I have been laid low with a sinus infection and chest crud. As a result, I’m a snot queen. I could choose to wallow in my misery (which I did for the first five days), but I choose to celebrate snot.
Snot, aka mucous, is the Swiss Army knife of body fluids. It serves as a bodily defense against invaders, helps keep sperm together, reduces friction, and can protect against predators. With that teaser, I’ll focus on the function of snot as a bodily defense. After all, I’m currently the snot queen.
Your body secretes snot from epithelial cells. These are a type of cell that lines surfaces. Your skin contains epithelial cells. Your intestines are lined with epithelial cells. You get the idea. These cells secrete snot to keep surfaces moist. I for example, like the interior of my nose to be moist so I can (sometimes) smell things. When I’m sick, epithelial cells secrete extra snot to immobilize invaders in goo. Those of us with allergies have bodies that think pollens, molds, dust mites, and cats are invaders – lucky us.
You can tell a lot about your health by observing your nose snot. Those of you who can’t resist looking at the tissue after you blow your nose are now feeling a great sense of relief. You are no longer a freak. You are monitoring your health!
Normal nose snot is clear and doesn’t drip from your nose holes (nares). Slightly yellow snot is an indication that your body is fighting off cooties. Green snot indicates you probably have a bacterial infection and the cooties are ahead. Amongst my close friends and fellow allergy sufferers we describe our health as “code yellow” or “code green”. For those of you concerned about my health, I was code green, but I’ve made it to code yellow. Thanks for asking.
