# What's in snot? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 16, 2005, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-snot/304052 "2005-05-16T12:09:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-snot/304052/1 "2005-05-16T12:09:39Z")
Having recently recovered from a cold during which I was blasting out gigantic gelatnous blobs of liquid snot from my nostrils, some approaching the size of a golf ball, I got to wondering: What’s in that stuff, anyway? I suppose a large part of it is water. But what makes it so gooey in comparison to dry, non-sick snot? Why is diseased snot always more colorful than allergy snot? And why does my dog find my snot-filled kleenexen appealing? ---
**Author:** ![Wallflower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Wallflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallflower)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-snot/304052/2 "2005-05-16T13:28:35Z")
[The Master speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a971017.html) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-snot/304052/3 "2005-05-16T14:03:21Z")
I just wanted to note that if you type **snot ingredients** into a search engine you will be rewarded with a large number of recipes for alcoholic drinks with names like “Gorilla snot”, along with a few recipes for artificial snot like this one: [http://www.lsc.org/online\_science/gross/gross\_recip.html](http://www.lsc.org/online_science/gross/gross_recip.html) But , at least in the few pages I’ve searched, there are no actual recipes for _real_ snot. If you type in **snot constituents** you’ll find out how much politicians really dislike their base. The Internet is a wondrous thing! ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-snot/304052/4 "2005-05-16T14:32:33Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > But , at least in the few pages I’ve searched, there are no actual recipes for _real_ snot. Just go outside with wet hair and no jacket. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-snot/304052/5 "2005-05-16T18:51:36Z")
Other than water, it’s mainly glycoproteins - assemblages of sugar and proteins. Fascinating, I know. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-snot/304052/6 "2005-05-16T18:59:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Other than water, it’s mainly glycoproteins - assemblages of sugar and proteins. > > Fascinating, I know. Plus all the crud it’s trapped, which is, I think, kinda the point. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-snot/304052/7 "2005-05-16T20:15:08Z")
So is blowing your nose good or bad when you have a cold? Does it help to get the mucus out little by little? Are medicines that inhibit mucus production therefore bad for you in terms of getting over the cold? ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-snot/304052/8 "2005-05-16T20:22:43Z")
The way I’ve always had it explained, is that yes, you SHOULD blow your nose and get the crud out of your system, as opposed to the sniffly/sucking it back down option, which only keeps the germy things in your body. Color of the mucous plays a role here too - yellow/green indicates some sort of real bug working on you, and as you begin to clear the cold from your body, it gradually clears up. I avoid antihistamines unless the sneezing and watery eyes are too unbearable to deal with. They’re ok at night, helping knock me out so I can get some sleep, but that’s the only time. I find a couple simple 30 mg pseudophedrine pills will loosen the snot enough that i can keep blowing and draining.