Doctors are warning against the habit of nose-picking after a nine-year-old boy in Foshan, China, developed a severe facial infection that nearly left him permanently disfigured.
According to medical reports, the child accidentally scratched the area beneath his nostril while picking his nose, causing an infection in the nasal vestibule. The infection quickly spread to the tissues of his face, leaving the left side of his face and eyelid swollen, painful and oozing pus within days.
The case has reignited concerns over the hidden health risks of nose-picking, a habit many people engage in to relieve itching or remove dried mucus.
Li Zhiyong, an associate chief physician in the Department of Otolaryngology at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, said hospitals frequently treat patients whose health problems stem from nose-picking.
In one case, an elderly man developed a severe infection after picking his nose and pulling out nasal hairs, resulting in swelling that closed one eye, blurred vision and severe headaches.
Other reported cases include a man in Shaanxi who suffered a ruptured artery inside his nose after years of habitual nose-picking, requiring surgery, and another elderly man in Zhengzhou who developed erysipelas, a serious bacterial skin infection, which caused severe swelling and redness on one side of his face.
Health Risks Of Nose-Picking
Doctors say frequent nose-picking can lead to several serious health complications:
- Nosebleeds: The front part of the nasal cavity contains many delicate blood vessels that can easily be scratched by fingernails, leading to repeated bleeding.
- Serious infections: Dirty fingers can introduce bacteria into small wounds inside the nose, causing painful infections or boils. In rare cases, bacteria can spread into the respiratory system, causing pneumonia, or travel through facial veins to the brain, potentially resulting in life-threatening intracranial infections.
- Damage to the nasal lining: Repeated picking can injure nasal hairs and the protective mucous membrane, reducing the nose’s ability to filter dust and humidify air. This often creates a cycle where the nose becomes increasingly dry and itchy, encouraging more nose-picking.
- Structural damage: Habitual forceful picking may enlarge the nostrils or contribute to a deviated nasal septum over time.
How To Clean Your Nose Safely
Doctors recommend safer alternatives instead of using your fingers:
- For dried mucus or crusts: Wash your face with warm water to soften the mucus before gently removing it, or use a saline nasal spray to clean the nasal passages.
- For an itchy nose: If allergies are the cause, seek treatment for allergic rhinitis, identify allergens and use prescribed anti-allergy medication regularly.
- For nasal congestion: Congestion caused by a cold may be relieved by inhaling warm steam.
- For dry noses: Use a humidifier indoors and apply a small amount of medical ointment, such as lanolin-based products, to protect the nasal lining if recommended by a healthcare professional.
Doctors also advise parents not to use fingers, cotton buds, tweezers or nasal suction devices to clean the noses of young children, as these can easily injure delicate nasal tissue and increase the risk of infection. In most cases, babies naturally clear nasal secretions by sneezing.
