Why runny nose when sick

These are not the only symptom of the cold or flu. You may also experience other associated symptoms, like sneezing, coughing, chest congestion, a sore throat, headaches, and body aches.

Find out how to relieve your upper-respiratory symptoms like nasal congestion and runny nose so you can feel better fast. If you have a stuffy nose, keeping yourself hydrated by drinking plenty of water and clear chicken broth to help make your mucus thinner and more fluid. That will allow it to drain faster from your nose and sinuses. Downing lots of liquids will also keep the membranes in your airways lubricated. Avoid liquids like caffeine that can cause dehydration.

When you add FluTherapy Night Time into 8 oz. Be sure to take all of the medicated hot drink within minutes. It has an antihistamine to dry up your nasal passages and relieve your runny nose symptoms and cough, as well as a nasal decongestant to relieve the stuffiness from nasal congestion.

Research shows that your body makes new immune system cells when you are asleep. Plus, resting will give you a much-needed break from blowing your nose. Putting a warm compress to your nose and forehead multiple times a day can help relieve upper respiratory symptoms like nasal congestion. This will help to loosen your mucus to help relieve nasal congestion.

The next time you have a stuffy nose, try sitting in the bathroom with a warm shower running. You can also breathe in steam from a bowl of hot water.

Inhaling warm not hot steam can help soothe the mucous membranes lining the nose and make the mucus thinner. This will help you drain your mucus faster. A clean humidifier or cool mist vaporizer is a great way to add moisture back into your environment, which will help with nasal congestion. When the air is too dry, your mucus may get thicker and not flow very well, and your sinuses may not drain properly. Definition Causes When to see a doctor. Products and services. Thank you for Subscribing Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information.

Please try again. Something went wrong on our side, please try again. Show references Post-nasal drip. Accessed Feb. Peden D. An overview of rhinitis. Accessed Dec. Schulz KA, et al. Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. King TE, et al. Clinical features and diagnosis of eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis Churg-Strauss. Sexton DJ, et al.

The common cold in adults: Diagnosis and clinical features. Nasal congestion and rhinorrhea. Merck Manual Professional Version. Cold versus flu. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For something kind of gross, mucus does a lot of good. It keeps germs, dirt, pollen, and bacteria from getting into your lungs by stopping them in your nose. But sometimes mucus doesn't stay put. You have a cold or the flu : When you have either one of these, your nose goes into mucus-making overdrive to keep the germ invaders out of your lungs and the rest of your body, where they might make you even sicker than you already are.

You know what happens then: The mucus runs down your throat, out your nose, or into a tissue when you blow your nose. Or it can fill your sinuses, which is why you get that stuffy feeling.

You have allergies : Kids who have allergies get runny noses when they're around the thing they're allergic to like pollen or animal hair. Blowing your nose too hard can damage the delicate cilia. It can even propel pathogens deeper into the nasal cavity, where they can further infect the body.

Lee suggests treating a stuffed or runny nose by moistening the nasal lining with saline solution through nasal sprays or irrigation tools like neti pots.

This will help loosen the mucus and help bring it back to normal more quickly. You can also use a nasal decongestant drug. If your symptoms get worse after that time, then maybe a bacterial infection has taken hold, in which case you would require antibiotics, Lee says. It means your immune system is doing its job.