BODY TALK: THE NOSE

the nose

It helps you breathe, smell and taste, plus it’s connected to some of your vital organs. We sniff out the latest news.

BY KATE DALEY

SUFFERING IN YOUR

SINUSES? Use a daily saline nasal rinse if you have allergies or sinusitis, says Dr. Ian Witterick, otolaryngologistin-chief at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. It helps flush out thick mucus, reducing inflammation. New guidelines in Canada advocate that doctors wait at least seven days before prescribing antibiotics for acute sinusitis, but in the meantime, sufferers can talk to their doctors about using topical nasal steroids to reduce swelling or whether flushing the sinuses with a neti pot might help.

Most acute sinusitis is caused by the same viruses that cause the common cold. Acute sinusitis is the second most common infectious disease seen by GPs.

1 litre: How much mucus your nose and sinuses produce every day. (Most of it goes down the back of your throat and is swallowed.)

Here are four things you didn’t know about your nose.

1It’s a bodyguard. “The nose has an important role in trying to protect the lungs,” says Dr. Witterick. The nose hairs and mucus in your nasal membrane filter out fine particles such as dust and other allergens before they reach your lungs.

2It affects taste. Your olfactory nerves are linked to your taste nerves through neural connections in the brain, but exactly how they work together is still a mystery to researchers. Some studies have shown that people who lose their sense of smell have a reduced sense of taste, but that isn’t the case for everyone.

3It’s a pathway to your

brain. The veins in and around the nose are different than those in the rest of your body, says Dr. Witterick. Normally, veins have valves that open and close to help prevent bacteria or foreign substances from travelling through. But the veins around the nose don’t have those filters, which means that if you get a serious infection nearby, it has a direct route to the brain. While rare, this can lead to meningitis or a brain abscess, so be mindful of any severe symptoms when you have a nose or eye infection.

4It’s a diagnostic tool

for disease. In the future, science may be able to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia by examining the nerve fibres in your nose. Researchers are looking at the cellular properties of biopsied nasal tissues from patients who may be affected to identify markers specific to these diseases, which can expedite This content is vetted diagnoses and by medical experts at improve access to treatment.