Is picking your nose the best way to clean it?

The answer is NO, but it’s all we’ve got…or is it? In 2027 that’s changing forever as we usher in an innovative way to optimize nasal health - NasoClenz.

Here's a statistic that will either make you feel better about yourself or worse, depending on how you look at it. In the only real survey ever done on the subject, 91 percent of the 254 people who responded admitted to picking their nose.¹ The researchers called it "an almost universal practice" among respondents. In a separate study of adolescents, the median was about four times a day.² So if you've ever done it at a red light and then checked the rearview mirror, you are in extremely normal company.

Almost everybody does it. Almost nobody talks about it. That gap is the whole story.

Let's be clear up front, because the science is: that same 1995 study concluded nose picking "should not be considered pathologic for most" people.¹ Occasional picking is a near-universal human habit, not a disorder, and we are not here to tell you otherwise.

We're here to make a much more important point. Your finger is by far the worst possible tool for the job, and there’s about to be a much better way to deal with the stuff your finger is searching for inside your nose.

Why we pick in the first place

Picking isn't random. There's almost always something bothersome inside the nose that instigates the picking. Over the course of a day, the front of your nose (the nostrils, or the “anterior nares” in anatomic terms) collects a layer of dried mucus, dust, pollen, and other airborne debris including germs. Your nose is the body's primary air filter, and like any filter, it catches what passes by. That’s the whole point. The buildup is the filter just doing its job. In the nose, this is a heavy lift since thousands of liters of air pass through every day and the airborne junk we’re filtering just keeps getting more burdensome.

The urge to clear it out is completely reasonable, since debris in the nose causes restriction to airflow, itching and a feeling of congestion. The problem is, for centuries the finger has been the most convenient instrument that most people reach for.

The dirtiest part of this equation

Your fingers touch everything: phones, door handles, money, other people's hands. They carry whatever those surfaces carry. When you pick your nose, you introduce anything that’s on your finger directly into the nose - the one delicate area of your body specifically built to trap stuff. Clearly, this isn’t the best idea.

And it runs both ways. A 2006 study in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology found that nose pickers were significantly more likely to carry Staphylococcus aureus in their noses than non-pickers: 53.6 percent of pickers versus 35.5 percent of non-pickers.³ Among healthy hospital staff, the more often someone reported picking, the higher their bacterial load tended to be. The nose and the finger pass things back and forth.

This is not a reason to panic. Most people carry bacteria in their noses and are perfectly healthy. Like the skin and other areas of the body, there are “good” bacteria that create a “nasal biome” - something science has just begun to study. But a large share of respiratory illness enters the body through the nose, and the finger certainly is a culprit in this equation, introducing bacteria, viruses and anything else it’s been in contact with. This is a reason to take notice and realize that the nose picking habit isn't as harmless as it may seem, and the time for a more sophisticated method has come.

What happens at the far end of the habit

For the small number of people who pick compulsively, a condition with the genuinely excellent name “rhinotillexomania,” the medical literature gets more serious. These are rare cases, and they are not describing the occasional red-light picker. They describe chronic, repetitive, can't-stop picking. But they're worth knowing about.

A 2018 dermatology review noted that, on rare occasions, compulsive picking can lead to bacterial infections, serious nosebleeds, perforation of the nasal septum, and damage to surrounding facial structures.⁴ A separate 2018 case report documented chronic nose picking as the cause of enough repeated inflammation to physically narrow one nostril.⁵ And in one striking 2020 case, a 66-year-old woman was hospitalized again and again for serious infections that were all traced back to Staphylococcus aureus living in her nose, introduced by chronic picking. Once she stopped, the infections stopped too.⁶

Another important scientific aspect of nasal bacteria and nose picking relates to surgical patients. Studies have shown that post-operative infections are often related to (and can be traced back to) a person’s own nasal bacteria. Research on pre-surgical nasal decolonization has shown that cleansing the nose before surgery can meaningfully reduce the risk of post-operative infection.

This has huge implications in the medical community, but far more potential in the general population. It makes sense, and follows logic, that the filter that removes airborne particles, germs, allergens and toxins would obviously benefit from a method that provides routine cleansing.

For kids, it's mostly about nosebleeds

If you're a parent, besides passing germs between kids and around the family, the most common consequence of all that picking is simpler but can be far more dramatic: nosebleeds. In children, nose picking is the single most common cause of epistaxis, the medical term for a nosebleed.⁷ The lining at the front of the nose is full of tiny, fragile blood vessels, and a fingernail finds them easily. The scarier complications are genuinely uncommon in kids. The nosebleeds are the everyday reality.

The actual fix is in

Here's the part almost no one says out loud. The urge to clear the front of your nose is legitimate. The buildup is real. Telling people to simply stop is like telling them to stop scratching an itch, even though the thing causing the itch is still there.

So the better move isn't willpower. It's a better way to address the problem head on. What if the front of your nose could be cleaned the same way you clean every other part of your body that collects daily grime: with something gentle, and something made just for the nose. Like using a toothbrush, but for your nose. After all, you wash your hands. You brush your teeth. But what about your nose? Same logic, finally applied to the one spot that's been getting the fingernail treatment your entire life.

This is the ingenuity behind NasoClenz, a nasal cleansing kit developed by a surgeon specifically for the delicate task of cleaning the nose to boost nasal health. Under 30 seconds per nostril - morning, night, or whenever you need to freshen up - with a soft anatomically designed wand and a gentle, pH-balanced cleansing gel, instead of using the dirtiest part of your hand. It cleans and moisturizes, clearing the buildup your finger is searching for, and can be used at home or on the go.

Nose picking is a habit worth breaking, especially now that there's a much better way to give your nose the relief it’s been looking for.

NasoClenz coming in 2027. Enter the giveaway to be first in line: nasoclenz.com/pages/nasoclenz2-0-giveaway

Sources

1. Jefferson JW, Thompson TD. "Rhinotillexomania: psychiatric disorder or habit?" Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 1995. PMID 7852253.
2. Andrade C, Srihari BS. "A preliminary survey of rhinotillexomania in an adolescent sample." Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 2001. PMID 11465519.
3. Wertheim HFL, van Kleef M, Vos MC, Ott A, Verbrugh HA, Fokkens W. "Nose picking and nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus." Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2006. PMID 16874648.
4. Martín-Callizo C, Sacristà M, Fortuño Y, Penín RM, Tribó MJ. "Rhinotillexomania." Actas Dermo-Sifiliográficas, 2018. Article.
5. Gupta A, Dhingra A. "Chronic Rhinotillexomania Leading to Unilateral External Nare Stenosis." Cureus, 2018. PMID 30410823.
6. Shah K, Sankrithi P, Shah S, Smith MA. "Chronic Rhinotillexomania Leading to Multiple Infectious Sequelae in a 66-Year-Old Female." Cureus, 2020. PMC7500738.
7. "Epistaxis." TeachMePaediatrics. teachmepaediatrics.com.

Note: the prevalence figures (references 1 and 2) come from self-reported surveys, and the severe complications (references 4, 5, and 6) come from individual case reports of compulsive picking (rhinotillexomania), not everyday occasional picking. The research itself is careful to distinguish the two.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is picking your nose actually bad for you?

For most people, occasional nose picking is a near-universal habit that researchers do not consider a medical problem.¹ The practical concerns are about hygiene, since fingers carry bacteria,³ and, in rare compulsive cases, irritation and tissue damage can occur.⁴ The everyday issue is simply that a fingernail is an unclean and abrasive tool for the delicate tissues inside the nose, and there can be consequences such as irritation and nosebleeds.

How common is nose picking, really?

A 1995 survey found that 91 percent of the 254 people who responded admitted to it, and described the habit as almost universal among respondents.¹ In an adolescent study, the median was about four times a day.² You are very much not alone.

Can nose picking spread bacteria?

Research has found that nose pickers carry Staphylococcus aureus in their noses more often than non-pickers, 53.6 percent versus 35.5 percent.³ Most carriers are perfectly healthy, but the hand-to-nose route is how bacteria get introduced, which is exactly why the cleanliness of the tool matters.

Why do I always feel like I need to pick?

Because there is usually something there. The front of your nose collects a daily layer of dried mucus and trapped debris that doctors have termed “Rhinobuncus.” The urge is your nose asking to be cleaned. The goal isn't to ignore it, but to answer it with something cleaner than your finger - something designed for the purpose of cleansing and moisturizing the nose.

What should I do instead?

A group of physicians recognized the need for a solution to boost nasal health, and help is on the way. A nasal cleansing kit (NasoClenz) was designed by a surgeon to cleanse and moisturize the skin and hair inside the nose. Each nostril can easily and comfortably be cleaned anytime, anywhere, which helps clear the crusty buildup inside the nose, but more gently and more hygienically.

Is it bad when my kids pick their nose?

The most common consequence in children is nosebleeds, since the front of the nose is full of fragile blood vessels.⁷ Serious complications are uncommon. Keeping their nails short and giving them a simple nasal cleansing routine will help redirect the habit.

Does nose picking mean something is wrong with me?

For the vast majority of people, no. Researchers classify everyday nose picking as a common habit, not a disorder.¹ Only a small fraction pick compulsively, a condition called rhinotillexomania, which is the rare situation the serious medical case reports describe.