Nose Support Remedy
Your nose allows you to smell and it is also the main gate to the respiratory system, your body's system for breathing. The nose has two holes called nostrils. The nostrils and the nasal passages are separated by a wall called the septum. When you inhale air through your nostrils, the air enters the nasal passages and travels into your nasal cavity. The air then passes down the back of your throat into the trachea, or windpipe, on its way to the lungs. When you exhale the old air from your lungs, the nose is the main exit route for the air to leave your body.
The inside of your nose is lined with a moist, thin layer of tissue called a mucous membrane. This membrane warms up the air and moistens it. The mucous membrane makes mucus, that sticky stuff in your nose you might call snot. Mucus captures dust, germs, and other small particles that could irritate your lungs. If you look inside your nose, you will also see hairs that can trap large particles, like dirt or pollen. If something does get trapped in there, you can probably guess what happens next. You sneeze.
The nose allows you to make 'scents' of what's going on in the world around you. Just as your eyes give you information by seeing and your ears help you out by hearing, the nose lets you figure out what's happening by smelling. It does this with help from many parts hidden deep inside your nasal cavity and head.
Up on the roof of the nasal cavity (the space behind your nose) is the olfactory epithelium. The olfactory epithelium contains special receptors that are sensitive to odor molecules that travel through the air. These receptors are very small - there are at least 10 million of them in your nose! There are hundreds of different odor receptors, each with the ability to sense certain odor molecules. Research has shown that an odor can stimulate several different kinds of receptors. The brain interprets the combination of receptors to recognize any one of about 10,000 different smells. Mucus produced by cells in the trachea and bronchial tubes keeps air passages moist and aids in stopping dust, bacteria and viruses, allergy-causing substances, and other substances from entering the lungs. Impurities that do reach the deeper parts of the lungs can be moved up through mucous and coughed out or swallowed.
Fun Facts
- The nose acts as a self-cleaning air conditioner by warming, moistening, and filtering the air before it goes to the lungs.
- Sneezes can send those unwelcome particles speeding out of your nose at 60 - 100 mph!
- You couldn't taste anything without some help from the nose! Odors from foods allow us to taste more fully. Take a bite of food and think about how it tastes, then pinch your nose and take another bite. Notice the difference?
Health Conditions
- Rhinitis, inflammation of the nose and sinuses is sometimes caused by allergies.
- Deviated septum is a shifting of the wall that divides the nasal cavity into halves.
- Nasal polyps are soft growths that develop on the lining of your nose or sinuses.
- Nosebleeds are generally caused from rupturing capillaries (vitamin C deficiency).
- Foreign body is when an object that should not be in the nose is placed there, generally by playing children.
- Anosmia, the inability to perceive odors, is often related to zinc deficiencies.
- Choanal atresia is the most common nasal defect affecting newborns, occurring in one out of every 7,000 births.
Suggestions To Strengthen (same as Sinus)
- Drink plenty of water. The sinuses are filled with mucus membranes that must remain naturally moist in order to be healthy.
- Rinse your nasal passages. Try using a Neti Pot to cleanse your sinuses. If you have chronic sinusitis, avoid chlorinated water as this could further inflame the tissues. (The shower is a great place to do this. You can snort up water and spit it out, and there's no mess!) Avoid hot or cold water - warm water is best.
- If you have a sinus issue, the deeper underlying cause is almost always a problem with the Large Intestine.