Written By: Prerna Mittra | Updated : February 6, 2024 1:05 PM IST
While it is often seen as a hygiene and social etiquette issue, a new study has linked nose picking to Alzheimer's disease. (Photo: Freepik)
Nose picking is considered to be a bad habit, especially when done in public. But while it is often seen as a hygiene and social etiquette issue, a new study has linked it to Alzheimer's disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia. A progressive disease, it begins with "mild memory loss" and possibly leading to "loss of the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to the environment". The disease involves parts of the brain that control thought, memory, and language; it can "seriously affect" the patient's ability to carry out daily activities.
A new study published in the peer-reviewed journal 'Biomolecules' found that picking your nose may increase the chances of developing Alzheimer's disease.
Per the report, the protein called 'beta-amyloid' is said to be a cause for 'progressive dementia' that characterises Alzheimer's disease. Beta-amyloid is understood to be produced in the brain as a "defense mechanism" to pathogens that are introduced to the body -- via the nasal cavity -- when one digs their nose with dirty fingers.
The study stated, "...neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease (AD) might be partially caused by viral, bacterial, and fungal pathogens entering the brain through the nose and the olfactory system. The olfactory system represents a plausible route for pathogen entry, given its direct anatomical connection to the brain and its involvement in the early stages of AD."
"There is even some evidence to suggest that [beta-amyloid] may have antibacterial properties as a defense mechanism against microbial infections in the brain," it further read.
According to the study, viral, bacterial and fungal infections are associated with AD, and these pathogens are "known to establish persistent, latent, or chronic infections in peripheral tissues, including the nasal epithelium, where they may persist for extended periods without causing overt symptoms, until they enter the brain with pathological consequences".
The CDC states that in addition to memory problems, someone with symptoms of Alzheimer's disease may experience one or more of the following:
"Among all the entry routes, the improvement of hand hygiene might be an easy prevention step, as learned from the Covid-19 epidemic. One of the lessons learned...is the value of hand hygiene through frequent hand washing and the use of hand sanitizers, and we suggest these routine hygienic procedures be mandatory routine procedures for the incurable nose-picker," the study stated.
