...and why does the nose make mucus anyway? It was a miserable
day and I was, as usual, driving to work with my friend. It was
also in the middle of cold and flu season and she had been
struck down with the dreaded lurgy. She paused for a brief
coughing fit, blew her nose and embarrassed by what had just
been expelled from her body apologised and turned to me and
said: “This is soooo disgusting… what makes phlegm and snot
green?” I didn’t have and answer to this, which got me thinking
- "what are they and what do they do?" Both phlegm and snot, or
nasal mucus to use its more polite medical term, are names given
to mucus produced in the respiratory system. Nasal mucus, as the
name suggests is produced at the back of the nose, while phlegm
is used to describe the mucus from the rest of the respiratory
system and is typically used to describe the gloop that is
coughed up. Contrary to what you might think, mucus is vital for
good health. It helps to protect the lungs and also prevents
tissues from drying out. It'