Re: Is it actually healthier to sniff phlegm / mucus back IN the nose (in general, i.e. apart from when you have a cold etc)?

And actually, since my OP I've kind of read now that our immune system, when under stress, produces this excess phlegm / mucus as part of its natural defence mechanism in riding the body of pathogens and the like - so yeah, I think so long as you're not excessively drying out your nasal passages such that new baddies get in as a result, it's something that is kind of considered 'waste' and should stay out!

However, if it's other types of (what appears to be) 'snot' like what's in fact water condensating in cold (enough) weather etc, or natural nasal mucus production for protection from dust etc (I've noticed my nose getting runny when [unfortunately] working in dusty places, it seems to obviously be a natural protection mechanism in the nose!), in THAT case clearly the more you NOT blow your nose and just try to keep it in there, the better!

But in the case of a cold and the mucus coming from more below - the yellowy stuff - yes, agreed.

Thanks for the thoughts! Tweet