Santa may want to invest in some health insurance for his reindeer.
A symptom known as the “Rudolph Sign” can be indicative of a larger infection in humans, and it’s especially common in the colder months.
Of course, there’s no bright, glowing capacity to guide a sleigh, but the Rudolph Sign is marked by a red, sore tip of the nose that can be both tender and swollen. There also may be a red boil visible inside the nose.
During cold and flu season, it’s not uncommon for excessive tissue use to lead to dry, cracked skin around the nostrils, but looking like the North Pole’s most beloved reindeer — sorry Dancer, Prancer and the rest — can mean there’s something more serious at play.
It can be a symptom of nasal furunculosis, a deep infection of the hair follicle within the nasal vestibule, the area just inside the nostril.
Fortunately, it’s fairly easy to treat — but if left untreated, it can lead to rare but life-threatening complications including blood clots and ophthalmic vein thrombosis, a disease that affects vision.
What causes nasal furunculosis?
It’s caused by bacteria and can be a result of a chronic runny nose or an upper respiratory infection. That can make it more common in the winter, when people are prone to colds or experience runny noses more frequently from frigid temperatures and winds.
It may also be triggered by nose-picking or plucking of the hair inside the nose.
How is nasal furunculosis treated?
The infection can be treated with a few methods, including using hot and cold compresses, cleaning away any crust around the nose, and halting any of the triggering behaviors like nose-picking.
Doctors may also prescribe antibiotics or antistaphylococcal agents as well as topical antibiotic ointments.
In the case of a particularly bad boil, doctors can drain it and give IV antibiotics.
Watch out, nose-pickers
Picking your nose can lead to other health problems, too. A 2018 study published in the European Respiratory Journal found that digging for gold up there could lead to the transmission of pneumonia.
“Pneumococcal infection is a major cause of death around the world, and it is estimated that it is responsible for 1.3 million deaths in children under five years annually,” lead researcher Dr. Victoria Connor, a clinical research fellow at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Royal Liverpool Hospital, said.
They found that bacteria on the hands could make it into the nose during picking — but also poking and rubbing.
“It might not be realistic to get children to stop picking, poking and rubbing their noses, and presence of the bacteria can sometimes boost the immune system of children and can reduce their chances of carrying it again later in life, so it is unclear if completely reducing the spread of pneumococcus in children is the best thing,” Connor said.
“But for parents, as this research shows that hands are likely to spread pneumococcus, this may be important when children are in contact with elderly relatives or relatives with reduced immune systems.”
“In these situations, ensuring good hand hygiene and cleaning of toys or surfaces would likely reduce transmission and reduce the risk of developing pneumococcal infection such as pneumonia.”
