THE LIVING AIR FILTER
Our body has an incredible air intake- our unique and personalized nose. While a nose may be a source of family cohesion or embarrassment, it has a wonderful function!
The first thing air meets when entering your nose is a network of hairs. These hairs form a filter that captures particles in the air such as pollen, dust and microbes, preventing them from entering your lungs.
In 2011, researcher Ozturk did a funny, but informative little study which was published in the International Archives of Allergy Immunology. In the study 233 people were divided into 3 groups based on the amount of nose hair they carried. The rates of asthma in each group were found to be as follows:
44.7% for those with few to no nasal hair,
26.2% for those with moderate nasal hair and
16.7% for those with many nasal hair.
In other words the thicker your air intake filter is, the more effective it appears to be at keeping out particles that trigger problems in your lungs.
Nose hair also creates air turbulence which is further continued by multiple polyp like protrusions, called nasal turbinates, which project into the cavity behind your nose. Turbulence helps air molecules pick up moisture from mucus producing cells. The turbulence causes the air to contact another set of mucus covered tiny hairs lining the inside of the nose cavity. The trapped particles are moved via the mucus and the movement of the tiny hairs, to the back of the throat where they are swallowed into the stomach, digested and eliminated.
If you have ever experienced a few hours or days in a hospital breathing pure unmoisturized oxygen via a little tube that bypasses your nose hairs, you know the discomfort of dry air. People who need oxygen all the time usually solve this problem by adding humidification to their oxygen tube.
The combination of hair, mucous and turbinates in your nose cause another important thing to happen. They rapidly warm cold air to the same temperature as your body, about 98 degrees Fahrenheit, before it reaches your lungs.
While nasal hair can be unsightly, if you feel the need to trim it, remember to leave as much hair as possible to help your lungs stay clean.
Next month we will look at another very important organ that sits behind your nose. The organ of smell.
In the meantime, take advantage of your built in air filter and breathe through your nose whenever possible!
Interested in more information on making sure your air is fresh?