Picking your nose or plucking nose hairs can damage to the lining of your nose and make it easier for bacteria to reach your brain.
Picking your nose might be increasing the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia according to research from Griffith University.
If you’re someone who tends to pick their nose, Griffith researchers say the habit could potentially be putting your health at risk.
The study in the journal Scientific Reports, demonstrated that a bacteria called Chlamydia pneumoniae uses the olfactory nerve in the nose to travel to the brain in mice, then the cells in the brain respond by depositing amyloid beta protein, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.
And they believe this is not just true for mice, but humans too.
“We’re the first to show that Chlamydia pneumoniae can go directly up the nose and into the brain where it can set off pathologies that look like Alzheimer’s disease,” said Professor James St John, Head of the Clem Jones Centre for Neurobiology and Stem Cell Research.
“We saw this happen in a mouse model, and the evidence is potentially scary for humans as well.”
The olfactory nerve in the nose of a mouse is directly exposed to air and offers viruses and bacteria an easy route to the brain that bypasses the blood-brain barrier.
The research team plans on proving that same pathway exists in humans in the next phase of their research.
“We need to do this study in humans and confirm whether the same pathway operates in the same way,” Professor St John said.
“It’s research that has been proposed by many people, but not yet completed. What we do know is that these same bacteria are present in humans, but we haven’t worked out how they get there.”
He advises to therefore not pick your nose or pluck nose hairs as this can cause damage to the lining of the nose which will make it easier for bacteria to take effect.
“Picking your nose and plucking the hairs from your nose are not a good idea.
“We don’t want to damage the inside of our nose and picking and plucking can do that.
“If you damage the lining of the nose, you can increase how many bacteria can go up into your brain.”
He also suggested smell tests from the age of 60 could be beneficial to detect Alzheimer’s, with the risk of the disease increasing once a person gets over 65 years old.
