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Ears aren't connected to the respiratory system. Lacrimal ducts are, that's why eye protection is important. The virus doesn't enter your lungs through your ski

Ears aren't connected to the respiratory system. Lacrimal ducts are, that's why eye protection is important. The virus doesn't enter your lungs through your skin pores either.

DoreenMichele 7y ago
Ears are directly connected to the sinuses (via the Eustachian tubes), which is part of the upper respiratory system. There's a reason we have Eye, Ear, Nose, Throat doctors. It's all connected.
- aznumeric 7y ago
  As far as I know ear, nose, throat doctors (Otolaryngologists) don't treat eyes and they are called 'Ear, Nose, Throat' doctors, there's no eye in the name. Doctors that treat eyes are Ophthalmologists and Optometrists.
  - DoreenMichele 7y ago
    https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/EENT https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/EENT It's possible it has fallen out of favor. I'm a tad on the old side.
- BuckRogers 7y ago
  You're correct, but to add further qualification to your correct assertion- it doesn't matter if they're connected or not. All a pathogen has to do is enter the body by any means, not have direct access to the respiratory system on entry.
  - dwaltrip 7y ago
    I believe this is false. My understanding is that viruses often target specific cells, such as the way the coronavirus targets the aveoli cells in your lungs.
    - BuckRogers 7y ago
      Some viruses are more tissue-specific than others. But viruses do not reach, they passively float until it can jump to cell it can hook up with so it just needs to get into your system.
      - dwaltrip 7y ago
        Yep, I didn't mean "target" in any sort of active way, just functionally. I understand their mechanism is passive.
        BuckRogers 7y ago
        Then what part of my statement was false?
        dwaltrip 7y ago
        You said the coronavirus could enter the body by any means. Is this true? Do you have some resources I could read? I was under the impression that, effectively speaking, it only infects via the lungs.
        BuckRogers 7y ago
        I'm not sure where the best resources to read are, I studied biology and am going off of existing knowledge. ALL pathogens if they can penetrate the skin get access to a body and can cause infection. Simple as that. All pathogens aim for is to harvest your cells. Bacteria and single-cell eucaryote will digest and eat your cells. Viruses will go inside your cells and reprogram cell produce new virus particles. It is that simple and the easiest way to our bodies is through mucus membranes as they lack skin and are protected by a thin layer of mucus, in other word slime and snot. You have mucus membrane in your aerial pathways in your head as eyes, nose and mouth. Also, your lungs are the huge surface area of mucus membrane. But if your skin for any reason is ruptured it opens access for any pathogen go in that way. Point is if a pathogen has access to your cells or not. Nothing else. Most infectious diseases first get inside of your body via mucus membranes. Our skin is not only that last layer of the nonliving layer but consists about few inches of separate layers that in microbiological points are just layers of defense against anything that tries to invade the body. Blood vessels are thin, cell walls that allow white blood cells to move between layers. All layers have little living cells as possible and cell types that are hard to use as food. So if the skin is only damaged it still gives a fairly difficult pathway to pathogen get on without ending with a good fight. If the skin is fully penetrated the situation is different. That's why all deep penetrations to tissues often cause so severe infections. As whatever pathogen with an arrow, knife blade or bullet get deep in a body where is easy to spread and defenses are low. My posts have been downvoted into oblivion by a bunch of programmers, but ask a doctor if what I'm saying is correct or not. It is.
BuckRogers 7y ago
You'd be wrong. That's why I mentioned abrasions on your skin. I didn't say on normal, healthy skin that it penetrates. Viruses can penetrate mucous membranes (the inside of your ear). Mucous membranes are the top spot where most diseases enter to the body. From there they enter to blood stream and spread to tissues, where ever they can spread. Other folks already corrected the mistaken belief on your ears. They are connected. That said, I'm not sure why you think that matters? It has no importance when we're talking about a pathogen entering the body.

Ears aren't connected to the respiratory system. Lacrimal ducts are, that's why eye protection is important. The virus doesn't enter your lungs through your skin pores either.

DoreenMichele 7y ago

Ears are directly connected to the sinuses (via the Eustachian tubes), which is part of the upper respiratory system. There's a reason we have Eye, Ear, Nose, Throat doctors. It's all connected.

aznumeric 7y ago
As far as I know ear, nose, throat doctors (Otolaryngologists) don't treat eyes and they are called 'Ear, Nose, Throat' doctors, there's no eye in the name. Doctors that treat eyes are Ophthalmologists and Optometrists.
- DoreenMichele 7y ago
  https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/EENT https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/EENT It's possible it has fallen out of favor. I'm a tad on the old side.
BuckRogers 7y ago
You're correct, but to add further qualification to your correct assertion- it doesn't matter if they're connected or not. All a pathogen has to do is enter the body by any means, not have direct access to the respiratory system on entry.
- dwaltrip 7y ago
  I believe this is false. My understanding is that viruses often target specific cells, such as the way the coronavirus targets the aveoli cells in your lungs.
  - BuckRogers 7y ago
    Some viruses are more tissue-specific than others. But viruses do not reach, they passively float until it can jump to cell it can hook up with so it just needs to get into your system.
    - dwaltrip 7y ago
      Yep, I didn't mean "target" in any sort of active way, just functionally. I understand their mechanism is passive.
      - BuckRogers 7y ago
        Then what part of my statement was false?
        dwaltrip 7y ago
        You said the coronavirus could enter the body by any means. Is this true? Do you have some resources I could read? I was under the impression that, effectively speaking, it only infects via the lungs.
        BuckRogers 7y ago
        I'm not sure where the best resources to read are, I studied biology and am going off of existing knowledge. ALL pathogens if they can penetrate the skin get access to a body and can cause infection. Simple as that. All pathogens aim for is to harvest your cells. Bacteria and single-cell eucaryote will digest and eat your cells. Viruses will go inside your cells and reprogram cell produce new virus particles. It is that simple and the easiest way to our bodies is through mucus membranes as they lack skin and are protected by a thin layer of mucus, in other word slime and snot. You have mucus membrane in your aerial pathways in your head as eyes, nose and mouth. Also, your lungs are the huge surface area of mucus membrane. But if your skin for any reason is ruptured it opens access for any pathogen go in that way. Point is if a pathogen has access to your cells or not. Nothing else. Most infectious diseases first get inside of your body via mucus membranes. Our skin is not only that last layer of the nonliving layer but consists about few inches of separate layers that in microbiological points are just layers of defense against anything that tries to invade the body. Blood vessels are thin, cell walls that allow white blood cells to move between layers. All layers have little living cells as possible and cell types that are hard to use as food. So if the skin is only damaged it still gives a fairly difficult pathway to pathogen get on without ending with a good fight. If the skin is fully penetrated the situation is different. That's why all deep penetrations to tissues often cause so severe infections. As whatever pathogen with an arrow, knife blade or bullet get deep in a body where is easy to spread and defenses are low. My posts have been downvoted into oblivion by a bunch of programmers, but ask a doctor if what I'm saying is correct or not. It is.

BuckRogers 7y ago

You'd be wrong. That's why I mentioned abrasions on your skin. I didn't say on normal, healthy skin that it penetrates. Viruses can penetrate mucous membranes (the inside of your ear). Mucous membranes are the top spot where most diseases enter to the body. From there they enter to blood stream and spread to tissues, where ever they can spread. Other folks already corrected the mistaken belief on your ears. They are connected. That said, I'm not sure why you think that matters? It has no importance when we're talking about a pathogen entering the body.