Here's what the color of your snot really means

Very few people talk about these things, but let's break that taboo.

About nine months ago, after I got a very bad cold, the mucus in my nose turned green. This was normal, I thought, because I was sick.

But now, nearly a year later, it's still green. It's still green! After a year!

After realizing I'd also been coming down with many more colds than usual, I finally went to a doctor. He put a scope up my nose and concluded that I'd been suffering from a chronic, low-grade sinus infection that whole time. And I didn't even know it.

The mucus in your nose serves many functions. Its color can tell you and your doctor a lot about what's going on in your body - especially when it's been an abnormal shade for a long time.

Here are a few of those things, sourced mainly from this Cleveland Clinic infographic and the . You should know, however, that snot color is not enough to diagnose anything outright. Still, it offers a unique glimpse into your body's strange ways of telling you that something's up.