Know Your Nose

Wednesday, June 18, 2003

ROCHESTER, Minn. — You probably don't give your nose much thought, unless it's stuffy from a cold. It does much more than allow you to smell the roses — it cleans, moistens and warms the air you breathe before it reaches your lungs, according to the June issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource.

Consider these nose facts: - During a normal day, you breathe nearly 25,000 times. Many people inhale mainly through one nostril at a time, alternating nostrils every one to three hours.

- The nose conditions the air you breathe. The inhaled air is warmed to body temperature and humidified to 100 percent saturation by your nose. Moistening and warming the air helps prevent it from damaging the lungs.

- The nose filters particles — dust, pollen, bacteria and viruses — out of the air before they make their way into your lungs. The mucus captures inhaled particles, and the hair cells sweep it to the back of the nose where it is swallowed. This constant cleansing helps your body improve oxygen exchange in the lungs.

- The mucus membranes lining the nose and sinuses produce large amounts of mucus — between a pint and a quart a day. These secretions are normally unnoticed because they flow into the throat and stomach where the filtered particles are destroyed by stomach acids. When a virus infects these tissues, or they become inflamed from allergy, the mucus loses much of its water content, making it thicker so it flows more slowly. You may become aware of the mucus at the back of your throat (postnasal drip). Thicker secretions may cause pressure and pain in the sinuses or ear.

- Of course, your nose allows you to smell thousands of different odors, both pleasant fragrances and warning smells, such as a fire or gas leak. Sensitivity of smell is a genetic trait, and women typically possess a keener sense of smell than do men.

Mayo Clinic in Rochester
Carol Lammers
507-284-5005 (days)
507-284-2511(evenings)
email: newsbureau@mayo.edu

Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville
Erik Kaldor
904-953-2299

Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale
Anne Tewksbury
480-301-4368
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Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource is published monthly to help women enjoy healthier, more productive lives. Revenue from subscriptions is used to support medical research at Mayo Clinic. To subscribe, please call 800-876-8633, extension 9PK1.

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