If your nose sometimes runs when you eat, you could have gustatory rhinitis. The condition is caused by inflammation in the mucous membrane of the nose that can make the nose run. It is not an allergy and is often triggered by specific foods, especially spicy ones.
There are other types of rhinitis that can be caused by different allergies, including pollen and mold. Pregnant people are also especially prone to rhinitis.
Why Does My Nose Run When I Eat?
"Rhinitis" describes conditions that cause inflammation and swelling in themucous membrane of your nose. Rhinitis can make you have a runny nose, and gustatory rhinitis means you have one when you eat certain foods.
Rhinitis can be allergic or non-allergic.
- Allergic rhinitis is caused by an allergen, such as something in your environment that gets into the air you breathe. It can cause a runny nose, including while you’re eating.
- Nonallergic rhinitis is often caused by an infection or irritants. There are a couple of different types of nonallergic rhinitis that could cause a runny nose while you’re eating: gustatory and vasomotor.
Gustatory Rhinitis
Gustatory rhinitis is a kind of nonallergic rhinitis that is triggered by food. The symptoms of gustatory rhinitis usually happen right after you eat certain food and include:
- A watery, runny nose
- Postnasal drip
While any food can cause gustatory rhinitis, spicy foods are the most common. Each person has different trigger foods, but common foods that lead to gustatory rhinitis include:
- Black pepper
- Curry
- Hot sauce
- Chili powder
- Hot peppers
- Horseradish
- Onions
How Do I Know if a Runny Nose Is a CSF Leak?
It's not common but a runny nose can sometimes be a sign of a serious condition called cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea. A cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak occurs when the fluid in your brain leaks out through your nose, usually just from one nostril.
A runny nose from CSF is usually constant, not just while you are eating. You will also most likely have other symptoms like loss of smell, a metallic taste in your mouth, and a headache.
The drainage from your nose will usually get worse when you bend over or change position if it's from a CSF leak. CSF leaks are not usually spontaneous; there is usually some trauma or recent surgery.
Allergic Rhinitis
Allergic rhinitis is a runny nose and other symptoms that are caused by allergies. The symptoms tend to get worse during certain times of the year when allergies are more likely to be present in the environment.
Allergic rhinitis can be caused by allergens like:
- Pollen
- Mold
- Dust
- Ragweed
Nonallergic Rhinitis
People with nonallergic rhinitis have seasonal allergy symptoms but do not have allergies.It’s not clear why people get nonallergic rhinitis but irritation in the nose is usually the trigger.
Some things that might be part of your lifestyle—like smoking, wearing perfume, working near irritating substances, or using decongestant nasal sprays—can cause nasal irritation that leads to a runny nose. You may have a runny nose that comes and goes, including while you’re eating.
Certain medications can also cause side effects like nasal congestion, a runny nose, and a cough—for example, some over-the-counter (OTC) painkillers, ACE inhibitors, and birth control pills.
You can have both allergic and nonallergic rhinitis (mixed rhinitis) which can make it hard to tell what is causing your symptoms.
Vasomotor Rhinitis
Vasomotor rhinitisis another form of nonallergic rhinitis that can cause a runny nose while you’re eating.Vasomotor rhinitis is also called idiopathic rhinitis because the cause is not always known.
With this kind of rhinitis, swelling and irritation in your nose cause symptoms like congestion and sneezing. The symptoms come and go and are usually brought on (or triggered) by certain things, including food.
Non-food causes of vasomotor rhinitis like alcohol, exercising, poor air quality, stress, weather, certain chronic medical conditions, orhormonal changes(especially if you also have other symptoms like congestion,sinuspressure, and acough).
You could also have a runny nose while you’re eating or after you eat if you have congestion from a cold or the flu.
Diagnosis
Your provider will ask you about your symptoms to figure out why your nose runs while you’re eating.
Since there are many different reasons you could have a runny nose, your provider may need to do some tests to narrow down the cause.
Allergy Tests
Your provider might want to start by doing anallergy test to figure out if your gustatory rhinitis is caused by an allergy.
There are a couple of kinds of allergy tests they can use:
- Skin prick test: Your provider will put small amounts of allergens on your skin to see if/how you react to them. It's also called a puncture or scratch test.
- Immunoglobulin E (IgE) tests to specific allergens:These blood tests are similar to skin prick tests in that they help identify what you are allergic to. You do not need to avoid antihistamines prior to this sort of blood testing, but you do need to for allergy skin prick tests.
An immune response will show up on these tests if you have allergic rhinitis or a food allergy, but not if you have nonallergic rhinitis.
For example, you will have a skin reaction to the puncture test or elevated specific IgE levels to certain allergens on the blood tests. If you do not have an immune response on these tests, your provider can be pretty sure your runny nose while eating is not from an allergy.
Next, they’ll try to figure out which kind of nonallergic rhinitis you might have. They may start by checking for sinus issues through a couple of methods:
- Computed tomography scan: Using X-rays, your care provider will be able to examine images of your sinuses to look for abnormalities.
- Nasal endoscopy: With a tiny camera, your care provider may explore your sinuses and the pathways surrounding them to see if anything looks disrupted or off.
If you only get a runny nose while you are eating or just after you eat (especially if it’s related to certain foods), your provider will likely diagnose you with gustatory rhinitis or vasomotor rhinitis.
Narrowing down the diagnosis can take some time. Your provider will likely want to learn more about your medical history overall. They may ask you to track your nasal symptoms to see if you also get a runny nose from other triggers besides eating, which can provide clues about the cause.
Treatment
The treatment for a runny nose while eating will depend on how severe the symptom is and whether it’s caused by an allergy or not.
Often, the easiest way to treat a runny nose while eating is to avoid your food triggers.
Allergy Relief
If your runny nose is related to an allergy, you might be able to manage your symptoms with OTC antihistamines, such as:
- Claritin (loratadine)
- Zyrtec (cetirizine)
- Allegra (fexofenadine)
Corticosteroid sprays can help with allergy symptoms. You can get most of them OTC. If you need a stronger product, your provider can provide one for you.
Depending on what you’re allergic to, you might be able to get immunotherapy shots to help with your symptoms. Some immunotherapy treatments can also be taken by mouth.
Managing Nonallergic Rhinitis
If you have nonallergic rhinitis, antihistamines, and other allergy treatments will not help with your symptoms. You might get some relief from other products, though.
For example, a product like Nasal Atrovent (ipratropium bromide nasal spray) may help prevent and treat your symptoms. One or two sprays in each nostril about an hour before eating spicy foods should do the trick.
Nasal rinses can sometimes be helpful for any kind of rhinitis since they clear mucus out of your nose. You can get these products OTC or make one yourself at home. If you choose to make one at home, be sure to use sterile procedures to avoid a life-threatening infection.
It may take a few weeks to find the treatment that works best, and you might need to use a combination of treatments.
Summary
Environmental are common causes of a runny nose while you’re eating, but there are also non-allergy causes. Your provider can figure out if allergies are causing you to get a runny nose while you eat. If so, you can often solve the problem by avoiding your triggers.
If you’re getting a runny nose while you’re eating from a type of non-allergic rhinitis, you might need to do some trial and error to figure out what your triggers are and find ways to get relief from your symptoms.
Having a runny nose while you’re eating is usually more annoying than serious, but if it’s making it hard to enjoy food or eat enough, tell your provider. They might be able to recommend some lifestyle changes or OTC treatments to help you get relief.