Runny nose after eating

We don’t usually have a runny nose, but why do we have a runny nose as soon as we eat? Everyone has experienced this phenomenon, especially eating spicy food, it is easy to sweat and have a runny nose. This is because the food, whether hot or spicy, stimulates the glands in the nasal cavity, causing them to secrete a large amount of fluid, which is mucus. This is a normal physiological phenomenon, so there is no need to worry. If you have allergic rhinitis, you should pay more attention to your diet.

What are the other reasons for a runny nose after eating hot food?

1. From a Western medical perspective, it should be based on allergic rhinitis, where the mucous membrane in the nasal cavity is easily stimulated and prone to secretion (the so-called hypersensitivity). Because the temperature of the food we eat is high, steam or smoke is formed, which stimulates the nasal mucosa through the nasal cavity, causing nasal mucosal secretion and then clear runny nose.

2. Mucus is the lung's secretion, and the nose is the lung's orifice. If the spleen and stomach are not in harmony, the nose will be affected. If the spleen and stomach are weak and cold, the lung's orifice will be affected. When it encounters heat, the heat will help the yang, so that the nasal orifice will be opened temporarily, and mucus will come out to let the secretion out. The tears that come out must be as clear as water.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that there is a protective layer outside the human body, called Wei Qi. This Wei Qi is formed by the essence of food digested by the spleen and stomach, and protects the human body outside the body. If the spleen and stomach are not in good health, this protective layer will be affected and people will be easily invaded by external wind and cold.

When the cold wind from outside invades the human body, it causes the pores to close. Once the pores are closed, the water vapor that originally emitted from the pores cannot be emitted normally. It has no choice but to be discharged, so it is squeezed into the respiratory tract. If it is too crowded, it condenses into liquid. Then phlegm forms in the lungs and mucus forms in the nasal cavity.