Forget the Nose Pickin’

Remember that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry is itching his nose in the car and the driver next to him thinks he is picking his nose? I can think of a few stand up comedians who have also used the topic of nose picking and boogers to bring laughter from their audience. Today, I read an article about nose picking that is “snot” funny at all …

An article from http://www.sciencealert.com says that a study done last year shows a “plausible link between picking your nose and upping the chances of developing dementia.” Apparently, this happens in “cases where picking at your nose damages internal tissues, critical species of bacteria gain an easier path to the brain, which responds to the bacteria’s presence in ways that resemble signs of Alzheimer’s disease.”

Now, for what it is worth, “the supporting research is based on mice rather than humans, but the findings are definitely worth further investigation.” The scientists in Australia say that the bacteria that can cause pneumonia can actually travel from the nose to the brain and that bacteria has been seen “in the majority of human brains affected by late-onset dementia.”

“We’re the first to show that Chlamydia pneumoniae (the bacteria) can go directly up the nose and into the brain where it can set off pathologies that look like Alzheimer’s disease,” neuroscientist James St John from Griffith University in Australia. We saw this happen in a mouse model, and the evidence is potentially scary for humans as well.“

The scientists were surprised by the speed at which the bacteria took hold in the central nervous system of the mice, with infection happening within 24 to 72 hours. It seems that viruses and bacteria see the nose as a very quick way to get to the brain.

They are unclear if the effects would be the same in humans. They certainly feel that further study should happen as the origins of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are hard to determine and both diseases are extremely complicated. There are many studies happening and with “each piece of research brings us a little bit closer to finding a way to stop” them.

Incidentally, nose picking isn’t such a rare occurrence. Believe it or not, it is believed that 9 out of 10 people are “pickers.”

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/nose-picking