Really want to know: better to blow nose or sniffle it?

[mommybunny]

I know people get really grossed out hearing others sniffle instead of blowing their noses, but I’d really like to know, from an ENT if possible, exactly what happens to snot when it is sniffled rather than blown out of the nose. From what it feels like when I sniffle, I swallow and it just goes into my throat and down my oesophagus into my stomach, where it mixes with the acids and such and is then excreted in the normal, and hygienic, course. That HAS to be better from a transmission-prevention perspective than having someone blow virus-laden snot into a tissue, depositing said tissue into the bin and then going off on their merry way without washing their now snot-seeped hands (have you ever seen anyone wash their hands after blowing their nose?).

So I’m wondering if it would be better from a public health perspective if we persuaded people to get over their aversion to hearing people sniffle and just let the snifflers get on with it?

As a child my old doctor always said it was better to sniff, one reason being that blowing can damage the lining of the nose.

I can't stand people blowing their noses, it makes me heave, the thought of that stringy snot across their top lip and in a hanky < sick not envy!
I can deal with all other bodily fluids, just not snot.

I am aware I am odd before anybody points it out.

Not odd !😨

If you don't blow your nose, the mucus goes into your throat causing a horrible cough. The cough is your body trying to get rid of the mucus. It can also go onto your chest. If you swallow it, it can make you sick, particularly children. Much better to blow your nose.

Blow.
I sat in a separate office this week, due to 2 people CONSTANTLY sniffing.

I don’t mind nose-blowing per se (though I don’t think you’re odd twinone), it’s the lack of hand washing I think is gross. If you think about it, it’s on a par with leaving a toilet without washing your hands. On the other hand, I don’t mind hearing someone sniffle if it means they are keeping their cold to themselves.

So I’m wondering if it would be better from a public health perspective if we persuaded people to get over their aversion to hearing people sniffle and just let the snifflers get on with it?

Can you imagine this in an open plan office?

From what I've read on MN sniffing can be life-threatening. If your work mates totally lose it anyway.

Well, wash your own hands regularly and don't put them near you face too much.

Sorry rosy, maybe I’m being dumb, but how does swallowed mucus end up in your chest? If you have some kind of reference I’d be grateful to see it - what you’re saying doesn’t make sense to me - if swallowed mucus went to your chest (do you mean your lungs?) you’d stop breathing, like you do when you swallow food that “goes down the wrong way”, wouldn’t you? However, as I’m not a medical expert I have an open mind.

The sniffing I endured this week was followed by the whole swallowing whatever came down the throat.

That noise, from the back of the nose/throat where you think they are going to gob all over the floor, but no, they swallow.

Drove me mad.

Blow, wash hands.

My granny told me that sniffing was better as blowing could lead to sinusitis. I'm sure that's an old granny's tale! I do a mix of both. Sniffing and blowing. I can't sniff strong enough...sometimes it drips!!! That's when I have to blow!!! Sorry TMI. 🤢

I don't think mucous you swallow ends up on your chest, more that mucous produced by your lungs can become infected.

Apparently (Just googled) you do have to be careful when blowing your nose ad it can put pressure on your ear drums!

Blowing my nose just makes it blocked. Perhaps I'm doing it wrong? I much prefer to sniff and do try to be discrete.

DP is a doctor, although not ENT, but he has always told me blowing is bad because of the damage it does to the lining of the nose.

I have always been a blower and hate the sound of sniffing but I suffer from awful, painful, swollen skin in my nostrils when I have any sort of runny nose.
When I don't blow, it's much better, so as much as it pains me to admit it, I think he might be right.

I still try not to sniff though as the noise is just so gross. I 'dab' with a tissue instead - which is probably just as bad as blowing from a hygiene point of view.

DP tells all his patients to sniff!

Sure rosy, mucus produced by your lungs can become infected (and isn’t that pneumonia?), but that can’t be caused by mucus that’s dripped/slid down your nose and been sucked back up to be swallowed down your oesophagus?

This is what I want to know - what really happens to the mucus? Am I right about it just going into the stomach, or is there something else that happens to it? Shared experiences about open plan offices and irritating colleagues who disturb the peace with their nasal secretions are all very interesting (and I should have expected them), but they don’t tell me what I want to know, and neither, for that matter, does Google!

It goes into your stomach and gets digested. Bit of extra protein, probably.

If you either sniff too hard or blow too hard, I think it irritates the lining of your nose, making you more prone to infections, particularly sinus and ear infections. The irritation also encourages your body to produce tonnes more snot, which block up your Eustachian tubes and sinuses and are also a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. So whichever way the snot goes, don't do it too forcefully! I have a feeling that the excessive mucous produced can drip down the back of your throat while you sleep at night and it is possible to inhale tiny amounts, which isn't great if it's already loaded with bacteria.

Is there some research that indicates that ingesting mucus can actually protect you against viruses? Like an inoculation?

Swallowing snot, which I sometimes do if I can’t find a tissue makes me nauseous. I actually do wash my hands if I am trying to prevent the spread, but out in public surely people should be washing their own hands anyway?

It goes into the stomach, yes, but the stomach doesn’t like it very much. Kids and babies particularly will get mucuosy diarrhoea, which is a clear indication you body doesn’t like it.

What did people do before tissues then? Just smear it all down their chins and chests, all over their hands and arms and walk around like that? Of course the natural method is to sniff/swallow and your body is fine with this.

What really annoys me is people who refuse to sniff (because it’s bad manners) and so they just let it drip down to the end of their nose and just sit there while they finishing off a conversation. A big fat glob waiting to drop on the floor. Just sniff! Or excuse yourself and blow. Don’t let it all hang out.

Ex nurse here, got to say blowers seemed to recover faster than sniffers.

I also have sinus issues myself (over large septum and malformed cavity) and ent people have said to me gentle blowing is best, sniffing it doesn't necessarily go straight to stomach but passes over the oesophageal passage in such a way minute mucus particles can end up in the lungs leading to chest infections. Also the stomach acids don't completely cope with the germs and it could cause stomach upset too.

Think about it, your body is making the mucus easier to remove from your body, if it was better evolutionarily speaking to swallow rather than expel via the nose there'd be no more sneezing 😉

In the very very old days it was blown into the hand and the hand then wiped on the clothing. Or one nostril was held closed and the snot expelled by exhaling through the open nostril straight onto the ground.

In the very old days the poorest had a rag that was used until it disintegrated.

In the old days, handkerchiefs were made from old shirts and sheets and a clean hanky was a sign of common decency
"They didn't have two pennies to rub together but the front step were allus scrubbed and them kids went to school with a clean hanky every day."

I have a huge store of trivia in my head but am incapable of memorising my PIN

if you can't find a tissue use something you can find as a tissue.