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- Pneumonia can be transmitted through nose picking.
- A study by British scientists proved that bacteria can be transmitted through the nose and hands.
Parents have always told their children not to pick their nose as it isn’t hygienic or it doesn’t look good to other people. But now aside from image concerning reasons, they may actually have an argument.
British scientists said on Thursday, October 4, that they have proved for the first time ever that the disease-causing bacteria can be transmitted through the nose and hands.
Pneumococcus, the bacteria that causes pneumonia — a lung condition that can prove deadly if untreated — is known to spread through airborne droplets, often from the coughs and sneezes of infected individuals.
The results were published in the European Respiratory Journal. A group of adult volunteers had the bacteria applied to their hands and were given four tasks – to wet sniff, dry sniff, wet poke, and dry poke – which were designed to mimic everyday actions.
According to Victoria Connor, a clinical research staff at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Royal Liverpool Hospital, “This study has shown that the hands can spread this bacteria as well and objects like mobile phones or children’s toys could also be adding to the spread of this bacteria.”
“It might not be realistic to get children to stop picking, poking and rubbing their noses.
“But for parents… ensuring good hand hygiene and cleaning of toys or surfaces would likely reduce transmission, and reduce the risk of developing pneumococcal infection such as pneumonia.”
Globally, pneumonia kills an estimated 1.3 million infants under five each year.
Participants in the study were just as likely to get the bacteria in their noses whether they were exposed to wet or dry pneumococcus samples, said the researchers. The research also found out that the process of drying out may kill some of the bacteria as the amount transmitted was higher in the wet sniff and wet poke groups.
