Why do we have Nose Hair?

A general notion about nose hair is that it is just a natural growth of hair with no specific or useful purpose to our body and we just have to regularly trim it so that we look groomed. But the fact is that nose hair is as important for us as an air filter is to an automobile, because it acts as a filter to protect against foreign bodies like dust, germs, fungus and other pathogens that may be present in the air that we inhale. It can appropriately be considered as the first line of defense of our body during the process of breathing.

Apart from the darker and visible hair in our nose, there is also very thin microscopic hair known as cilia. The main purpose of these minute hair strands is to pull up the thick liquid mucus which maintains humidity inside the nose and provides moisture to the inhaled air. It also provides the necessary lubrication to the nasal membrane. During exhalation, the hair traps the moisture from the exhaled air and the same moisture provides humidity to the inhaled hair. Cilia are in constant beating motion of back and forth in a coordinated manner every second. This motion pushes the mucus back to where it can either be ejected by spitting out or be swallowed. Our body’s respiratory system is in constant need of moisturized air which helps in the proper functioning of the lungs.

The trimming of long nose hair is a common routine for all of us as it does look odd to have hair hanging out of your nose. But we should make sure that the nose hair is not to be removed completely as it reduces our immunity to allergy, cold, respiratory infections due to foreign dust particles, or sinusitis and also adversely affects the nasal membrane. It makes our defenses vulnerable to pollens and other germs or particles which were earlier easily filtered by the nose hair. We can take the example of common cold; when we catch cold it slows down the vibrating motion of the cilia, causing an accumulation of excessive mucus which leads to a blocked nose and consequent difficulty in breathing. And if somebody has completely trimmed the nose hair, you can easily figure out what would happen to that person if he catches cold.

Usually it is the men folk who have to bear this problem of overgrown nose hair, and not women, because its growth is handled by a hormone called estrogen which is found in both male and female bodies, but more abundantly in women. And this lesser quantity of estrogen in males leads to a greater growth of nose hair in men.

Now you might have understood the value of nose hair. So, the next time, do think twice before completely getting rid of them.

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