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Stretching your nose is a disgusting habit and one of the parents constantly disparages their children, especially if they do so in public.
As sinister as it is, it is rather harmless, is not it? Maybe not like new research now suggests the opposite.
This could actually be one of the main means of spreading a dangerous bacterium responsible for pneumonia.
The study, published in the European Respiratory Journal, shows that transmission of pneumonia can occur through contact between the nose and hands when exposed to the bacteria.
About 40 adult volunteers were divided into four groups and exposed to certain bacteria using different hands-on methods, according to the Mirror report.
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Two groups were exposed to the bacteria in water while the other two were exposed to air – dried bacteria.
Researchers have found that bacteria spread at the same rate, whether they are dry or wet, or that people bite, pick, or rub their noses.
Pneumonia, described by the NHS as swelling of tissue in one or both lungs, is said to be responsible for 1.3 million deaths in children under five.
The symptoms of pneumonia (NHS Wales)
The symptoms of pneumonia may appear suddenly after 24 to 48 hours or appear more slowly for several days.
Common symptoms of pneumonia include:
- a cough – which can be dry or produce thick mucus (phlegm) yellow, green, brown or
- difficulty breathing – your breathing may be fast and shallow and you may feel short of breath even at rest
- fast heartbeat
- fever
- feel generally unwell
- sweating and chills
- loss of appetite
- chest pain – which worsens when breathing or coughing
Less common symptoms include:
- coughing blood
- headache
- tired
- nausea or vomiting
- wheezing
- joint and muscle pain
- feeling confused and disoriented, especially among the elderly
Dr. Victoria Connor, a clinical research fellow at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the Royal Liverpool Hospital, gave some simple tips that could prevent the spread of the deadly bacteria.
She said: "For parents, this study shows that hands can spread pneumococcus, which can be important when children are in contact with elderly parents or with reduced immune systems.
"In these situations, good hand hygiene and cleaning of toys or surfaces would likely reduce the transmission and risk of pneumococcal infection such as pneumonia."
Dr. Connor also stated that it "may not have been realistic" to encourage children to stop picking and rubbing their noses completely.
But she added that the presence of the bacteria could help "strengthen the immune system" of children and "reduce the risk" that they contract the disease later in life.
"It's not clear if the best thing to do is to completely reduce the spread of pneumococcus in children," she added.
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