Picking your nose looks weird if you do it around other people, and most people don't do this past early childhood once they realize it's not exactly socially acceptable. However, even if you're all by yourself, you probably shouldn't root around in your nostrils, either.
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00:00Picking your nose looks weird if you do it around other people, and most people don't
00:04do it past early childhood once they realize it's not exactly socially acceptable.
00:09Take it easy, would you?
00:11I'd prefer if you didn't pick your boogers in my car.
00:18Quit picking your f----- boogers."
00:20However, even if you're all by yourself, you probably shouldn't root around in your nostrils
00:24either.
00:25Picking your nose is a bad habit, and not just for social reasons.
00:28It's bad for your health, too.
00:30There are a couple of ways nose picking can be unhygienic and could be physically bad
00:34for you.
00:35For starters, digging around in your nose with a finger opens your nostrils up to scratches
00:39and scrapes from your fingernail.
00:41Dr. Brett Comer, a head and neck surgeon and assistant professor of otolaryngology at the
00:47University of Kentucky, told Time that the skin that resides inside your nose is delicate
00:52and can be damaged more easily than other skin.
00:56Even worse, once you have a cut inside your nostril, it can take forever to heal, and
01:00sometimes, a scab inside your nose is irresistible if you're already in the habit of picking
01:05your boogers.
01:07Comer said,
01:08"...you feel it, and you pick it again, which reopens the wound and creates more scabbing,
01:12and so you keep picking.
01:14It's a vicious cycle."
01:15Don't pick your nose!
01:18I wasn't picking my nose, I was scratching it!
01:21You weren't picking it!
01:22Also, picking your nose means you're literally shoving your fingers inside your nostrils,
01:27fingers that are very likely not 100 percent clean and sterile.
01:31Dr. Vijay Ramakrishnan, an associate professor of otolaryngology at the University of Colorado,
01:37told Time that the undersides of fingernails are chock-full of bacteria, so if you have
01:42open wounds inside your schnoz, they might become infected.
01:46Even if you don't have abrasions inside your nose, dirty fingernails mean you could be packing
01:51your snout full of viruses or bacteria.
01:54This can give these germs easy access to your innards and could set you up for a cold, influenza,
01:59or something even worse.
02:01Normally, germs have to work their way in through your body's natural defenses, but
02:06if you're putting your fingers inside your actual nose, you're giving them a head start.
02:10If you're still in the habit of rooting around in your nose, it's good to know that proper
02:14hand-washing can cut down on the number of bad germs you're introducing into your nasal
02:19cavity.
02:20The CDC helpfully outlines the best way to do so.
02:23You should first wet your hands with clean, running water.
02:27Temperature doesn't matter.
02:28Turn off the tap, and then apply soap.
02:30Lather your hands very well with the soap, and it's important to not focus just on your
02:35palms.
02:36Get under those nails, too.
02:38Scrub them for at least 20 seconds, then turn the tap back on and rinse them well with clean,
02:43running water.
02:44While this may not get rid of every single bad germ lurking on your fingers, it will
02:48vastly cut down on your chances of introducing extra grossness into your nose when you do
02:53a little digging.
02:55Don't ignore your hands after your nose-picking adventures, either.
02:58If you do find yourself picking your nose, definitely wash your hands afterwards to prevent
03:02spreading even more germs.
03:04If you are a habitual nose-picker and would like to cut down on the habit, there are a
03:08few strategies you can try out.
03:10Niket Sanpal, M.D., a board-certified internist and gastroenterologist based in New York City,
03:17told Well & Good that a few environmental adjustments could help you cut down on nose-picking.
03:22For starters, he suggests bumping up the humidity in the home with a humidifier, which can keep
03:28your nasal passages from drying out and forming those oh-so-tempting crusty boogers.
03:33You doing okay?
03:36Yes.
03:37What is wrong with him?
03:38Why does he sound like that?
03:39It's a booger whistle.
03:42And if you're up for some major changes in your home, you could even get rid of your
03:45carpets in favor of wood floors.
03:47Carpets look great, but they trap and hold allergens that can keep your nose producing
03:52more mucus than you'd like.
03:54You should clean on the regular for the same reasons, because of all the extra dust floating
03:59around and adhering itself to the surfaces in your home.
04:02Picking your nose may not be socially acceptable, but even if you mine your beak in private
04:07for whatever reason, you could be causing yourself health issues.
04:10Try to cut down on nose-picking if possible, and if you're having trouble kicking the habit,
04:14just keep in mind how much bacteria you could be teeming on the underside of your fingernails.