You may occasionally pick your nose inadvertently, whether you acknowledge it or not. It’s true that a lot of adults—not just children—have a habit of picking their noses.
Its perceived ugliness, particularly when done in public, is one of the primary reasons people learn to give it up.
Scientists have discovered a compelling argument to abandon this endeavor, nevertheless. A recent study from Griffith University that was published in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that picking your nose can have seriously detrimental health effects.
According to recent research, a microbe can enter mice’s brains through the olfactory nerve in the nose and produce markers that are a clear indication of Alzheimer’s disease.
How Picking your Nose can Impact your Brain
According to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), Alzheimer’s disease is a brain ailment that gradually impairs thinking and memory abilities as well as the capacity to perform even the most basic tasks.
The olfactory nerve in the nose provides a quick route to the brain that avoids the blood-brain barrier, according to a study done on mice. This pathway provides a direct conduit for germs and viruses to enter the brain.
“We’re the first to show that Chlamydia pneumoniae can go straight up the nose and into the brain where it can set off pathologies that look like Alzheimer’s disease,” says Professor James St John, Head of the Clem Jones Center for Neurobiology and Stem Cell Research and co-author of the new study. This is what we observed in a mouse model, and the results may be unsettling to humans as well.
An Explanation of the Results
The researchers discovered that the nerve connecting the brain to the nasal cavity served as a direct route for Chlamydia pneumoniae, a kind of bacteria that causes respiratory tract infections including pneumonia, to enter the central nervous system.
The brain’s cells subsequently responded by depositing amyloid beta protein, a crucial building block for the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
The Results are Supported by Earlier Research
According to a study conducted last year, the primary cause of Alzheimer’s disease may be the bloodstream leakage of a certain hazardous chemical. The scientists found that lipoproteins allow beta-amyloids to develop outside of the brain and then be transported through the bloodstream of the body.
This work, which was published in the journal Plos Biology, also used mice. “This ‘blood-to-brain pathway’ is significant because it opens up potential new treatments to prevent Alzheimer’s disease and slow memory loss if we can manage blood levels of lipoprotein-amyloid and prevent their leakage into the brain,” the researchers said.
Do Human Beings Face the Same Risks?
The group still has to demonstrate that humans have the same channel that pathogens and viruses utilize to enter the brain from the olfactory nerve in the nose.
“To determine whether the same pathway functions in the same way in humans, we must conduct this investigation. Numerous individuals have suggested this research, but it hasn’t been finished yet. The presence of these similar germs in humans is known, but the mechanism by which they enter the body is still unknown, according to professor St John.
It’s Dangerous to Pick Nasal Hairs as Well
It is not a good idea to pick at your nose or remove nasal hairs. Picking and plucking can harm the inside of our nose, something we don’t want to happen. Professor St. John says, “You can increase the amount of bacteria that can enter your brain if you damage the lining of your nose.”
He also suggests smell testing for people 60 years of age and above to reduce the chance of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. This can aid in the early diagnosis of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
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