How mucus keeps us healthy - Katharina Ribbeck

View full lesson: ed.ted.com/less...
Your body produces more than a liter of mucus every day, and when you’re sick, it can be hard to miss. But what exactly is mucus? And what does it do, besides making you miserable? Katharina Ribbeck reveals the mysteries of this transparent, shape-shifting layer that moistens and lubricates the vulnerable parts of our body while rendering us invisible to potentially deadly microbes.
Lesson by Katharina Ribbeck, animation by Anton Bogaty.

[@Booga04Minecraft]

This made so much more sense than the lesson at school. Thank you.

[@whitegod7192]

It is

[@Kuwukuru]

Sure is

[@melody._.3251]

Probably bc schools are bad at their jobs

[@arul9803]

❤️

[@KytoVulpex]

I'm watching this cause I'm sick.

[@gabbyreyleyes690]

get well soon even if its too late. XD

[@senosanjeev4115]

Me too xd

[@noelflores8942]

FoxyFox same xd

[@thesponsor8582]

Kyto Vulpex not me but i do have a diaria

[@biancalantigua2975]

Ha me to

[@Jellymoon-Draws]

The white blood cells look adorable ...Never thought I'd say that.

[@nataloves]

+J Moon I know! So many times they're made to look super angry. I love those happy ones!

[@ghost085]

Nah. Some bacteries on the other hand, they looked like kitties.

[@jj_the_ent]

I have seen cuter micro organisms in a different non Ted Ed video !😊

[@Stunder0319]

C:

[@ethan3246]

Jellymoon what about the black blood cells. TRIGGERED!!!!!!!!!!

[@emilybaltau4135]

I respect my snot now. never thought I'd say that...

[@Stunder0319]

Emily Baltau i dont respect my snot doe...they block my nose and its hard for me to sleep without dying of oxygen :C

[@Iziieerose-]

Sensational

[@Louis-ok3ry]

Stunder0319 how do you die of oxygen?

[@Stunder0319]

Louis Vive Rosenørn.well if you dont have oxygen i wont die straight away,my body stays there for a few hour for oxygen.but if they cant get any more oxygen you know what happens.all my cells slowly dies cuz no oxygen.then rip

[@Louis-ok3ry]

i know you die if you DON'T have oxygen but you can't die of having oxygen

[@Niaaa3393]

This is perfect! I was having a miserable time with my runny nose and watery eyes. Thanks for the insight!

[@Bodygoals4me]

It might be an allerg

[@amnaz304]

This Animation of TED-Ed has its separate fanbase.

[@awake7586]

facts

[@kabirqirati1160]

Actually I am pretty sure all of Ted Ed's subscribers love the animations ... it is the prime reason to suscribe to them in the first place

[@jacodelport]

I always thought mucus was green when you are sick becuase of the bacteria. But actually its the white blood cells producing an enzyme to fight the infection. Cool! Thanks for the great video.

[@Learnwithhanzla]

Hy

[@tf9184]

Very educational! It's hard for me being in the medical profession explaining things to my kids about the body without them freaking out. You're video's help explain in a way that they understand. Thank you for that!

[@clivequick1679]

This really emphasises the vital importance of mucus in the body. Without it we're dead! Excellent content, narration and graphics - thanks!

[@ZimmerSquash]

Anyone else thought the animation was funny? I couldn't help but giggle.

[@AntiTekk]

I thought it was only me :D When the mucus kicks the bacteria away :)

[@nhanvu8170]

+Car| Wrong! The profile pictures are different.

[@redgefleming1535]

+Nhan Vu LOL

[@LadyofTheSummer]

+ZimmerSquash I know. I loved the animation, especially since it helped make learning about something like mucus fun and entertaining. Can you imagine how effective this would be shown in schools?

[@peterchang9973]

+LadyofTheSummer agreed

[@ethan3246]

Mucus doesn't get enough love

[@BrancoIvanovici92]

The animations are the best and funniest, the info is superbly explained. Good job guys!

[@sr.skulletongrin8755]

I have a condition where my body mass produces tons of mucus. I breathe thru my mouth more than my nose regardless the time of year. It's REALLY annoying. Still, I very rarely get sick, my tolerance for things that burn my stomach is high, and I've learned to breathe sooo shallow and calmly from dealing with blocked sinuses since childhood that I can play dead amazingly. Idk what this condition is, but I kinda enjoy it

[@qaaronrodgers2479]

Mouth breather

[@visrik]

Same here. I guess if our immune system is weak, even for non-harmful situations, mucus is produced.

[@sr.skulletongrin8755]

@Srikanth V That's an interesting thought. Perhaps it's a response to something, tho i dont have a weak immune system 🤔 U have me curious, haha

[@oliverdumadag4668]

I have a cold while watching this, now I fell pretty weird.

[@gabbyreyleyes690]

lol feel better even if its too late... i HATE being siick. its like you cant breath well, and your temperatures go wild and i just feel like a little bundeld booger. lol

[@rimjhimsaini7407]

Same here😭

[@TheFerretofEarth]

Oliver Dumadag Me too

[@veenasinha8161]

SAME

[@arul9803]

Thank you for your efforts to make this more valuable & precise info. Short & easy to understand.Ty Ted ed❤️

[@Stunder0319]

What if mucus BLOCKS oxygen from coming in through my nose? RIP me at night?

[@larryp9441]

*I have that problem.* You just sleep with your mouth open all night, and wake up to your throat hurting like hell, only to find that pretty much your whole mouth is completely dry.

[@Stunder0319]

Alex Perez well i sleep not too much (idk why) but iam sure when i sleep i have no control so it would slowly close and well...rip

[@Decembirth]

That would be your sinuses swelling up, not mucus. Mucus will either steam out your nostrils or down your throat.

[@Smeepsy]

breath with your mouth. the sore throat coming after you wake up is no problem. 😏

[@Stunder0319]

Shan DLR i commented this comment four months ago and i dont have that problem anymore so...yeah

[@RATEthisrateTHAT]

your videos are the best, straight, forward and informative! thanks

[@kokujinsenseidesu5398]

I'm so sick but now I can appreciate my mucus

[@elijahwakili9784]

This video has made me realize that Mucus is ten times more useful than I ever imagined. And I'm not exaggerating

[@TechnoDelight]

I think now we have enough of these animated videos to fill in a school curriculum. Keep up the good work. :)

[@Daniel-Davies-Gonstead-Student]

I feel I've learnt far, far more from KZbin alone, not even talking about the whole WWW (Spotify, Google, etc) than I have from "school".

[@vikverma76]

Thank you for all of this lesson . Learning a lot.

[@blackchoco_09]

3:27 so cute!

[@susanflores3997]

Can you do a video about Social anxiety ?!? Pls ! :s

[@rakeshswami11]

Please

[@icehot900]

Nah

[@bubblegumpop715]

The body is such a wonderful thing. I am sick rn with the flu and constantly blowing out mucus but thank god for mucus.

[@animefan4058]

I had to open my locker with my non dominant hand today because I sneezed and the entirety of my sinuses and probably a little brain came out of my nose and my right hand was keeping it from going all over. Also there were tissues in my locker.

[@walletherobot4424]

"A little brain came out of my nose" That's not how logic works buddy

[@kiarona.]

@@walletherobot4424 it's called poetic imagery

[@suparnamaity286]

I am not sure but I think that the animator of the video of the working of heart has also worked on this video , because the animation feels so similar. By the way love what you're doing , one of the best channels on KZbin.😊❤️

[@djdedan]

*sniff

[@yinpayofficial1063]

And now I feel a little better at the fact that mucus is helping keep me healthy. It's worth the 2 to 3 weeks of torture. I CAN TOUGH IT OUT!

[@thegivingtreeyogabyvarshak7092]

Best school ever! Why can’t we learn like this in school...thank u ted Ed

[@highpiner]

Does anyone else think mucus is so cute. BTW 2:35 reminds me of some scenes from Tom & Jerry :)

[@iainmawhinney8867]

Tung Huynh i thought of old batman cartoons

[@alivezero4404]

Yeah I thought

[@bilalnaqvi8541]

Great video and Great Animation! Just wondering, when we are not suffering from cold, how is used mucus discarded? I thought it was dissolved by acids in the stomach.But the video mentioned that mucus helps protect stomach lining from acids. So, it would probably be unaffected by acids? Or is mucus in stomach lining different from that in our nose?

[@Chamecuasovangconggiao]

This is a channel with many useful shares about the human body. I was really surprised to have access to this knowledge. Thank you very much.

[@galaxywolfgamer8756]

Who else is watching this because they are sick ?

[@yud0000]

I am watching bc of researches on stomach acid

[@NeThZOR]

Is eating mucus considered good for us?

[@Andy-js5jy]

+Dylan Heunis no, eating mucus is gross because mucus is no food. mucus have full of virus and bacteria like clear nose. that's why you can't eat mucus with full of bacteria. as you eat mucus and disease and die. mucus keep clear nose as healthy.

[@qwertylazerti]

+Andrea Gnatta +Dylan Heunis Actually eating mucus/snot(though considered extremely gross) is actually pretty beneficial, as it introduces pathogens that have been greatly weakened to the immune system. It is thought that this is why small children have an instinctual desire to eat it. As an adult your immune system is probably very prepared for everything that you'd find in your mucus/snot so there isn't really much purpose to consuming it, but this won't always be true for kids and especially for those who are very young.

[@tyrmyrmidon2846]

+Mustache Guy oh!

[@videogyar2]

+Mustache Guy So we should encourage our children to eat the mucus instead of forbidding it? Damn.

[@qwertylazerti]

Viktor6665 Pretty much yeah. There isn't really anything inherently gross or "unclean" about it. The only reason we find it so, is for the same reason we feel shame about our nudity; learnt social behavior stemming from earlier generations finding certain things distasteful: "oh I don't want to see dicks all the time, here all of you put these animal skins on, hide the nasties" and "eww... It's liquidity and sticky like what comes out of my nasty parts, bone-head Jr. don't put your finger up your useful-for-the-smellings-of-the-stuff-face-part!".

[@HayDog322]

This is perfect cause I am home sick from school

[@nak8490]

Same with me today and I just watched this on this very day today.

[@billieeyelashsmissingavoca7362]

Same, I got the flu

[@jamesron5625]

And nowadays people are just homesick cuz they ain’t go to school anymore.

[@sofiadelaflor1992]

3:28 - 3:30 animation is just awesome 😂

[@krystalburcham6294]

While it may be true that mucus is a good thing and helps prevent infection, mucus is not always a good thing. I have asthma and for people like me, mucus can be a really bad day. So for those who have stated that medications such as Mucinex may be bad for you because it reduces the amount of mucus already in your body, too much mucus in an asthmatic persons lungs can be deadly! In the event of an asthmatic "flare-up", the airways are already extremely inflamed and restricted. When mucus heavily coats the airways and lungs, it makes it even more of a struggle to breathe. I am not saying there aren't any possible complications with taking Mucinex too much or for too long. But on the other hand, I don't think many people take Mucinex unless there is too much mucus in an unfavorable location, such as the lungs or maybe even the nasal passages.

[@specsandzero8656]

Yeah I got mucus right now and it keeps giving me shortness of breath. It's hard to breathe from the mouth cause when air hits the back of my throat,I can't stop coughing

[@Daniel-Davies-Gonstead-Student]

It is entirely possible to have too much of a "good" thing.

[@vijiyanttanaji9800]

My body is so amazing, it's so sophisticated ,it feel that I need to take more care of it properly & not for granted.

[@jace8575]

Mucus also can cause alot of diseases when there is too much of it covering organ cells. A very interesting system.

[@MichaelCena08]

What if your nose creates too much mucus even though you arent sick. I tried not eating dairy for two weeks, started drinking a lot of warm water, tried humidifying the air, removed all rugs, dont have pets, no trees around me. Also tried notti pot (running water through my nose), doing gargle (few times per day). My mucus just wont stop running and sitting on my throat making me cough.

[@hamood-habibi]

i have been sick with the flu for a week and im STILL stuffed up with mucus after A MONTH. also im watching this because my game theory/science teacher sent me this for game theory for some reason, but it turned out to be intresting.

[@sarahnielsen1621]

you make your lessons so simple!

[@sinner272]

Oh... I though it was doing nothing but clogging my nose and irritating me, until this video. Thanks

[@daniel.shalome]

This has become my favourite video to watch when I have cold

[@Eagle3302PL]

One day after watching this I get tonsil infection, thanks TED-Ed, being taught about mucus the hard way.

[@balajiLILG]

all the bacterias in our body be like " it's the mucus that binds us " :D

[@coolman261111]

This is very informative. Keep going guys

[@neptunelover1784]

For the question in the end, yes actually a fever which also activates white blood cells. I would rather deal with the fever than deal with congested sinus, nasal, throat and chest

[@sedthh]

You probably thought that bacteria was alive. Nope, just mucus.

[@visamap]

Thank u all

[@TrueInvisible]

as the wise words say "don't judge the book from its cover" and don't' judge mucus from its shape!

[@shogun_5832]

Mucus doesn’t really have a shape, it’s really just a slime

[@gauravjeee]

great visual preaentation. great work and knowledge

[@MugenNiFukuzatsuna]

Good Guy Mucus, still keeps you healthy even though you don't want it.

[@giancarlosp7]

Simply amazing. I see intelligent design in all of this.

[@ethanchou4906]

I kinda hate mucus, it's snot fun :( (See what i did there?)

[@mcrarburger]

I don't see I'm blind

[@lufocity9339]

Ethan Chou Medicne that removes mucas is unhealty,i saw wut u did

[@Stunder0319]

omg this might be the funniest pun discovered

[@gabbyreyleyes690]

yeah i see. XD but its important

[@eobardthawnemcoc]

mcrarburger lol

[@mckenzie_Rockneberg]

I’m watching because I’m interested in learning how to help my body stimulate healthy mucus. Because when I had Covid 19 I had incredibly dry eyes for about 5 days. And I had digestive complications. It’s as if I was experiencing a lack of lubrication in different areas of my body. How can we stimulate good healthy mucus? I mean, aside from the obvious e.g. drinking tons of water? I did invest in a collagen powder supplement and ate gelatin. Is there better ways to get fluids flowing more quickly following an infection?

[@rohitsharma306]

3:29 My mom when I Misbehave.

[@raromo]

When I was a kid and I was sick, I would have my nose unclogged but when it clogged I called it a “mucus attack” So when I was with my friends and I said “IM HAVING A MUCUS ATTACK!” So I went to the bathroom because my friends aren’t there and happily threw away all the mucus from my body and cleaned my nose and I went outside like nothing happened. I would do this every 5-10 minutes. Never gets old, now thanks to this video I appreciate my mucus and I won’t throw it away ever again :)

[@chrisp.9385]

"This is not slime it's mucus" Tiana 2009

[@1ofTheChosen]

Hm. I’ve read that mucus is actually the cause of ALL disease. When I’m sick, my mucus builds up a lot. And I’ve found that actually SPITTING it out helps me to get over my sickness faster. Everyone should look into ALKALI FOODS AND MUCUS. Love you all.

[@hughscott1676]

Who is here after Covid-19?

[@noorulhasan4904]

Well it get recommended

[@rabbidtzz791]

🙋🏻‍♀️

[@samarkumarghosh1708]

Me

[@Sefiisthebestxd]

No one since every one is still in Covid 19

[@um_guysadieyt4051]

Dejavu

[@JekylViovicente]

so cute illustration. i love this channel.

[@serge3463]

It is very unhealthy to swallow your mucus, I’ve been spitting my mucus out ever since i last got sick and now I never get sick! Maybe The only sickness I get is chapped lips!

[@LeonHecht-z1x]

Explains why I got sick again right after getting out of a cold, where I took Loratadine to suppress my mucus :0 But still, I'm wondering why in the video mostly bacteria is addressed if most colds are caused by viruses

[@GhoVinsen]

love the animation!

[@sanjaymajhi6255]

The whole video is amazing but dear Addison Anderson I love your voice

[@NoobMaster-tn8di]

1:10 no wonder why my mucus taste salty

[@ridium7721]

I thoroughly enjoyed this, THANKS!

[@panushalimbu]

If your mucus turns green it means you have a cold

[@marylandman12]

Really? i never knew that

[@seanserrano7871]

I never had green mucus. Only white mucus. But that's probably same for everyone.

[@Dalen22_W]

Sasa Lim my mucus is glowing and it's purple

[@gabbyreyleyes690]

eeww

[@discovaria9507]

What if it's yellow

[@whatsappgaming920]

The animation is so fun 😊

[@amnaz304]

Now I have started loving my mucus somehow

[@muktadandale2321]

Another great and informative video by ted!!

[@bbt5981]

An answer to the last question, would soap fit all of the criteria

[@raghavbhatia3892]

It would also cause exosmosis by making the medium surrounding your skin hypertonic

[@singularityhq]

I love these animations.

[@frendoman4327]

but vegans say mucus is bad for the body...WUWT?

[@gabbyreyleyes690]

idk

[@KamiliumAMVs]

Dont trust anything from vegans man

[@ubu6949]

Watch sv3rige's videos on how mucus is keeping you alive.

[@katylepetsos7512]

Dont trust human-vegetables.

[@user-qn6pq3lt6j]

Search Alkaline diet

[@ayushpurohit3484]

Thank you... That's very helpful 😊😊

[@jobelijander6217]

3:27-3:30 was cute af

[@Sagnikpcmb]

Thank you

[@CommanderLVJ1]

Behold the great organic machine that is the human body and the millions of (less complex?) organic machines and other things that go into maintaining and sustaining it each and every day! ;)

[@dksannkat141]

So if mucus acts as a filter to get rid of infections, if I take medicine such as a suppressant, does that mean I halted and delayed the filter process because the mucus is now suppressed? 🤔

[@AwfulnewsFM]

0:07 corona virus

[@tanojsharma7788]

This video can help me so much

[@jagannathbarman6712]

#mucuslivesmatter

[@specsandzero8656]

I still think the body could have came up with a better way to prevent bad stuff then making us more sick. I have to go to the doctor to get rid of mucus. Cause my body produces too much and it will literally last 3 weeks of coughing out green mucus.

[@SarthakThukralst]

great animation. good explanation. how do u make such good videos? i want to know more

[@irfanmohd091]

By drawing duh

[@RikkuParadox]

I love the animations on this one

[@monckeywrench4823]

This must be true.. and Its not gonna hurt you,, i have mucus myself and doesn't have serious disease for years,,probably 1 or 2 times a fever for a year just due to my tonsillitis,,but my mucus doesn't disturb me much,, automatically you breath through your mouth causing us to snore at night.. and that's it.

[@angelialvares]

My acupuncturist told me that anything our bodies produce is for our own benefit. i tried to stop mucus production and ended up with pain in my joints....now I shall let the stuff flow!

[@pranjal967]

This video was cute and funny way to learn about one of the essential body fluid-mucus. Really nice video.

[@joanpinto3642]

Very educational, thank you 😊

[@kaylajordan8458]

Love the animation, it's quite adorable

[@ciarasutherland7110]

The mucus animation at 2:03 was so sweet it was hilarious

[@rohan5753]

Thanx ted bhai i really want this info

[@iamjaydee4621]

Easy To understand and entertaining to watch!! Thank you.

[@Hassesbeya]

incredible, please keep these videos coming

[@elijahwakili9784]

Oooh that explains why I drool a lot when I get sick especially if it's a fever.

[@checkHook93]

Excellent work

[@hkayakh]

Everyone in the world should watch this

[@احمدادم-ط2ب]

سبحان الله الخلاق المبدع if you want to know what is allah write allah in Islam in KZbin you will very happy if you know this in

[@Whiteboard7]

this was fantastic! Thanks.

[@saptarshisikder9707]

So beautifully described. Thank you.