What Your Snot Can Reveal About Your Health

Snot: A Gross but Useful Diagnostic Tool

Snot plays a powerful role in protecting us from disease – and its colour alone can provide insights into what's going on in our bodies. In Ancient Greece, snot was even thought to be one of the four bodily fluids responsible for balancing human health and personality.

Why We Produce So Much Mucus

The adult body produces over 100 millilitres of mucus each day, while children often produce more. Most of this goes unnoticed as it moves through the nasal passages and is swallowed, helping trap dust, bacteria, and viruses along the way.

“Scientists are hoping to hone the powers of snot to better diagnose and treat a wide range of illnesses.” — Emmanuel Lafont

The Snot Microbiome

While the gut microbiome has become a household term, researchers are now studying the nasal microbiome — the unique bacterial ecosystem inside your snot — and how it impacts immunity and disease.

Everybody has a unique nasal microbiome. It's shaped by age, sex, geography, environment, diet — and even habits like vaping.

“Imagine if you could alter what we have in our nose with lots of very good-guy species that stay there and colonise...” — Prof. Daniela Ferreira

'Diag-nosing' the Future

With increasing interest in non-invasive diagnostics, snot is becoming a surprising candidate for detecting everything from respiratory infections to inflammatory diseases. Researchers are developing new sampling and sequencing tools to tap into this bioresource.

It may not be long before a nasal swab can give doctors more than just COVID results — it could become a window into your body's immune health.