GREENSBORO, N.C. — Spicy food, cigarette smoke, and cold air. They all have one thing in common, they can make your nose run. But why? Well, it means your body is working right.
“The purpose of the nose is to warm and humidify the air before it enters down into our lungs to prevent irritation. So, the blood vessels swell and expand, which causes the sensation of congestion or stuffy nose,” said Dr. John Sweet, Hennepin Healthcare.
This condition is called Vasomotor Rhinitis and basically, it means you can have sneezing, congestion, runny nose, postnasal drip, not due to any infection or allergy.
It can be caused by cold air, spicy food, cigarette smoke, exercise--and your nose reacts. This condition is worse for anyone with allergies, asthma, eczema, and women over 50 years old.
“A good way to help prevent that is to try to warm the air before it enters the nose so wearing a scarf to cover the nose can help as well as using over-the-counter medication like azelastine or antihistamine nasal spray,” said Sweet.
Your body is pretty amazing. Your nose can turn air that's below zero to a balmy 80 degrees instantly. The mucus ramps up to give the air moisture.
By the way, it's not just winter, in the summer when you walk into an air-conditioned room from the heat your nose will also start to drip.
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