This is snot funny.
One seemingly harmless childhood habit could come with a cost — and has even led to hospitalization.
Those works of art your kids might produce from their noses don’t make them Picasso, and could instead cause a serious, even deadly infection.
Picking your nose is a common, albeit gross, habit that people often do, especially children.
And after they’ve dug for gold, some kids stick their findings on a nearby wall, building up an impressive collection over time.
But while picking your nose and then sticking those boogers to the wall may be convenient, it could come with unexpected health consequences.
One man took to social media to share a scary tale about his “booger wall”, which, after several years, had accumulated so much mucus, it had grown to be several feet wide.
But one day, he fell back against the spiky, calcified ridges that had built up and ended up cutting his back and shoulder.
A week later, he was in the hospital with a severe staph infection.
“The doctors had never actually experienced something like that before,” he said in a TikTok video. “They took samples of [the wall] to test, and they were wearing HAZMAT suits.”
The culprit? Bacteria from the seemingly innocent booger wall.
While about 1 in 3 people carry Staphylococcus aureus bacteria harmlessly in the nose or on the skin, millions can get a serious illness when the bacteria enter the body through cuts.
The infections can range from minor skin issues like pimples or boils to more severe problems, such as pneumonia, bloodstream infections or toxic shock syndrome.
Other symptoms of this illness can include fever, chills, extreme fatigue, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, depending on what type of staph infection you have.
And while mucus can be beneficial to trap harmful bacteria, viruses and dust, it can also give signs of an infection.
Normal mucus is clear, thin and slippery, while any changes in color or consistency could indicate a bacterial or viral infection.
But since staph bacteria can enter through a cut, it’s important to make sure to keep any scrapes or skin damage clean and protected with a bandage.
It’s also important to check the wound for signs of infection like redness or swelling, painful red bumps, yellow crusts or if the scratch isn’t healing properly.
The original TikToker made a full recovery, but he did share a warning.
“Now I know the risks that come with booger walls,” he said. “But parents, be sure to check your kids’ walls lest they have an incident happen to them like what happened to me.”
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