Is it a volcano erupting? Is it a tap that somebody forgot to turn off? No, it’s a nose full of snot!
Snot can be yellow, green, or white. It can be thick or liquid. It appears in large and small noses, potato shaped and snub noses. Snot is disgusting, but did you know that it is a mechanism to protect the human body?
Has anyone got a handkerchief? Because the point here is to blow one’s nose.
Hello, this is snot!
Look at your class friends, I’m sure some of them have runny noses.
Snot is a thick, gooey, sticky substance produced in some parts of our body. Its purpose is to act as a barrier – or even as a policeman – because it traps and bars the passage of small particles such as dust, pollen, or other minute organisms present in the air that could make us sick. Snot poses no risk to your health, but it may be annoying. A lot of it may even disturb your sleep, cause earache, bellyache, headache, breathing problems…
Tears are also considered snot. We cry snot!
Why do we have snot?
Snot is an alarm of our body to warn us that we have an infection. You don’t have to be sick to be snotty, but it often happens when you have a cold, or flu, or an allergy, or a sore throat.
In the coldest months of the year children may have runny noses during one or two months non-stop. How can so much snot come out of such a small place?
Stop runny noses!
Snot is not an illness, but sometimes it can be very annoying. To avoid it bothering us, we can take the following steps:
- Clean your nose properly. Blow your nose with the mouth closed – “blowing” through the nose.
- Drink plenty of liquid: water, juices, soup…
- Remain in a humid atmosphere. There are appliances to humidify the rooms.
- Sea water is very good to clear the passages. Putting your head under the water – in summer, of course – will help clear the snot.
Snot is no excuse to stay at home. Without a temperature you can carry on as usual – go to school, do sports, do your homework…
The colours of snot
Snot can be of different colours. In fact, as days go by, what comes out of our noses is of a variety of colours.
For example, when the cold virus infects the nose, the snot is very clear. This snot helps eliminate the virus. As days go by and our body gradually defeats the infection, the snot becomes white or yellow. When our body seems to return bit by bit to normal, the snot becomes more greenish.
Oh! And above all it is important to use disposable paper handkerchiefs, because otherwise we would infect ourselves again, and the snot would never end.