Causes of Runny Nose
1. Allergies
A runny nose is a common symptom of allergic rhinitis that occurs when your immune system overreacts to allergens in the atmosphere such as pollen, bee venom or pet dander. A lot of people experience intense allergic reactions during the spring or the fall due to your body’s inflammatory response, which eventually leads to rhinorrhoea.
2. The Common Cold
Exposure to any cold-causing virus increases the absorbency of blood vessels in the nose, resulting in the leakage of fluid (serum) into your nasal passage. When you get infected by the common cold, mucus fills your nose. This acts as one of the major reasons of runny nose, especially for children.
3. Consuming Spicy Food
Eating hot or spicy food is often associated with runny nose as consuming such food items are known to stimulate a nerve, called the trigeminal sensory nerve that causes the nose to run. Moreover, a number of spicy foods contain rhinorrhoea triggering compounds that can irritate your nasal mucous membranes and instigate gustatory rhinitis.
4. Side-Effects of Medicines
Certain medicines and overuse of decongestant nasal sprays can lead to the development a type of nonallergic medication-induced rhinitis, which acts as an active trigger for runny nose. You may experience rhinorrhoea as a side effect of medications targeted to treat high blood pressure, erectile dysfunction, cardiovascular ailments, birth control and depression.
5. Crying
Crying acts as one of the natural reasons of runny nose due to the connection between the tear ducts and the nasal passage. When you are crying, more tears start to flow through the lacrimal puncta into the nasolacrimal duct that basically drains directly into your nose. This phenomenon can frequently leave you with a runny nose.
6. Hormonal Issues
There is a correlation between the hormonal situation and the nasal allergic reactivity when an individual undergoes through hormonal changes during puberty, menstruation, and pregnancy. Increased levels of progesterone can cause rhinorrhoea by inflaming and irritating the nasal tissues. Also, hypothyroidism can be a reason for hormonal rhinitis and trigger runny nose.
7. Physical Exercise
Exercise-induced rhinitis is a result of extensive workout or intense physical activity like running, cycling and aerobics. This acts as a contributing factor towards the development of runny nose as exposure to such instances can increase the amount of air that you exchange while breathing deeper and faster.
8. Exposure to Cold Air
Have you ever experienced a runny nose while enjoying the fresh snow or after leaving a cold, air-conditioned room? This happens because the cold, dry air dehydrates your nasal membranes, altering the fluid balance in your nasal passage. These modifications instigate inflammatory responses and nasal nervous system reflexes that triggers rhinorrhoea.
How to Stop a Runny Nose Naturally?
1. Garlic
What You Will Need
- Small garlic pieces: 2-4 cloves
- Sugar: 1 teaspoon
What To Do
- You can prepare a garlic soup by boiling 3-4 raw, semi-crushed garlic cloves in a cup of water for a few minutes.
- After straining the solution, add the sugar and drink the soup while it’s still warm.
- Also, you can simply chew and ingest raw garlic cloves to get rid of a runny nose.
How Often To Do
Drink the soup twice a day or consume maximum three to four small cloves in one day.
Why This Works
Garlic acts as a natural antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal agent due to its allicin content and aids in destroying the triggering irritants that cause a runny nose. It also helps to instantly warm up your body so that you are able to release the mucus and feel less irritable.
2. Saline Rinse
What You Will Need
- Salt: 1 teaspoon
- Warm water: 1 cup
- Dropper
What To Do
- Mix the salt with the warm water and stir well.
- Put a few drops of this saline water into each nostril with the help a dropper.
How Often To Do
Practice this for a couple of times throughout the day until your runny nose gets better.
Why This Works
Ever wondered, how to stop a runny nose instantly at home? Well this super easy remedy is your answer. Saline rinse offers immediate relief from a runny nose as salt contains strong antibacterial and antiviral properties that helps to clear the nasal passages and get rid of irritants.
3. Mustard Oil
What You Will Need
- Mustard oil: 1 tablespoon
What To Do
- Lightly heat the mustard oil so that it turns a bit warm and very cautiously put in a few drops of it into your nostrils.
How Often To Do
Try this remedy twice a day, morning and night until you get relief from a runny nose.
Why This Works
Mustard oil in characteristically warm in nature and also possesses potent antibiotic and antiviral properties. Therefore, it has been an active part of traditional treatment to eliminate the cold and relieve the symptoms of rhinorrhoea.
4. Essential Oils
What You Will Need
- Water: 1 large bowl
- Lavender oil: 5 drops
- Peppermint oil: 3 drops
- Eucalyptus oil: 3 drops
- Towel
What To Do
- Boil the water and add the essential oils to it.
- Place a towel to cover your head and lean over the bowl to inhale the aromatic steam.
- You can also combine the oils together and apply it on your chest, neck, and the bridge of the nose.
How Often To Do
Follow it two or three times on a daily basis to get instant relief from runny nose.
Why This Works
Essential oils are known as the contemporary solution to rhinorrhoea as essential oils are blessed with a variety of benefits. These oils not only contain powerful antimicrobial properties but also helps to decongest the chest, diluting the mucus so that it gets easily removed from your body.
5. Turmeric
What You Will Need
- Freshly ground turmeric powder: 1 teaspoon
- Linseed oil: 1 cup
What To Do
- Add the turmeric powder to the linseed oil and allow it to soak for a few minutes.
- Place this mixture over low heat until it begins to generate smoke.
- Inhale the smoke through one nostril and then with the other one.
How Often To Do
Follow this twice a day daily.
Why This Works
Turmeric is enriched with strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antiviral properties that make it an effective remedy for treating runny nose symptoms. This remedy helps to decongest your nasal passage, curing rhinorrhoea efficiently. Check out the other benefits of turmeric on skin care and see the fantastic results with the home ingredient.
6. Ginger
What You Will Need
- Ginger: 3-4 small pieces
- A pinch of salt
What To Do
- Add the salt to the pieces of raw ginger and chew them bit by bit.
- Also, you can prepare some fresh ginger tea and drink it.
How Often To Do
Chew the ginger pieces several times throughout the day or drink the tea twice in a day.
Why This Works
Enriched with effective antioxidants and antitoxic components, ginger helps in drying running and dripping nose in no time. So, next time when you think, how to stop rhinorrhoea? Here’s your answer.
7. Steam
What You Will Need
- Hot water: one large bowl
- Towel
What To Do
- Take the bowl of hot water and place your face over it.
- Cover your head with a towel and breathe in the steam from the hot water bowl.
- Continue this for around 10 minutes and then blow your nose.
How Often To Do
Do it three to four times a day to treat runny nose effectively.
Why This Works
Steaming acts as one of the most effective and simple home remedies for runny nose and sneezing as it is very useful in clearing out the excess mucus that leads to a runny nose and sneezing.
8. Neti Pot
What You Will Need
- A neti pot
- Distilled water or saline solution: 1-2 cups
What To Do
- Transfer the solution to the neti pot and tilt your head sideways to use it.
- Pour the solution from the pot into one nostril and the water will be released from the opposite nostril.
- Refill the neti pot and repeat the process on the other side.
How Often To Do
Use it once or twice a day.
Why This Works
Neti pot are often used for nasal irrigation as they provide relief runny nose discomfort. Although a strange concept, neti pots have been proven to effectively clear the accumulated mucus from your nose.
9. Apple Cider Vinegar
What You Will Need
- Apple cider vinegar: 2 teaspoons
- Honey: 1 teaspoon
- Cinnamon powder: 1/2 teaspoon
- Warm water: 1 glass
What To Do
- Combine all the ingredients together and stir properly.
- Sip this warm solution before it cools down.
How Often To Do
Drink this twice daily to alleviate the symptoms of rhinorrhoea.
Why This Works
How to cure a runny stuffy nose quickly? Apple cider vinegar is here to rescue. This wonder ingredient offers excellent results while dealing with rhinorrhoea, especially if it is due to an allergic reaction.
10. Honey and Lemon
What You Will Need
- Fresh lemon juice: 3-4 drops
- Honey: 1 tablespoon
- Lukewarm water: 1 glass
What To Do
- Make a drink by adding honey and lemon juice to the water and drink it while it’s still warm.
How Often To Do
Drink this solution twice a day.
Why This Works
Honey and lemon combination acts as an exceptional home remedy for runny nose as they help to reduce nasal inflammations and destroy the microbes that cause nasal infection. Drinking this warm concoction has the ability to flush out and break down excess mucus.
Also read:
Top 21 Uses and Benefits of Eucalyptus Essential Oil
