It’s peak cold and flu season, and mucus is making many of our lives miserable. But despite being a little icky, phlegm gets a bad rap. This germ-fighting goo contains cells and chemical compounds that help us power through a cold. You can also think of mucus as a traffic light for your health — what turns up in our used tissues can be a useful clue about the inner workings of our immune systems.
Sources:
- Harvard Health Blog
- CDC - Runny Nose Q&A:
https://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/communit... - CDC - Common Cold and Runny Nose:
https://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/communit... - MedlinePlus - Causes and Home Treatment of stuffy or runny nose:
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/... - Clinical Infectious Diseases Journal; Editor’s Comment on Viruses and Cold Symptoms:
http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content... - Histamines and antihistamines - review of Desloratadine:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... - Psuedophedrine vs. ephedrine (1978):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... - MCBI myleperoxidase:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/4353 - WebMD article:
tp://www.webmd.com/allergies/features/the-truth-about-mucus#2 - Cleveland Clinic infographic:
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/20... - Gizmodo article:
http://io9.gizmodo.com/boogers-myths-...
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