has taken a stab to his reputation for encouraging people, particularly children, to pick their noses and then consume their ‘diamonds.’

In Dr. Friedrich Bischinger’s opinion- a lung specialist working in Innsbruck-, exposing the body to the dried germ crusts may help reinforce the body’s immune system. According to the Austrian doctor “Medically it makes great sense and is a perfectly natural thing to do.”
“In terms of the immune system, the nose is the filter in which a great deal of bacteria is collected, and when this mixture arrives in the intestines it works just like medicine,” he says.

Other doctors however claim that nose mining is an extremely dangerous pursuit. If the skin on the inside of the nose is broken while picking away, the veins in that region are situated in such a way that sometimes an infection can migrate inward to the base of the brain and inhibit the blood flow, resulting in a serious condition known as cavernous sinus thrombosis.
It is for these reasons that doctors dub the triangular area of the face from the corners of the mouth to the bridge of the nose as the ‘danger triangle of the face.’

While we understand why, boosting your immune system via exposure to boogers has yet to be scientifically proven, with no formal studies foreseeable in the near future. However, if you do suffer from over active mucus glands, you should perhaps look into potential allergies that you may be reacting to, otherwise keep your nose and lungs clean with a handy tissue.

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