What Your Snot Can Tell You About Your Health

Whether you call it mucus, boogers, snot or, our favorite, a snot rocket, here's one thing you should know: That gooey, sticky, slimy material inside your nose is key to keeping you healthy.

In fact, think of it as your body's own natural moisturizer.

“粘液是一种重要的物质，身体产生保护自身物质等病毒和细菌等外来物质，”解释说菲利普陈，MD那associate professor of otolaryngology/rhinology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

“它以两种方式保护身体，”他说。“首先是作为物理屏障：粘液是粘性的，捕获外来颗粒，其身体可以像扫帚一样扫除。第二种方法是通过其抗微生物性质，因为它是由部件制成的水性粘性物质像酶和抗击感染的抗体一样。“

It should come as no surprise, then, that your nose produces on average a夸脱（或大约1升）of snot every single day. "Much of it is swallowed and we don't even know it," Dr. Chen says.

But during allergy season, or when you're battling a respiratory infection, it can seem like that mucus is clogging up your nose, leaving you stuffy, constantly blowing your nose and just generally feeling crummy. But again, this is a good thing.

"The body is purposely responding to the insult by increasing mucus to fight the infection and clear the body of it," Dr. Chen says. In other words, it may be annoying to have a drippy nose, but it's not harmful.

说，你的粘液由与水混合的长分子（称为粘蛋白）制成Anthony Del Signore, MD那an otolaryngologist and Director of Rhinology and Skull Base Surgery at Mount Sinai Union Square in New York City. So the default color is generally clear.

但是，如果您开始产生大量清晰的粘液，它可以发出信号过敏，并且您的身体试图摆脱像灰尘，花粉或动物皮屑这样的颗粒。

在这些情况下，最好的治疗方法是絮状物的过度计量的鼻腔喷雾剂，以及每天使用盐水鼻腔喷洒几次以帮助冲洗鼻腔通道。如果这不足以让你救济，那么像Claritin或Allegra这样的OTC抗组胺药也可以提供帮助。

白色粘液意味着你可能像寒冷一样有呼吸道感染。

When you have this type of infection, your nasal mucus will start out watery and clear, saysR. Peter Manes, MD耶鲁大学医学鼻科专家和鼻窦外科医生。But after a day or so, it thickens and turns white. This is because of an increase in proteins produced by infection-fighting cells called neutrophils.

绿色或黄色粘液可能会出现几天内呼吸道病毒。如果你有很多，那么颜色来自死白血细胞，这可能会变成绿色。

虽然它经常被认为是绿色粘液意味着你有细菌感染，如鼻窦炎，“现实是大部分时间，这只是呼吸道病毒的正常过程，”芒果博士说。

一旦你的病毒被摧毁，粘液会弄干，你的鼻子会恢复正常。陈博士说，如果它真的很困扰着你，那么五到10分钟的温暖（不是热）的蒸汽可以帮助稀疏粘液并缓解拥堵。

You can also use a saline nasal spray, which helps soften and loosen mucus so you can blow it out more easily.

While an over-the-counter cold medicine that contains the ingredient guifenesin may help, "the evidence isn't great," Dr. Chen says.

您可以用它们的“鼻窦”一词跳过OTC MED，最有可能包括诸如苯妥妥氏素的屠体。陈陈表示，这些可能会帮助您通过鼻子更容易地呼吸鼻子，因为它们减少了鼻腔中的肿胀，但陈博士说，他们实际上并没有夯实粘液生产。如果你有他们也不安全高血压不应该长时间使用。

虽然像桉树或薄荷醇一样的摩擦可以舒缓你的Schnoz，但它们也不会降低粘液生产。

抵制呼叫医生的冲动并乞求抗生素的处方。陈议员说：“他们不会使患有呼吸道感染的人受益，”陈博士说。它们还增加了抗生素抗性的机会，这意味着当你真的需要使用它们时，他们就不会工作。

If you've been blowing your nose vigorously because you have a cold, it can cause irritation that leads to bleeding. This can stick around your nasal cavity for a while, causing mucus to be either light red or even pink, Dr. Del Signore says. The irritation can also be caused by dry indoor air.

Del Impeore博士说，如果含有粉红色或红色粘液，可以使用盐水鼻喷雾或盐水滴在每天两到三次，以保持您的鼻腔通道湿润。您还可以在卧室里在卧室里运行加湿器，以向空中添加水分。

Brown or orange mucus can be a sign of dried blood in your nose. It could also be the result of coming into contact with particles like dirt or cigarette smoke, Dr. Chen says.

"We as a society have been kind of trained to think color equals infection," he says. "Remember that mucus is meant to trap foreign particles, like dust or pollen. So a brownish tinge could just be a sign that your mucus is doing its job and doing irrigation."

黑色snot could indicate a fungal infection or exposure to a dangerous pollutant. See your doctor ASAP if you have black mucus.