“The nasal passages have a standard physiologic response to different levels of activity,” says Michael Yong, MD, board-certified otolaryngologist and fellowship-trained neurorhinologist at Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica, California.
Aerobic activities similar to cycling, running, and climbing are inclined to create more of a response, but any exercise can have an impact, Dr. Yong continues. When your heart rate increases, the liner of your nasal cavity tightens up so more air is in a position to travel into your nose. When this happens, the mucus produced within the nose becomes thinner and runnier than normal.
“This may end up in some dripping within the front of the nose or behind the throat,” Yong says.
Still, some people could also be more liable to a runny nose during exercise (aka exercise-induced rhinitis) than others. Some people even experience sneezing, itching, and congestion.
Ahead, experts break down the potential reasons your workouts provide you with the sniffles and tips on how to prevent them.
1. You have allergic rhinitis
With more air flowing into the nasal passages during exercise, there’s a greater risk of irritants finding their way in—especially if you’ve allergic rhinitis (nasal allergies).
Allergic rhinitis can be commonly generally known as hay fever. It occurs when your immune system overreacts to something within the environment, similar to pollen or mold, causing runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, and itchy eyes, mouth, or skin, in keeping with the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
Combine an allergen with the traditional effects of exercise on the nasal passages, and also you’ve got a surefire recipe for a runny nose disaster.
To lower your odds of a runny nose, select your workout location fastidiously. For example, avoid exercising outdoors on high pollen days should you’re allergic to pollen, says Tiffany Owens, MD, allergist and immunologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
A day by day nasal spray with antihistamines and/or corticosteroids may additionally help by lowering inflammation of the nasal lining. “Some patients with allergic irritation contained in the nose find that this helps it’s less reactive during any time, but especially when exercising,” Yong says.
You can get prescription and over-the-counter nasal sprays using different medication types. Chat together with your doctor to seek out the perfect option for you.
It’s perfectly normal on your nose to get runny during a workout.
2. You have nonallergic rhinitis
If your nose gets stuffy or drippy during exercise but you don’t have itchiness (or illness), you could have nonallergic rhinitis.
Unlike allergic rhinitis, nonallergic rhinitis has no clear cause, per the Mayo Clinic. However, Yong describes it as a difficulty of nerve sensitivity contained in the nose. Basically, the nerves inside your nasal passages are over-sensitive to certain triggers, which could include weather changes, medications, smells, hot or spicy foods, and irritants like dust or fumes. When exposed to those triggers, your nose reacts by creating more mucus.
Similar to its allergic cousin, nonallergic rhinitis could make your nose run during exercise should you encounter triggers. Think: Walking outside through the winter when it’s a bit colder out, doing yoga in a heated room, or inhaling greater amounts of fumes from passing cars while running.
Avoiding your triggers is the perfect option to prevent a runny nose during exercise. However, because this isn’t realistic for a lot of us, it’s value talking to your doctor about other options, including medication.
“We often prescribe an anticholinergic spray called Atrovent, which acts to actually dampen the nerve sensitivity and reactivity contained in the nose, which may also help to cut back the stimulation of the mucus glands and ultimately reduce the quantity of mucus produced during those periods of activity,” Yong says.
The anticholinergic spray is often used on an as-needed basis, so should you often have reactions from exercise, you can take it before your workout, Yong adds.
3. You have a deviated septum
Owens notes that there may very well be a structural reason on your runny nose during exercise: A deviated septum.
If you’ve a deviated septum, the skinny wall of bone and cartilage that divides the inside the nose in half (the nasal septum) is displaced to 1 side. This makes one nasal passage smaller than the opposite.
It’s estimated that as many as 80 percent of individuals have a deviated septum, per the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Some of us were born with it, while others got it from trauma or injury to the nose.
For many, their deviated septum causes no issue. However, for others, their deviated septum is severe enough to dam one side of the nose and create congestion. You may find this congestion causes your nose to run during a workout sesh.
If that’s the case, your doctor can recommend medications that may manage your symptoms. These may include decongestants (best used short-term) to cut back nasal tissue swelling, antihistamines to forestall allergy symptoms similar to a stuffy or runny nose, and nasal steroid sprays to cut back nasal swelling, per the Mayo Clinic.
Who’s most definitely to get a runny nose during exercise?
It’s perfectly normal on your nose to get runny during a workout. However, individuals with allergic rhinitis, nonallergic rhinitis, and/or a significantly deviated septum usually tend to experience nasal drippage.
Even inside those groups, certain people could also be more affected than others. “For nonallergic rhinitis, we are inclined to see, anecdotally, as people become old, sometimes that may impact the nerves contained in the nose, which may find yourself in people having more mucus production,” Yong says.
Yong adds that individuals with sinus infections could have a better likelihood of a runny nose during on a regular basis life and exercise.
