system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: When I have a cold, how does my body produce so much mucus that I have to blow my nose every 10 minutes?

I have a cold, and I've had to blow my nose every 5-10 minutes. Where does all this mucus/snot grossness come from??
gpt
Under normal conditions, nasal mucus is part of the system by which your body inspires air. It is actually a prevention or defense mechanism.
When the air goes by, the dust and whatnot sticks to the muscus-lined sides. And then the cilia (little hair) and the mucus move it to the rear of the mouth so that can hawk it up : it's called postnasal drip.

When you get a cold, your mucus goes crazy and into somekind of overdrive mode to try to shed the virus or else you got.
The mucus-producing cells extracts the "stuff" mostly from your blood (which you have a vast supply) hence the feeling of "TOO MUCH SNOT".

You actually produce less mucus than you may think. One experiment showed that on the peak day of a cold the average person produces about 14 grams of drippings, or roughly half an ounce.