Health & Human Performance Foundation shared this fascinating article from The Atlantic by Sarah Zhang titled, “Everything I Thought I Knew About Nasal Congestion Was Wrong.”
“In healthy noses, the swelling and unswelling of nasal tissue usually follows a predictable pattern called the nasal cycle. Every few hours, one side of the nose becomes partially congested while the other opens. Then they switch, going back and forth, back and forth. The exact pattern and duration vary from person to person, but we rarely notice these changes inside our noses.”
“Eccles also pointed out that upper respiratory viruses seem to prefer temperatures just below body temperature; when one side of the nose becomes partially congested, it might warm up enough to ward off viruses. Or, he said, the cycle allows one half of the nose to rest at time. Unlike our eyes, ears, and mouths, noses have to function 24 hours a day, every day, constantly filtering and warming air for the delicate tissue of our lungs. The nose’s job might not sound that hard, but consider what it has to do: The air we breathe is maybe 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 35 percent humidity, Smith said. “By the time that air goes in my nose and gets back to my nasopharynx—which is, what, maybe three to four inches—it is 98.7 degrees Fahrenheit and 100 percent humidity. The nose is quite the powerful little HVAC system.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2023/10/humans-have-two-noses-really/675823/
