system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What is it about eating something spicy that, "clears your nostrils"?

Is it your body trying to coat the esophagus with mucus to protect it? Is your brain melting? Are you involuntarily eating your boogers? What gives?
gpt
The vapors get into your nose and are interpreted as an irritant by your body. It then proceeds to try to flush it out by churning out mucus.  The burning sensation of the chemical capsaicin is a pain response, not a taste.