Eating mucus

Human mucophagy, also known as eating mucus, is the act of ingesting the dried mucus extracted by nose picking. The dried pieces of mucus are commonly known as boogers in American English and bogeys in British English (although these are slang terms to be avoided in polite discourse, as is the subject of mucus in general).

Prevalence and health

The science show host and writer Stefan Gates discusses eating dried nasal mucus in his book Gastronaut, and says that 44% of people he questioned said they had eaten their own dried nasal mucus in adulthood and said they liked it. Andrade and Srihari cited a study performed by Sidney Tarachow of the State University of New York which reported that people who ate their boogers found them "tasty". They often have a salty taste, as they contain the concentrated electrolytes from the desiccated mucus. Another motivation for eating them can be simply to have a convenient and discreet way to dispose of them and clean off one's finger without needing a tissue or leaving a mess on nearby objects.

Mucophagy could involve some health risks due to the germs on fingers and in mucus. However, others have asserted that the practice is not harmful and could even have a health benefit by stimulating the immune system. Gates comments that ingesting boogers doesn't necessarily substantially increase natural germ exposure, since nasal mucus drains internally anyway and is normally swallowed after being moved inside by the motion of the cilia – "our body has been built to consume snot", he says.

See also

• Allergic salute (wiping of the nose with the hand)
• Neti (Hatha Yoga)
• Nasal irrigation
• Taboo