[Bellflower]

I often suffer with what the doctors call a “dry sinus infection” during winter months.

It also warms and filters the air. Nose hair helps filter out impurities. Many people believe that nose breathing is very important to good health. This may have something to do with why people may have longer noses. Here is just one one countless sites that is interesting about the importance of breathing through the nose and therefore how important the nose actually is. It is possible that Neanderthal with his larger brain capacity and bigger nose was a more intelligent and adept human than we.

http://www.breathing.com/articles/nose-breathing.htm

Nose Breathing

Breathing through the nose has many benefits. Breathing through the mouth, many negatives. There are some researchers who believe that mouth breathing and associated hyperventilation causes or exacerbates asthma, high blood pressure, heart disease, and many other medical problems........

[mamelukesabre]

Athletes often use those nose strips to open up their noses for better breathing. I suspect modern human noses are insufficient for prolonged physical exertion and that neanderthals did not need nose strips.

[firebrand]

Helps prevent frostbite too.