Runny nose

[mezzo-tam]

Not sure if this is a health one but:

I walk into work every day and on a cold day like today when I get inside my nose runs a heck of a lot.

Anyone know why this is?

[yogasun]

Yes, so does mine. It's just that the cold air tends to make your eyes water and that causes it. I rarely get a runny nose, only when it is cold. :o(

[eash]

I go bright red when I go from cold outside to warm indoors. I presume it's my body's way of regualting my temperature, takes ages for the red to go down though!
I too get a runny nose but can't explain that either. Strange how the body works, eh?

[Francis Asis]

I put it down to condensation

[Clanad]

Actually, according to Today's Health, there are a couple of reasons. The mucus normally secreted in the nasal passages collects on the ends of the cilia... fine hair like structures that move the mucuus to the throat to be swallowed rather than into the lungs. (One reason why a sore throat of precedes the onset of a cold). When it's cold outside, the normal mucus secretions collect on the end of the cilia but the silia are stiffened from the cold air. This cause the mucousa to then drip downward thorugh the nose instead of being routed to the throat. Secondly, the other cause is condensation. "When the cold outside air mixes with the warm air in our nose it condenses. The opposite also happens if we've been outside for awhile and come back in to heated air".

[yogasun]

Thanks Clanad that's very interesting, I hadn't realised that and as cold air makes my eyes water, had put it down to just that.