Q+A: Why this runny nose whenever I run?
Our experts answer real-life questions
Posted: 9 September 2000
by Patrick Milroy
Q No matter what the weather – hot or cold, dry or wet – my nose drips constantly as I run. As you’d expect, it’s a serious nuisance. What could be causing this problem? Could it be something in my diet?
A You’re not alone. Nasal discharge becomes a persistent problem for many runners. It is well recognised that exercise, and the increase in metabolism associated with it, causes the mucous membranes or internal skin tissue within the nose and sinuses to produce more mucous than when at rest. Some of this helps to soak up inhaled particles of dust and dirt. But as you have noticed, if too much is produced it can become a serious nuisance and a cause of nasal obstruction.
From a medical point of view it may be that you suffer from rhinitis. The mucous membrane lining the nose becomes swollen, so that airflow is obstructed, and its glands become overactive. This causes the excess mucous production, often accompanied by a water discharge.
Rhinitis can be caused by a couple of things. Firstly, it could be due to a treatable ear, nose and throat problem such as nasal polyps, an additional growth of tissue, chronic sinusitis or other infection. On the other hand, the rhinitis may be caused by an allergy – such as hayfever, dust or perhaps pollution.
Happily, it’s usually possible to treat these conditions: an infection will respond to antibiotics, and chronic rhinitis is usually controlled by nasal steroids in the form of a spray. (Don’t worry, these steroids are permissible under IAAF rules.)
Some people do like to blame their diets, particularly those rich in dairy products, but I know of little scientific evidence to support this claim. A visit to your GP or an ear, nose and throat surgeon should lead to a more definite diagnosis and cure.
—Dr Patrick Milroy, RW Medical Advisor
Discuss this article
I get hay fever in June, every year, and I totally cut out all dairy products (eggs, milk, cheese, butter, cream, mayonnaise, custard, and anything containing any of the above such as cakes, pastry etc). The Doc says there may be no scientific proof that cutting dairy out reduces runny nose syndrome - but it works for me.
It takes a few days to kick in but afterwards there is an immediate benefit - a dry nasal orifice. No ill effects at all. Except you crave milk etc after about a month / six weeks.
Posted: 04/06/2007 at 11:44
So what if milk is intended for baby cows? It tastes nice, and if full of calcium, and goes very well with meusli (and in tea).
Cheese with blue fuzz is the best kind - bring on the Stilton :-) And St Agur, and Shropshire blue, and Cambazola.....
I prefer my eggs cooked, so they whites are firm and the yolk is creamy, or scrambled to a pale, delicious mound on (buttered)toast.
I don't know what kind of discharges you have Jeremy, but you need to see a doctor if they're like butter ;-)
The occasional cake won't turn you into Dawn French, and is a nice treat. Especially a really good chocolate one!
I'd rather dribble snot than miss out on all those delicious things.
The aware, disciplined adult in me knows that the exercise I take more than out-weighs the indulgence in good food.
Posted: 07/06/2007 at 11:16
I’ve had this problem for a while now. I thought it was just a side effect of being a running / cycling smoker, so put up with it and kept firing the snot out of nostrils as and when they blocked up (very frequently). Anyhow, I was expecting this to clear up when I stopped – but it hasn’t – so I googled and found this thread. At first I was happy – a nasal spray which will prevent this? Fantastic! Oh.. a nasal spray which I’ll have to use forever… not so good. This got me thinking on the merits of continuing to ‘snot-shot’ Vs continuously sniffing it up. Fire it out = easier, plus you drop off some small amounts of weight. Sniffing it up = a bit more tricky (for me) initially, but might get easier with practice. You’re also carrying more weight (albeit fractionally). So I returned to google again to try and find out the nutritional value / breakdown of nasal mucus – was it dead weight to be lost, or was it worth the effort of erm.. re-internalising it. I found that it’s 95% water. Additionally, it has a high carb content. “Respiratory tract mucous glycoproteins are large, extended molecules, which have a high carbohydrate content. They are polydisperse, with variation occurring largely in the content of sulfated sugars and sialic acid. Factors such as cell of origin, chronic lung disease, and pharmacologic effects influence the density of these anionic (acidic) groups. Variation in acidic properties may influence the physical and virus-binding properties of mucus. “ Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7428951 So water + carbs… could be handy on a longer run. Admittedly, there’ll possibly be a lot of stuff in there which you don’t want to digest. Thoughts? (written in a bit of a rush) J
Posted: 23/03/2011 at 15:34
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