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Mucus May Be Gross, But It's Necessary

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@tampatrib.com

Published: January 31, 2009

Yes, it is a little gross, but mucus is incredibly important. Let's take a look:

Why does your body produce mucus? It's producing about a quart of the stuff a day in your nose, throat, eyes, lungs and stomach. There's good reason for it: Try going through a dust storm if you didn't have mucus. Your nose fills with dust. So do your lungs.

Mucus acts like a sticky, easily replaced lining that constantly cleans out the areas of your body exposed to the outside world. Anything you breathe in (dust, pollen, bacteria, etc.) gets caught in the mucus and flushed away. Mucus is an automatic system for keeping things clean, and you don't even notice that the system is there until you get a cold.

What is mucus made of? Mucus is essentially a thin paste containing mostly water and mucin, which makes mucus sticky. Mucin contains proteins and sugars, in the form of branched polysaccharides or a chain of sugar molecules. You've probably noticed if you mix cornstarch or flour with water, you get a sticky substance. The polysaccharides in mucin do the same thing.

As a cornstarch and water mixture dries out, you will see something similar to synthetic boogers. When mucus dries out, the mucin that is left over is where boogers come from.

Why is mucus everywhere when you have a cold? Normally, you don't notice the mucus system, but your body produces mucus constantly, just like saliva. Mucus in your nose gets swept to the back of your nasal passages and into your throat where it heads, just like excess saliva, to the stomach for disposal.

When cold virus manages to get into the cells lining your nose, however, the virus starts reproducing. Your immune system's reaction is going to be inflammation. Your body opens up capillaries so more blood plasma flows in. The plasma brings white blood cells and antibodies from the immune system into the area.

Your body increases mucus production to provide more cleaning action, which leads to blowing your nose a lot. It usually takes a week or so for the immune system to completely clear the infection.

McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

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