The simple reason only one nostril gets blocked: The answer is in your pants

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

Your nose is a place of mystery. Why, for example, in the midst of a cold, does only one airway get blocked, while the other runs faster than Usain Bolt?

Experts say it has something to do with your reproductive regions – the penis and the clitoris, to be precise. Apparently, the same erectile tissue present in your underwear is also in your nose. It turns out your nose and your sexual organs are inextricably linked.

Australia-based scientist Dr Karl Kruszelnicki said that the reason it feels like one side of your nose is clogged and struggling, while the other is snotty and gross, is due to "nasal anatomic makeup".

Dr Karl explained it all on his Triplej radio show after a cold-ridden listener posed the question about one-sided blockages. He told the caller that the "erectile tissue in your nose is on a constant cycle that helps with the flow of nasal air and your sense of smell".

It's all about the tissue (and tissues)

Basically, your nostrils split the workload. Throughout the day, one nostril breathes, giving the other time off, alternating every few hours. Your autonomic nervous system – which controls things like digestion and heart rate – takes command.

And it's the same tissue type found in the penis and clitoris that controls the opening and closing of your two nasal passages. They swell and deflate.

Your nose doesn't get aroused of course, but the feeling of the blockage is amplified when you're ill. You notice the clogging and your regular nasal cycle is more noticeable, because everything is inflamed.

More than just effort

The way your nose operates isn't just to give nostrils a rest though. It also maintains a keen sense of smell – our scent receptors also work in tandem.

Some smells are better acquired through a 'fast working' airstream. Others filter more readily in a 'slow working' one. So having nasal passages running at different speeds also helps you take in that good smelling pie, or your delicious quiche you baked for your friend Simon.

Switching congestion also gives the mucous and cilia (the tiny hairs up in your nose) a break from the onslaught of air you take in. The change prevents the insides of your nostrils from drying out and cracking.