Claire Petersky said:What happens to small beasties that get caught in your
lungs like that? I imagine they get caught in the mucus,
and die there. Then what? They dissolve and are absorbed
into the body? Kind of disgusting to contemplate, eh?
I've read that the concerned conduits are designed to take
this kind of stress. Noses are lined with hairs to filter,
there are all sorts of anti-septic barriers, and even if it
does get swallowed it just ends up digested in hydrochloric
acid. Still, I don't much like the idea. Besides, bug-
snorting makes one sneeze, and with my disastrous balance
that's amply sufficient to blast me into a ditch.
OTOH, wasps and stingy things could be a real danger. I'd
think a wasp sting on the oesophagus could easily lead to
anaphylactic shock. Or at the very least, a critical bout
of asthma!
EFR Ile de France