Aside from being a general nuisance, a runny nose can diminish or hinder your ability to breathe while exercising. This affects your immediate exercise experience due to its impact on oxygen intake and stamina, with these immediate effects ultimately resulting in less effective workouts with limited results. Understanding the potential causes of a runny nose during exercise may help you to combat this problem.
Protective Effects
A runny nose is often a natural response to the physiological changes associated with exercise. The increase in metabolism that accompanies exercise results in an increase in the production of mucus by the mucous membranes. This extra mucus may serve a protective factor, helping to soak up and eliminate the extra dust and dirt that you inhale while breathing at a more rapid rate. The benefits of these protective effects are limited, however, with the extra mucus production potentially limiting your ability to breathe.
Rhinitis
Rhinitis is a condition characterized by inflammation in the mucous membrane. This inflammation triggers the mucous membrane to produce excessive amounts of mucus and watery nasal discharge. This combination of an inflamed mucous membrane and excessive mucus production leads to a diminished ability to breathe comfortably. When coupled with the natural increase in mucus production that goes along with an exercise-associated increase in metabolism, rhinitis can become very detrimental to your workouts.
Causes of Rhinitis
The majority of rhinitis cases are treatable, with the rhinitis often arising secondary to a pre-existing condition. Allergies to dust, pollen or pollution, for example, may lead to a spike in your rhinitis symptoms. If you find that your runny nose is less severe when exercising indoors versus outdoors, you may be suffering from allergy-induced rhinitis. Ear, nose and throat problems, such as nasal polyps or chronic infections, may also lead to rhinitis. While allergy-induced rhinitis is treatable with the use of antihistamines and ear, nose and throat problems may require antibiotics, chronic rhinitis may not respond to such treatments. In such cases, the use of a prescription, steroid-based nasal spray may be necessary to control your runny nose while exercising.
Exercise-Induced Rhinitis
In a 2006 study, William Silvers and Jill Poole of the Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Clinic of Englewood, Colorado link exercise-induced rhinitis, or EIR, with chronic rhinitis symptoms that worsen with exercise, affect both allergic and nonallergic individuals and persist regardless of whether exercise is performed indoors or outdoors. According to a 2008 review by Lawrence Schwartz of the Virgina Commonwealth University and colleagues, EIR should only be diagnosed when other potential causes, such as allergies and infections, are ruled out.
Sergio Bonini of the Second University of Naples and his colleagues, in a 2006 review of the literature on EIR, suggest that this condition is treatable. While targeting an underlying allergy or infection may not be effective, these authors suggest that both people with and without pre-existing allergies may respond to treatment with antihistamines, immunotherapy, and oral, intravenous or intramuscular drugs.
References
- MotherNature.com: Nose, Runny
- "HealthMad"; Do You Have a Runny Nose When Exercising?; Kristie Leong MD; Dec. 21, 2010
- "Allergy"; Exercise-Induced Hypersensitivity Syndromes in Recreational and Competitive Athletes...; Lawrence B. Schwartz et al.; August 2008
- "Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology"; Exercise-Induced Rhinitis: A Common Disorder that Adversely Affects Allergic and Nonallergic Athletes; William S. Silvers and Jill A. Poole; February 2006
- "Allergy"; Rhinitis and Asthma in Athletes...; Sergio Bonini et al.; June 2006
