We are grateful to the head of the K+31 otolaryngology clinic, otolaryngologist Ilya Sergeevich Sadikov for the material provided.
Is picking your nose harmful?
Even if we discard the prejudices that this is ugly and unaesthetic, picking your nose is still not worth it. The fact is that bacteria live on the hands, which have no place in the nose. In addition, picking your nose provokes the appearance of crusts and microtraumas, which can become infected and lead to serious illnesses.
Should you remove nose hair?
If you do this carefully, with clean scissors allocated specifically for this procedure, there will be no harm. But using trimmers and tweezers is not recommended, as they can pull out hair, and thereby damage the hair follicle and cause inflammation.
Is it true that nose hair has a protective function?
Of course, they protect the respiratory tract from large dust particles and foreign bodies that can enter the nose with inhaled air. However, we don't need this protection that badly. Let's take dogs as an example: their noses have hairs only on the outside and even for them this protection is more than enough.
Can you pierce something in the nose and get into the brain?
It is possible, but it is quite difficult.
For example, it is basically easy to deal with the eardrum: many patients insert a cotton swab into their ear, forget about it, then put their phone on and get seriously injured. But to pierce the bone plate in the nose and get into the brain, it takes a lot of pressure and effort.
In real life, it is extremely difficult to get to the brain through the nose, and it is almost impossible to do it with a cotton swab.
Why, when it's cold, do many have a runny nose?
When a person leaves a warm place and gets into a cold one, his nasal breathing naturally deteriorates slightly. The fact is that the nose tries to protect the lungs from cold air, so mucus production increases. Within half an hour, the nose should adapt and the “flow from the nose” should stop. If this condition persists, you should see a doctor.
Is it possible to determine by the color of the snot that something is wrong?
Normally, mucus is formed in the nose all the time, which, thanks to the work of the cilia of the ciliated epithelium, flows down the nasopharynx, and the person swallows it unnoticed. It goes into the stomach, carrying with it bacteria and viruses that die in hydrochloric acid. If this process stops, snot appears, which changes color due to inflammation. What kind of inflammation is observed, it is impossible to determine only by color.
Black snot can be due to blood clots, dust, or some types of fungi.
Is it possible to climb into the ear with cotton swabs?
It is possible, but not necessary. Nothing terrible will most likely happen, but there is very little benefit from this action. A cotton swab can be used if you feel like scratching; it is not suitable for cleaning your ears. The fact is that we tamp sulfur with it, increasing the risk of sulfur plug.
Is earwax dirt? Do I need to get rid of it?
Earwax is a protective coating like wax on a car that protects your skin. In English, it is called earwax (ear wax). Excess sulfur spontaneously comes out as the skin grows, thereby clearing the external auditory canal. The dirtier the air in the room where a person is, the more sulfur he forms.
How to care for your ears?
In fact, everything is very simple: you need to follow the usual rules of hygiene and after taking water procedures, lightly blot your ears with a towel, wrapping it around your little finger.
Can a midge fly into the ear and get into the brain?
She cannot get past the eardrum, but she can cause serious discomfort. Earlier, when living conditions were much worse, even cockroaches crawled into their ears and literally drove people crazy by scratching the eardrum with their paws. And the cockroach cannot turn around and crawl out. The most correct option in such a situation would be to immediately contact an otolaryngologist, and not try to pull out the insect yourself.
Can I listen to music loudly?
Sometimes you can do this, but it is worth remembering that there is a risk of developing sensorineural hearing loss. It has been reliably proven that prolonged listening to music with headphones (more than half an hour a day) leads to hearing loss.
If you use earplugs every night, can otitis media start? Could this affect hearing?
It is quite safe to use earplugs; they definitely do not affect your hearing. It is important to treat earplugs responsibly so as not to bring germs into your ear that can cause otitis media. In fact, this also applies to in-ear headphones. They should be disinfected without fail. It is clear that it will hardly be possible to do this all the time, but you can minimize the risks if you do not touch the part that contacts the ear with dirty hands.
Can I hear sounds inside my body?
Indeed, sometimes a person can hear heartbeats, usually this indicates pathologies of the vessels of the neck.
