‘Snorting other people’s snot’ could ‘cure hayfever and relieve stuffiness’

SNORTING stranger’s snot could help cure your blocked nose, experts say.

New – rather gross-sounding – research has found that just a few days of mucus treatment could cure a blocked nose and hay fever for up to three months.

Swedish scientists think people’s snot can improve the make-up of the nasal microbiome – the microorganisms found throughout the nose and sinuses.

Previous research has suggested that people with a more diverse array of nose bugs are less likely to suffer from chronic congestion or hay fever.

Now, scientists from the University of Lund have discovered that squirting some of that bug-rich snot directly into the nose of someone with a permanently blocked schnozzle clears the airways.

They think the new bugs reduce nasal inflammation that makes it hard to breathe properly through the nose.

Already, something similar is being used on the NHS – but instead of snot, they’re using poo.

Faecal transplants – as they’re medically known – come from heathy donars and are implanted into people’s intestine, or swallowed in tablet form, to treat C. difficile, which kills thousands of Brits every year.

They are also being trialled to treat liver disease.

A permanently blocked nose, or chronic sinusitis, happens when the nasal cavity becomes inflamed, usually because of an infection or allergies.

The painful condition can make it hard to breathe, cause bad breath and even lead to a reduce sense of smell.

Symptoms of chronic sinusitis can last for months or years.

Symptoms improved for three months

The latest research, published in the International Forum of Allergy and Rhinology, looked at how snot transplants affected 22 adults with blocked noses.

Each participant was first given a two-week course of antibiotics to clear their noses of existing bacteria, so their nose microbiome was ready to be recreated by donor mucus.

The new snot – taken from healthy friends and partners – was then shot up the noses of the volunteers using a syringe.

This process was repeated each day for five days.

They found the severity of symptoms, including coughs and facial pain, declined by almost 40 per cent up to three months after the trial had finished.

There was a significant increase in the number and variety of bacteria in nasal mucus, the scientists said.

They now hope to confirm the findings by performing the same tests on many more people.