Silly question- why does my nose run when I eat any kind of meal?!


Question:

Silly question- why does my nose run when I eat any kind of meal?


Answers:

That's not a silly question, it's a tricky one.

There are a couple of different reasons.

First, some speech therapists (rehab specialists who focus on the brain, head, and neck) will tell us that the nose runs when we're eating and drinking, sometimes, because food or drink finds its way into our lungs.

If you've not had pneumonia recently, I wouldn't be too concerned about that (if you have, i'd definitely ask your doctor to order a modified barium swallow).

Another possibility (which popped into my head one day, so I discussed it with a speech therapist and then a head and neck surgeon) is that when we swallow, the food goes into the back of our throat, and then down the tube. When it goes to the back of our throat, it can come into contact with the back/bottom part of our nose . . . the part that we don't see (if you have ever hockered pulling stuff from your nose or sinuses, this is the same place). When food comes into contact with that area, it irritates it a little bit -- so, our nose runs to catch the stray food, and get rid of it.

Sometimes, it doesn't work, and we find ourselves pulling sunflower nuts from the back inside of our nose a week after we've consumed them.




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