What May Help Clear Up A Runny Nose
There are several things you can try at home to help clear up a runny nose.
- Use a nasal spray or rinse: Saline nasal sprays are available OTC. They can help clear out your nasal passages. You can also make your own saline nasal rinse at home.
- Try an OTC decongestant: If you have nasal congestion along with your runny nose, an OTC decongestant can help reduce inflammation and pressure. Examples include Sudafed and Afrin.
- Take an OTC antihistamine:OTC antihistamines work to relieve allergy symptoms like runny nose, itching, and sneezing. Examples include Benadryl, Claritin, and Zyrtec.
- Use an intranasal corticosteroid: These are medications that you spray into your nose. They may help ease allergy symptoms like itching, sneezing, and runny nose. Some that are available OTC include Nasacort and Flonase.
- Drink water:Drinking enough water can help keep your nasal mucus thin and easier to clear from your nose.
- Use a humidifier: A humidifier can add moisture to the air and may help keep nasal mucus thin.
- Avoid triggers: If you know that specific things trigger your symptoms, try to avoid them.
- Blow your nose frequently: Gently blowing your nose into a tissue can help clear excess mucus from your nasal passages.
While a runny nose will often go away with at-home care, there are some signs that it may be time to make an appointment with your doctor. These include:
What Can Cause A Clear Runny Nose
A runny nose happens due to an increase in the production of nasal mucus. While a runny nose can have many causes, it often occurs due to inflammation of the tissues inside your nose. This is known as rhinitis.
The extra fluid thats produced can drain from your nose, down the back of your throat , or both. While nasal mucus can have a variety of colors, the medical term for a runny nose with thin, clear fluid is rhinorrhea.
Now lets examine some of the potential causes of a constant runny nose with clear fluid.
What Are The Common Otc Medications
Cough and cold medications
- It can be stressful when a cough keeps your child awake at night. But coughing can be helpful. It can be a sign that the body is getting rid of mucus that irritates the airway. Syrups that stop this normal response of the body can be harmful to children.
- Many OTC cough-and-cold products contain drugs that claim to ease coughing. Usually, they include dextromethorphan and/or diphenhydramine that reduce the cough reflex.
- Some OTC drugs contain codeine. Codeine should not be used in children under the age of 12 for any reason.
- Always check the label first to make sure the medication is suitable for your child. Talk to your health care provider if you have any questions about using cough and cold medicines in children. These professionals can also help make sure these medications wont interfere with other health products your child may be taking.
- Oral decongestants are drugs from the same family as adrenaline. They are given to reduce swelling and stuffiness in the nose due to colds.
Antihistamines
- Antihistamines are usually used to dry up a runny nose or reduce sneezing caused by allergies.
- They can also ease itching from things like hives, chickenpox or insect bites.
- Antihistamines wont help someone with a cold. They can actually cause side effects, such as drowsiness, if used for the treatment of a cold.
Nasal drops or sprays
Pain and fever relievers
Natural health products
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Other Respiratory Tract Infections
Viral respiratory tract infections like influenza may also cause a runny nose, especially in younger children. While this is less common with the flu than the common cold, it serves the same purposeto rid the body of the virus.
Other signs of a viral respiratory infection include a stuffy nose, cough, and a scratchy throat.
The viruses that cause the flu and common cold spread when children come into contact with nasal secretions of an infected person and then touch their eyes, nose, or mouth. That is why handwashing and other good hygiene habits are so important to preventing the spread of viruses.
Why Is Mucus An Important Part Of The Airway System
Mucus is needed to keep your airway moist and working properly. Not only does mucus stop harmful particles from getting into your lungs, but it also contains antibodies to help destroy bacteria. If too much mucus is produced, your body wants to get rid of it, leading to coughing and spitting the extra mucus out and blowing it out of your nose.
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Why Does A Runny Nose Happen
When a virus, allergen, or other irritant enters your nasal passages, the lining of your nose and sinuses becomes irritated and inflamed, and your nose produces mucus as a result. The mucus is there to help trap bacteria, viruses, and allergens in order to help flush them away. That mucus is a very important part of your airway system because it keeps your airways moist and helps keep them working.
Even more, the mucus in your nose contains antibodies that can help kill off viruses and bacteria. Though it is just doing its job, it sure is annoying when your body produces too much mucus — this can result in a cough, congestion, and runny nose.
Check If You Have A Cold
Cold symptoms come on gradually and can include:
- a blocked or runny nose
- pressure in your ears and face
- loss of taste and smell
The symptoms are the same in adults and children. Sometimes symptoms last longer in children.
Cold and flu symptoms are similar, but flu tends to be more severe.
| Cold | |
|---|---|
| Appears quickly within a few hours | |
| Affects mainly your nose and throat | Affects more than just your nose and throat |
| Makes you feel unwell, but you’re OK to carry on as normal | Makes you feel exhausted and too unwell to carry on as normal |
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Help My Nose Is Running And I Dont Know What To Do
The weather has turned cooler and the leaves have fallen, time to cue the waterworks I mean runny noses. This time of year many people may be wondering, do I have allergies, a cold, or the flu?
Since each share common symptoms and many over-the-counter medications are marketed for both cold and flu, its easy to become confused. It is important to distinguish between these conditions to help determine whether antibiotics may be needed.
Often just over-the-counter medications can be used to treat symptoms, and in order to prevent highly resistant strains of bacteria, you want to avoid taking antibiotics when not absolutely necessary.
When Are Antibiotics Needed?
Antibiotics are not effective against viruses and should only be used when there is clear evidence of a bacterial infection.
If antibiotics are used too often for things they cant treat such as the common cold or flu, they become less effective against the bacteria they are intended to treat.
Not taking antibiotics exactly as prescribed can also lead to antibiotic resistance. For example, if you take an antibiotic for only a few days instead of the full course, the antibiotic may not completely wipe out all of the bacteria. The surviving bacteria become even more resistant and can be spread to other people.
So now that you know when antibiotics are needed, lets discuss the differences between the common cold, the flu, and seasonal allergies.
The Common Cold
The Flu
Bacterial Respiratory Illnesses
Best Cold Medicines For A Runny Nose
People with a cold or flu may experience a runny nose, or rhinitis. OTC medicine is unlikely to help relieve a runny nose due to a cold.
Topical anticholinergics, such as ipratropium bromide nasal spray, may help reduce a runny nose. However, this medicine requires a prescription from a doctor.
- For a cold: People aged 5 years and over can use ipratropium 0.06% nasal spray three or four times per day for up to 4 days.
- For a seasonal allergy: People aged 5 years and over can use ipratropium 0.06% nasal spray four times per day for up to 3 weeks.
- For year-round allergies: People aged 6 years and over can use ipratropium 0.03% nasal spray two or three times daily.
However, anticholinergics may not be safe for everyone to use. This includes people with some other health conditions, such as glaucoma, and those using certain other medications. A doctor can advise on whether these medicines are suitable for an individual.
Sometimes, a runny nose is a symptom of an allergic reaction. If this symptom is due to an allergy and not a cold, antihistamines may help.
Pseudoephedrine, present in Sudafed, is an oral decongestant.
It is available without a prescription in many states, but there are restrictions on how much a person can buy because of the risk of dependency and adverse effects.
Phenylephrine, present in Sudafed PE, is effective for the short-term relief of nasal congestion and is available on the pharmacy shelf.
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Causes Of A Runny Nose
When you get sick, it is because germs or pathogens have gotten past your mucus lining. This is when your immune system takes over and produces proteins call cytokines. These cytokines send out B cells and T cells to look for and destroy the pathogens. The B cells and the T cells then communicate with other cells in your nose to make more mucus so that it will clear your body of any additional or dead germs.
As you nose produces more and more mucus, your mucus lining begins to get swollen and fills your nose with more and more fluid. Once the germs or pathogens are cleared from your nose, your immune system will tell your body that the coast is all clear and your mucus lining will start returning to a normal level.
Most of the time, your immune system is very good at distinguishing the cells that your body makes naturally from the disease-causing foreign cells that need to be combated. But sometimes your immune system doesnt know when to shut off its germ-fighting response and goes into overdrive. This overkill response causes conditions like asthma or allergies.
Here are some other causes for getting a runny nose:
How To Use Chlorpheniramine Allergy Tablet
If you are taking the over-the-counter product, read all directions on the product package before taking this medication. If you have any questions, consult your pharmacist. If your doctor has prescribed this medication, take it as directed.
Take the tablet, capsule, or liquid form by mouth with or without food. Follow the directions for dosing on the label, or take as directed by your doctor. This medication may be taken with food or milk if stomach upset occurs.
If you are taking the extended-release capsules, swallow them whole. Do not crush or chew extended-release capsules or tablets. Doing so can release all of the drug at once, increasing the risk of side effects.
If you are using the liquid form, use a medication measuring device to carefully measure the prescribed dose. Do not use a household spoon. If your liquid form is a suspension, shake the bottle well before each dose.
Your dosage is based on your age, medical condition, and response to therapy. Do not increase your dose or take this medication more often than recommended by your doctor or the package instructions without your doctor’s approval. Take this medication regularly in order to get the most benefit from it. To help you remember, take it at the same time each day.
If your condition lasts or gets worse, or if you think you may have a serious medical problem, seek immediate medical attention.
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Are Antibiotics Used To Treat Colds
Common colds dont have an official treatment plan or remedy. Generally, you have to let them run their course and ease symptoms as they arise. In fact, taking antibiotics in an attempt to remedy a cold can cause additional harm and side effects without getting rid of the cold.
Because of the risk that taking antibiotics would have on your body when trying to use them to treat a cold, theyre not generally prescribed by a doctor.
Congestion And Runny Nose Are Signs Of An Immune System At Work
Interestingly, individuals who are vaccinated and boosted may experience more nasal and sinus symptoms of COVID-19 than those who arent.
A recent pre-print study posted on the site medRxiv examined data from over 63,000 people who visited a walk-up COVID-19 community testing site in San Francisco over a one-year period. The researchers found that individuals with COVID-19 who had been vaccinated and boosted had more congestion compared with those who were unboosted.
Jorge Caballero, MD, a data-driven anesthesiologist at Stanford Medicine in California, broke down the study on Twitter . He tweeted, What seems to be going is that the immune system of persons who were boosted able to respond more quickly to the first sign of an omicron infection in the nose. The congestion is the bodys way of slowing down the infection its flooding the virus in sludge.
If that fails, the virus migrates down to your throat where it causes a sore throat, a cough, or croup in the case of young children, he added.
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Why Does It Run
Our nasal tissues routinely produce mucus to keep our nasal passages moist and functioning well. In fact, along with the stomach and intestines which also produce mucus, they typically generate 1-2 quarts a day that not only moisten tissue but also help trap any bacteria or viruses before they get into our bloodstream and cause infection.
But when something like a cold virus or pollen breaks through the mucus barrier and irritates the nasal tissues excessively, mucus production goes into overdrive in an attempt to get rid of the intruder. The excess has to go somewhere and the result is a runny nose.
At other times, the problem is not that were producing too much mucus, but that our body is not clearing it away like usual. Swallowing problems related to conditions like gastric reflux, for example, may cause a buildup of mucus in the throat that can only escape out the nose.
To help our noses get back to normal, we can first identify the irritant and escape it to prevent symptoms from worsening. If its pollen, spend as much time as possible indoors or wear a filtering mask when outside. If its smoke, move away from the person who is smoking. If your runny nose is accompanied by other cold symptoms, drink lots of liquids and get rest. After escaping the irritants, then we can use a variety of products that will reduce symptoms further.
Inhaling Steam And Drinking A Lot Of Fluids
Many people find it pleasant to breathe in steam with or without adding things like chamomile or peppermint oil, because the warmth and moisture can have a short-term soothing effect on the mucous membranes lining the nose. But this kind of inhalation doesn’t have a clear effect on cold symptoms.
Drinking a lot of fluids is also often recommended if you have a cold. There’s no scientific proof that this will help, though, so there’s no need to force yourself to drink more fluids than you feel like drinking when you have a cold. Still, people often find that hot tea or warm milk have a soothing and warming effect.
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When Should I Contact A Healthcare Provider To Treat A Runny Nose
A runny nose will typically go away on its own. However, a healthcare provider should be contacted if:
- The symptoms continue for more than 10 days and there is no improvement.
- Symptoms are severe or unusual.
- Drainage from your young childs nose comes from only one side and is green, bloody or foul-smelling, or if you have other reason to believe there may be a foreign object stuck in their nose.
Your healthcare provider will perform a physical examination to make sure the runny nose is not a symptom of a more serious condition.
Medicine To Stop A Runny Nose In Kids
The runny nose is a common ailment among children. This is attributed to the fact that children have an immature immune system which is yet to build resistance to the more than 200 common cold viruses.
It is not surprising therefore that the question, what stops a runny nose in kids? pops very often in online platforms.
While cough and cold medicines are a classic and popular option for runny nose in kids and are widely available without prescriptions, WebMD says that they are not as effective in children.
In that same regard, the FDA recommends the usage of cold and cough medicines only from 6 years of age. As for those aged 4-6 years, the FDA recommends usage of cough and cold medicines only under the supervision of a doctor. For kids below 4 years, the FDA advises against using these medications altogether.
You may, however, give over the counter pain relievers such as infant acetaminophen and infant ibuprofen to kids to stop discomfort and fever.
In addition, you will want to encourage your little one to take lots of fluids and administer steam treatment by taking the kid along with you to a hot shower for 10 minutes before bedtime.
Raising the head of your kids bed by sticking small blocks of wood under the legs also helps. OTC Saline nasal sprays and drops also help to improve runny nose in kids, but if you would rather make your own, you can do just that by mixing ½ tsp. salt with 1 cup of warm water.
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