The nose is an organ of breathing (respiration) and it warms and moistens
the air we breathe and arrests particles of dust in the air before they
enter the lungs. If the air we breathe is of an uneven temperature, or of
marked degree of dryness, or if it is saturated with impurities, it always
acts as a source of irritation to the mucous membrane of the upper
respiratory tract, like the larynx. By the time the air reaches the
pharynx, through the nose, it has become almost as warm as the blood, and
also is well saturated with moisture. The mucous membrane that lines the
nose cavity and especially that part over the lower turbinate bone,
secretes from sixteen to twenty ounces of fluid daily. This fluid cleanses
and lubricates the nose and moistens the air we breathe. Conditions may
arise which interfere with this natural secretion. This may be due to the
fact that some of the glands have shrunk or wasted (atrophied) and the
secretion has become thick. This collects in the nose, decomposes and
forms scabs and crusts in the nostrils. In this condition there will be
dropping of mucus into the throat. This condition is usually only a
collection of secretions from the nose,--which are too thick to flow
away,--collect in the space behind the nose, and when some have
accumulated, drop into the pharynx.

[8 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]

In order to be in good health it is necessary to breath through the nose,
and to do this there must be nothing in the nose or upper part of the
pharynx to interfere with the free circulation of the air through these
cavities. The cavities of the nose may be partly closed by polpi (tumors)
on the upper and middle turbinate bone, a spur on the (septum) partition,
deviation of the partition or enlarged turbinate bones, or adenoids in the
upper part of the pharynx. These troubles almost close up the nose
sometimes and the person is compelled to breathe through his mouth. He not