What are nasal passages?

Nasal passages are the tunnels inside your nose that help you breathe and smell things.

Imagine your nose is like a mailbox, and your nasal passages are the hallways inside it. When you breathe in, air travels through these hallways to get to your lungs. These hallways also help catch tiny bits of dust or pollen so they don’t go all the way into your lungs, kind of like a filter.

Your nasal passages are lined with a soft, moist layer that helps warm up and humidify the air you breathe in. It’s like having a little bath for the air before it goes to your lungs.

Sometimes, when you have a cold or allergies, this filter gets clogged, just like how a strainer can get full of food scraps. That's why your nose feels stuffy and you might sniffle more.

Your nasal passages are connected to your sinuses, which are like extra rooms attached to the hallways. They help make your voice sound deeper and also play a part in how you feel when you're sick.