Our noses suck in air and the organisms floating in it, making the nose one of the main entry points for bacteria and viruses. The dark, moist nooks and crannies of the nasal cavities are an ideal environment for germs such as the coronavirus.
Lindsey Bever, 2023, The Washington PostHabitual nose picking is associated with an increased risk of contracting the coronavirus, researchers in the Netherlands found.
The researchers had studied the increased risk of coronavirus contraction among health-care workers in 2020 and wanted to know what may have led to it. In the recent study, they decided to look at behaviors that conflict with health guidelines - wearing beards, biting nails and picking schnozzles. The coronavirus is spread primarily through respiratory droplets and particles that are inhaled. The virus can also land on surfaces or faces, and touching the eyes, mouth or nose after touching parts of the face or a surface that has been contaminated increases the risk of introducing it into the body, experts say.
One study found that nose pickers were significantly more likely than non-nose pickers to carry staph infection in their nasal passages.People touch their faces for many reasons, such as to communicate and self-soothe. Some of these actions can be involuntary, such as rubbing their forehead, or learned, such as chewing on their fingernails, said Zach Sikora, a licensed clinical psychologist with Northwestern Medicine Regional Medical Group.
The trigeminal, or fifth cranial nerve, carries sensory signals from the face, including the jaw, eyelids and nose, to the brainstem, allowing people to feel touch, temperature and pain. Stimulating the nerve can help self-soothe, Navarro said. Try to replace face-touching with less risky behaviors - massage the back of your neck, rub your hands together or carry a trinket such as a small stone or a key to fiddle with."If I have a mask on, I'm not going to be able to pick my nose or bite my nails, which is my issue," said Scott C. Roberts, assistant professor of infectious diseases at Yale School of Medicine. "But everyone needs to find what works for them.
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