Oh That Runny Nose!!

Runny nose or stuffy nose? Here's what to do

From MayoClinic.com
Special to CNN.com

You might have a runny or stuffy nose because of a cold, the flu, seasonal allergies — even stress. If so, your nose problem will probably clear on its own. Here are some tips to help you breathe more easily until it does.

Runny nose: Where does all that mucus come from?

Glands in your nose and sinuses continually produce mucus — as much as 1 to 2 quarts a day. The mucus cleans and moisturizes your nasal membranes and helps fight infection. You're probably not aware of this until your body steps up mucus production, usually in an effort to clear cold or flu viruses or allergens from your nasal passages. Cold temperatures, spicy food and hormonal changes also can trigger a runny nose.

Is it serious?
A runny nose is usually just an annoyance. But it can be a sign of a more serious problem. See your doctor if:

• Your symptoms last more than three weeks, or you have a fever along with your runny nose.
• Your nasal discharge is thick, green or yellow in color, and accompanied by sinus pain. This may be a sign of a bacterial infection.
• Your nose is persistently runny on one side only. In a child, this might be a sign that a small object is lodged in that nostril.
• You have blood in your nasal discharge or a persistent clear discharge after a head injury.
• You have asthma or emphysema, or you're on immune-suppressing medications.

What will help?
Gentle blowing is often the only treatment you need for a runny nose. But if the discharge is persistent and watery, an over-the-counter antihistamine may be helpful, especially if your runny nose is allergy related. Be sure to follow the label instructions exactly. Some antihistamines make you drowsy and can interact with other medications and alcohol. And by slowing the flow of mucus, they cause germs to stay in your nasal passages longer.

For babies and small children, use a soft rubber suction bulb to gently remove the secretions. Don't give antihistamines to children unless your doctor recommends them.

Postnasal drip: Common companion to a runny nose

The mucus your nose produces travels in a thin film down the back of your throat. It traps allergens and germs and disposes of them through your digestive system. Normally, you swallow the mucus without knowing it. But when there's more mucus than usual, you may feel the postnasal drip accumulating in the back of your throat.

What will help?
In addition to being uncomfortable, postnasal drip can cause a cough, sore throat or constant throat clearing. To help relieve these symptoms:

• Avoid irritants. Common irritants that may stimulate mucus production include cigarette smoke and sudden temperature changes — going from extreme heat into air conditioning, for instance.
• Drink plenty of water. Staying hydrated keeps your postnasal mucus thin and easier to swallow.
• Use a humidifier. Dry air thickens and dries mucus in your nose and throat.
• Try saline sprays or rinses. Saltwater rinses and saline sprays thin your mucus and get rid of irritants. You can buy saline nasal sprays in most drugstores. Or you can make your own. Dissolve about 1/4 teaspoon salt in 2 cups of warm distilled water. Use a suction bulb to place the solution in your nose or put some of the warm salt water in the cup of your hand, and then sniff it up, one nostril at a time.
• See your doctor. If the problem persists and other measures don't help, see your doctor for other options.

Stuffy nose: When nasal passages close up

A stuffy nose can be just as uncomfortable as a runny one, and often the causes are the same: a cold or the flu; allergies to dust, pollen or pet dander; or a nonallergic inflammation of your nasal blood vessels (vasomotor rhinitis). This occurs when the blood vessels in your nose expand in response to exercise, cold air, spicy food, even stress. A number of medications also can dry out your nose and throat, including:

• Diuretics
• Anti-anxiety medications
• Birth control pills and erectile dysfunction medications such as Viagra
• Beta blockers
• Nasal decongestants, especially when used for more than a few days

Less often, a stuffy nose may result from a deformity in the bony partition separating your two nasal chambers (nasal septum) or a growth in your nasal passage, such as a nasal polyp.

Is it serious?
Although nasal congestion is just an annoyance for most older children and adults, it can be serious in infants. Babies who are congested in the first months of life have trouble nursing and can experience breathing problems. If your child is younger than 3 months, call your doctor at the first sign of illness. You can usually treat an older baby's stuffy nose by giving plenty of fluids, moistening the air in your home, suctioning the baby's nose and using a saline nasal spray or homemade nasal wash.

What will help?
Try these measures to relieve your stuffy nose:

• Steam. One of the simplest ways to break up congestion is to inhale steam from a hot shower or a kettle of boiling water. Bring 4 to 6 cups of water to a boil, then make a tent over your head with a bath towel to concentrate the steam. Adding 3 drops of eucalyptus oil to the water may provide even more benefit. Be patient; it may take 10 to 15 minutes for this method to work.
• Fluids. Drink plenty of liquids, such as water, juice or tea to help thin mucus. Avoid caffeinated beverages, which can cause dehydration and aggravate your symptoms.
• Chicken soup. Lots of soups are soothing, but chicken soup has been shown to speed the movement of mucus through the nasal passages. This helps relieve congestion and limit the amount of time viruses are in contact with the nasal lining.
• Salt water. Use an over-the-counter nasal saline spray or prepare your own saltwater solution. Both can be extremely effective at relieving congestion.
• Breathing strips. Most drugstores and some supermarkets sell adhesive strips that you place across the bridge of your nose. These strips open the nasal passages, allowing you to breathe more freely.
• Decongestants. Beware of over-the-counter decongestants. If used for more than 2 or 3 days, they can actually make congestion worse. All decongestants — oral or topical — may have a stimulant effect and raise blood pressure in some people. Children shouldn't use them at all; there's no evidence that they work in children, and they can have serious side effects. Gentler options such as steam, nasal rinses and breathing strips are more effective and don't have side effects.

Is It A Cold Or Is It The Flu?

What is the difference between a cold and the flu?

The flu and the common cold are both respiratory illnesses but they are caused by different viruses. Because these two types of illnesses have similar flu-like symptoms, it can be difficult to tell the difference between them based on symptoms alone. In general, the flu is worse than the common cold, and symptoms such as fever, body aches, extreme tiredness, and dry cough are more common and intense. Colds are usually milder than the flu. People with colds are more likely to have a runny or stuffy nose. Colds generally do not result in serious health problems, such as pneumonia, bacterial infections, or hospitalizations.

How can you tell the difference between a cold and the flu?

Because colds and flu share many symptoms, it can be difficult (or even impossible) to tell the difference between them based on symptoms alone. Special tests that usually must be done within the first few days of illness can be carried out, when needed to tell if a person has the flu.

What are the symptoms of the flu versus the symptoms of a cold?

In general, the flu is worse than the common cold, and symptoms such as fever, body aches, extreme tiredness, and dry cough are more common and intense. Colds are usually milder than the flu. People with colds are more likely to have a runny or stuffy nose. Colds generally do not result in serious health problems, such as pneumonia, bacterial infections, or hospitalizations.

Odds are you'll catch a cold soon, if you haven't already this season: The average American adult catches about two to four a year. Children get between five and nine each year with preschoolers the most susceptible, according to the Mayo Clinic, based in Rochester, Minnesota.

Flu, while less common, is more severe. On average, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized yearly with influenza and flu-related complications. As many as 36,000 Americans die each year from complications of the flu, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.

This year's flu season is off to a slow start. The CDC reports sporadic cases, or none at all, around most of the nation. But the situation can quickly change, says one expert.

"Sometimes, things will start in October or November and then other times we don't see activity until January and February," says Dr. Joe Dalovisio, chairman of the infectious disease group at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, Louisiana. "It's just not predictable."

Cold vs. flu

Determining if you have the flu or just a bad cold is the first step in treatment, Dalovisio says.

A cold often includes a runny nose, sneezing and coughing; the flu usually features those same symptoms, but more severe, along with fever, more coughing and more muscle aches, according to Dalovisio. Both come with a feeling of exhaustion.

"Frequently, it's not the issue of 'Can I make it to work?'" he explains. "But 'I can't go to work.' You're just so sick."

Castelli knew she had caught something beyond a cold after her symptoms worsened.

"I know my cold inside and out. I get it two or three times a year. It will be over in a week," she said. "I knew this wasn't a normal cold when the week had passed and I still felt horrible. ... There were about five days where I couldn't even get out of bed."

People who come down with the flu can take prescription medications to reduce the time they're sick -- but only if taken within 48 hours of the first symptom's appearance, according to the American Lung Association. The medicines oseltamivir, zanamivir, amantadine and rimantadine (sold under the brand names Tamiflu, Relenza, Symmetrel and Flumadine, respectively) can lessen flu's severity and length by at least a day, depending on the strain of the flu.

Otherwise, doctors recommend basic treatments for colds and flus: bed rest, plenty of fluids, aspirin or acetaminophen for fevers and headaches and over-the-counter medication to temporarily relieve symptoms.

No conclusive evidence exists to show herbal remedies or homemade cures help speed up the healing process. But Dalovisio said if mom's chicken soup or doses of zinc make a patient feel nurtured, then it's helpful.

Andrea Buhr of Marietta, Georgia, agrees. If she or her sons get sick, Buhr says, certain comforting treatments are always on hand to stifle runny noses and soothe sore throats.

"[We] like chicken soup, tea with honey and lemon, cough drops -- and packs and packs of soft tissue."

Prevention is key

The best treatment, Dalovisio says, is prevention. Simple steps can help stave off the worst of the cold and flu season.

Although there is no vaccine for the common cold, the flu vaccine is one of the top weapons against influenza. A flu vaccine shortage this year, however, will prevent many from taking that step. Heath officials advise only those in high-risk groups to get the vaccine. (Vaccine shortage a global crisis, Why no cure for the common cold?)

But there is still plenty that the average person can do to ward off germs.

Over-the-counter medicines can relieve symptoms of the cold and flu, but doctors also recommend plenty of rest.

"Most cold and flu viruses are spread by hand-to-mouth type [contact] rather than airborne," Dalovisio says. He advises avoiding crowded situations like cocktail or office parties if you really want to avoid colds.

"[At these events,] you shake hands, then you eat your chip and dip, and then you shake somebody else's hand. It's the perfect scenario to get sick," he says. But he doesn't mean to scare people into becoming a recluse, he adds.

Good, old-fashioned hand-washing is also one of the best preventative measures a person can take.

"People ask me, 'As an infectious disease doctor, don't you get sick a lot?'" he explains. "And I tell them: 'No, I don't' because I wash my hands before and after every patient.'"

Buhr has instilled the hand-washing habit in her sons, calling that one of the reasons the family doesn't get sick very often. During cold and flu season, "I really step up the hand-washing routine reminders," she says.

Cleaning a desk at work, school or home may also eliminate lurking germs. Rhinoviruses that cause colds can survive up to three hours, so cleaning surfaces with disinfectant may help stop infections, according to the National Institutes of Health. (Is your desk making you sick?)

And if you do get sick, experts say don't play the martyr and come into work -- if you do, you'll only make everyone around you miserable, too.

"Unfortunately, there are some people who will try to go to work with the flu and spread it around," Dalovisio says.

Common sense precautions are simple, but they may mean the difference between spending weeks sick in bed or sailing through the cold and flu season without a sniffle.

Well today I have a cold which isn't surprising. My co workers share everything LOL Goodbye summer, hello germs. These natural home remedies for colds are an alternative to drugs and can help prevent and end Acute nasopharyngitis (the common cold). The sudden change of seasons that brings on a cold for some people can instead be a time for shifting your attention to health to prevent the worst colds. There are plenty of foods and herbs with vitamins, minerals and natural cold fighting abilities for an immunity boost. While some of these natural cold remedies are all too common in the news or back in the day at grandmas house, these old school methods defy sickness.

Get all the Vitamin C you can, as when illness strikes in drains the body of the vitamin and it is not something natural reproduced. Fresh fruits and veggies give the richest source of Vitamin C and there are lost of juices that combine fruit and vegetable juice with high levels of it. Some of the highest Vitamin C amounts can be found in sources like Rose hip, Wolfberry, Blackcurrant, Red pepper, Parsley, Guava, Kiwifruit, Broccoli, Redcurrant, Persimmon, Papaya, Strawberry, Orange, Lemon, Melon, Cauliflower, Grapefruit, Raspberry, Tangerine, Passion fruit and Spinach. Fall colds can be tricky, as it’s still warm weather, so a green smoothie with a combination of those fruits and veggies (add some Echinacea too), can satisfy that conflict.

Although, hot beverages do more than just warm you out of the sensation of cold, in gets nasal secretions flowing to help flush out the system. This may be why hot tea or hot chicken soup is often the first thing people think of with a cold. While some research has shown that chicken soups do have ingredients that sooth sickness, the larger placebo affect is having someone make it for you as a caretaker. Over time if someone gets used to a hot bowl of chicken soup with a cold, the association has a strong presence. Adding something spicy to soups can help to clear up nasal passages and give a kick of flavor where there is none during a cold spell.

Toss some Garlic in there too. As an immunity booster, garlic has a natural antibiotic called Allicin. Though Garlic is most effective when you drink fresh juice or take garlic capsules. Onions share some of the same antiviral effects as garlic and used together in cooking will give a large boost. Remember that vegetables retain their vitamin and mineral content best when eaten raw or lightly cooked, so don’t fry or boil them to oblivion. Steam garlic and onions lightly or add it to a cooked batch of miso or chicken soup to keep them strong. If you can stand it, stick a peeled Garlic clove in your mouth like the Roman’s did before battle, hold it like candy and bite down lightly to release the juices. Just like a lozenge, pop in a new clove every few hours and “Bam.”

It’s also helpful that we lose our appetites when a cold comes on, as it takes vital energy to digest foods. With hot soups and teas colds are fended off without using too much of the energy needed to digest. A popular hot tea for colds is Echinacea and has been used since Native Americans roamed the plains and as the plant was grown around the world.

Echinacea is sometimes contested as a placebo for colds, but it has been shown to build up levels of properdin, an immune system chemical that fights viruses and bacteria. Results are usually best when taken at the onset of a cold and Echinacea has noted powerful effects that should not be used for more than 10 days. Echinacea can be teamed up with garlic in teas or capsules, as well as goldenseal extract capsules, to create dynamic cold fighters.

Fresh ginger root tea is another favorite. With about an ounce of freshly grated ginger root put into a pint of water and simmer for up to 10 minutes, add a little honey and lemon to take the bite of the ginger away. Lemon has high levels of Vitamin C to boot and honey also does its part to help the immune system. Here is a great link to recipes and methods to making ginger honey lemon tea. You can also use an orange in place of the lemon for a sweeter taste with about the same Vitamin C content. If Ginger is not your cup of tea, the sweet zing of liquorice is a soothing agent that has anti-viral properties. It can be in tea form, often sold bagged in stores and is great for heavy coughs and soar throats.

Zinc lozenges are a good way to suppress a severe cold and stop viruses from hooking onto your throat, under 50mg per day. The most effective Zinc lozenges will have Vitamin C in them, or take them together. Another good way to prevent a viral sore throat attack is by taking Black Elderberry as syrup or lozenges. Some other herbs to look for when using natural cold remedies are Lemon Balm, Borage, Cinnamon Oil, Juniper, or Fenugreek. For soar throats there are several tried home remedies to use in conjunction with cold fighting. The gargle method is the most direct and adding pure tea tree oil to water can aid soothing. Kava kava can also be used in a gargle for sore throats. Sage is a good all around herb of colds and sore throats and can be gargled, but also aids as an antiviral. Oregano oil, though not as commonly found in the U.S. can be used for sore throats

It also helps to avoid certain foods and drinks to help end a cold, such as the obvious caffeine, (Black Tea, Green Tea and Coffee) and alcohols. For the few days of your cold skip the dairy too, as Milk, cheeses and yogurts produce excess mucous that will just add to your misery. Good healthy naps are essential, but if not totally wiped out it helps to get a little spurt of exercise to get the respiratory system flowing. Stick to the basics of methodical hand washing and don’t let that pile of tissues sit by your bedside all night. The germs will sit right there and wait for you to get better.