If your snot is clear, then congratulations! That transparent fluid is healthy mucus, a mishmash of water, proteins, antibodies, and infection-fighting substances. Your body produces about 1,000 ml of it a day! Its purpose? To irrigate your nasal passages and trap and clear out dust, pollutants, and allergens.

Mucus that sits around in clogged nasal passages thickens and becomes cloudy as it loses moisture. So, if you’re seeing white-coloured snot, don’t panic. This is usually just a sign of dehydration. Drink lots of fluid and spritz your nostrils with a saline spray to thin out the secretions.

If you’re seeing yellow snot, you may have a virus. As infection-nuking cells like white blood cells race to the scene, they get swept up into your mucus. When they die off, they give your snot a pale yellow or brownish tint. Rest, get plenty of fluids and cue up a Netflix binge.

Green mucus is a sign that your body’s immune system is at work. The colour comes from a type of infection-fighting white blood cell. But if your green-tinted snot lasts more than two weeks, and symptoms like facial pressure and congestion are getting worse, not better, then it’s time to call the doctor.

If you’ve been blowing your nose especially hard, or the weather is particularly dry, blood vessels that are close to the surface in your nose can rupture and spill their contents. Use a humidifier at night, and when you go out, wear a face mask — both add moisture to the air that your nose is sucking in.

Sometimes you may get yucky-looking brown-coloured snot and while it may look scary, the reality is, brown snot is nothing to shout about. It could just be some dried-up blood, or you could have inhaled some dirt from the polluted air around you up your nose.

(Text by Larraine Sathicq, bauersyndication.com.au)