Another "Why does my body do that?" question

April 20, 2018 1:08 PM

When I'm having a conversation with someone about something I'm excited about - say, a book I just finished that I loved, or a place I'm stoked about visiting for the first time, etc - my nose inevitably starts running. Why?

This runny nose problem does not happen happen in conversations in which I'm not particularly excited, or when I'm particularly excited but on my own. It doesn't seem to vary depending on who I'm talking to - an excited conversation with a coworker or acquaintance is no more like to cause a runny nose than a similar conversation with a close family member or friend.

a) Why does this happen?

b) As it is awkward and annoying, is there a way to make it stop?

posted by darchildre to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

Watching with interest! My face / arms / hand go numb under similar circumstances -- usually only when talking excitedly with someone for the first time, I've noticed.

I have mentioned this to my psychiatrist, and his response was "that's interesting, let's delve more into that," which I interpret as "they definitely did not discuss this in medical school and I have never heard of this in my 30 years of practice."
posted by batter_my_heart at 1:47 PM on April 20, 2018

Sadly, no. I have something similar, where eating anything, regardless of temperature, spiciness, blandness, meat, veg, dairy...doesn’t matter, as soon as it goes in my mouth, the sinuses start running. According to my ENT, it’s kind of normal. Something about endorphins flowing. You can try OTC steroid sprays, but they’re not a cure, and definitely not a long-term answer.

Sorry I couldn’t give you any hope.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:00 PM on April 20, 2018

I get that too! Really only with music I love: Animal Collective's For Reverend Green makes my sinuses go full-on drain mode.
posted by scruss at 4:03 PM on April 20, 2018

This is almost certainly a function of your autonomic nervous system. If I remember my anatomy correctly (and I might not; the autonomic nervous system was always tricky for me), this is a result of sympathetic activation affecting blood flow to your nasal mucosa. You get excited—sympathetic nervous system is activated—blood flow to your nasal mucosa is altered—secretion from the mucosa increases.
posted by ocherdraco at 6:21 AM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

Interesting! My nose gets stuffy in situations like that.
posted by sarcasticah at 8:52 AM on April 21, 2018