Forums >Off the Beaten Path>Does running clear stuffy nose?
Man, you find everything on this forum. I am very frequently in a state of congestion/runniness due to allergies & what-not. (Next time someone asks me "who has allergies in the winter?", I want to punch them.) But I have never had a problem while running. For some reason I never thought much about it, just enjoyed it. Maybe that's why I love running so much?
Dave
Joggaholic
What about the kinda of stuffiness that is not associated with snot? The kind where your nostrils are dry but you just can't breath through them as if they're entirely plugged up? (This usually happens to one side though to me for some reason)
not bad for mile 25
C'mon Nobby, you know people are a whole lot more complex than a rubber tube with raw egg in it. With nasal congestion, we are dealing with living tissues infused with blood and other fluids. There's not only temperature, but blood pressure. There's lymph, sinus passages and their fluids, air passing in and out, facial musculature, and, probably most importantly, histamines. Note #3 especially:
Increased vascular permeability causes fluid to escape from capillaries into the tissues, which leads to the classic symptoms of an allergic reaction: a runny nose and watery eyes. Allergens can bind to IgE-loaded mast cells in the nasal cavity's mucous membranes. This can lead to three clinical responses:[9]
Best Present Ever
I find running encourages what I think of as snot homeostasis. If my nose isn't running when I start, I'm often moderately snotty during the run. If I'm congested when I start, I breath a lot better during and for a bit after the run.
My nose runs like a faucet when the air is chilly. I don't run like a faucet; more like a dork.
rectumdamnnearkilledem
Oh, c'mon guys...! It's got nothing to do with the act of running. It's because of the elevated body temperature!!! You go sit in sauna, ride a stationary bike, whatever! You can very much easily blow your stuffed nose and "spit" (I don't know if there's any specific vocabulary for this action) the snot out of the nostril easily. It doesn't have to be running. Seriously, guys???
My nose has never run while on a treadmill or stationary bike...or in a sauna. Running or biking outdoors if it's <55 degrees or so--instant faucet. I don't think it has anything to do with my body temperature, but everything to do with external temp. My nose doesn't run in the Summer, unless I'm having an acute allergy attack or cold.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
The Crap Whisperer
My nose runs when I run. Doesn't matter if it's indoors or warm/cold...it runs. It does run less when it's warm or if I'm inside and runs much more in the winter when it's cold. I don't recall having the issue when I ride a stationary bike or do Zumba or something like that.
Being the best tiny spec that I can be!