DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My problem is excessive nasal drip. My nose runs constantly when I eat. I have to use napkins for the dripping because facial tissues become soggy too quickly. The nose drips frequently during the day too, but mealtimes are the worst. Do you have any suggestions? — W.B.
A: What you describe fits the picture of vasomotor rhinitis. The mucous glands of the nose work overtime for inexplicable reasons. This is not an allergic condition. It’s a condition where normal nose functions have shifted into an overproduction mode. Mealtime worsening of this problem has a special name — gustatory rhinitis. Some people with vasomotor rhinitis suffer only from it. You have it at times other than at mealtime. Things that don’t trigger mucous production for most people do so for you and fellow vasomotor rhinitis sufferers: hot food, spicy food, changes in temperature, strong odors, perfumes, cold air, sunlight, alcohol, irritants like cigarette smoke and smog.
You might control the mealtime outpouring by taking an antihistamine one hour before eating.
For the rest-of-the-day dripping, Astelin nasal spray could help. It’s an antihistamine that dries up mucous production. Rhinocort Aqua, another nasal spray, contains cortisone, which soothes the nasal lining and the nasal mucous glands. Atrovent nasal spray has a medicine that turns off nerve messages to mucous glands. It can be used one hour before meals in place of the antihistamine. All of these are prescription items, so your doctor has to agree that you’re a candidate for their use.
Try a treatment that doesn’t involve any medicines — a saltwater rinse for your nose. Add half a teaspoon of salt to a cup of boiled water while the water is still warm. Let the solution cool, and then, with a bulb syringe — obtainable in drugstores — gently flush each nostril with the saltwater twice a day.
c. North America Syndicate
