Rhinotilexomania is the name for the unpleasant habit of compulsively picking the nose . Although according to a study carried out in Wisconsin (USA) a few years ago, this type of obsessive compulsive disorder only affects 1% of the population, which usually ends up damaging the nasal mucosa, the rest of us humans do too occasionally. More than 90% of those surveyed by the Wisconsin researchers confessed that they inserted their finger up their nose from time to time , especially in the office and in the car (because they felt less observed). And a subsequent study conducted in the UK suggested that a third of the population practice this habit more than 5 times a day .
The key question is: is it a good or bad practice for health? According to the Austrian doctor Friedrich Bischinger, a specialist in lung health, fingers are better than tissues and help to keep the nose cleaner. However, another Dutch study led by microbiologist Heiman Wertheim indicates that by picking our noses we introduce a bacterium, Staphylococcurs aureus , into our nostrils, which makes us nasal carriers of the pathogen. This microbe causes superficial skin conditions to severe diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis, food poisoning, septic shock and autoimmune disorders.
