The serious health reasons why you should stop picking your nose

Truth be told, most people pick their noses more often than they might want to admit. However, the way you pick your nose and the frequency of it could cause harm to you. From bleeding to spreading infections, nose picking is a bad habit that could lead to adverse effects.

Spreading bacteria

When you pick your nose, you are spreading the bacteria and viruses from your nasal region to everything else you touch. You are also transferring germs from your fingertips into your nose, increasing your chances of catching a viral or bacterial infection, according to CTV News.

What this means is that your seemingly innocuous habit of treasure hunting in your nostril could be spreading infections like Covid-19, flu or the common cold.

When mucus – which could contain bacteria and viruses – dries up, it turns into crusts (boogers) which most people find too tempting to ignore. But you should be mindful of that as the skin inside the nose is delicate and removing boogers could result in cuts. Dr Cedric Buckley, molecular virologist explained:

Once that barrier is breached, you're right into a capillary bed, which becomes the conduit for viral particle infection.

And do not eat it

Most people will agree that eating boogers is disgusting, although some believe it could boost immunity due to the presence of bacteria and microbes in it. But, there are serious health reasons why you shouldn’t ingest mucus into your system. According to VaughanToday:

It can lead to increased infection, as buggers may contain dangerous bacteria or viruses. It should also be noted that eating booger can lead to digestive issues such as stomach upset and diarrhoea.

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