How long has this been going on?

Tis the season. For allergies that is.

People can develop allergies at any age. If it continues, you may want to consider seeing an Allergist for testing.

^ could be an allergy – can one develop one as an adult?

Yes, you can always develop an allergy.

If it started within the last 24 hours, you might simply be on your way to a full blown cold. If it lasts a week it was a cold. If it drags on for several weeks probaby an outdoor allergy. If it lasts only a day or two, probably allergic to something that you were only temporarily exposed to.

If it drags on for weeks – I’ll shoot myself.

A relative of mine had a runny nose for a long time before learning that, due to complications from an earlier injury, it wasn’t mucus coming out of her nose but spinal fluid. It later developed into meningitis, but luckily, everything was fixed through brain surgery and medication.

@drdoombot Thanks. Your name says it all.

@zen I still don’t know how long this has been going on? I think it is a cold. Let me know if it lasts seven days, I like being right about medical stuff. There is an old saying, you can take medicine or not, in a week the cold will be finished.

Meanwhile, tale a decongestant antihistimine for now.

@drdoombot Long time no see. That story is wild. Thank goodness she was ok in the end.

Yes. People can develop allergies to anything at any age.

The way it was explained to me by an Allergist was that once the body reaches a certain “tipping point” from the cumulative effect, things which were not problematic in the past can suddenly become so.

This also explains the very rare cases of people who end up allergic to just about everything and have to live in specialized houses with elaborate filtration systems and other extraordinary measures.

This typically happens following exposure to a particularly noxious substance and their system becomes overloaded and just caves in. Then the simplest things which were not previously problematic provoke a major allergic response.

On a much smaller scale, that’s what happens to folks who develop allergies as adults.

If this problem persists past a week to 10 days, that’s most likely the reason.

Merci!

As far as the allergy goes, think of it like this: Your body decides something is a foreign enemy, let’s say it is a mold spore or a little bit of pollen. The body’s defenses start to move in to attack, mucous, inflammation, white blood cells, fighter cells, etc. Each time you’re exposed to the irritant the body gets better at fighting, recognizing the bad element faster and fighting it better. So, a barely noticeable allergy gets worse over time due to exposure.

An extreme example is a person might have an allergic reaction to a bee sting, and the first time the local area blows up and the itchy area is fairly large. The next time stung the whole body feels like it is reacting. The next time it can mean so much inflammation the tongue swells, the throat begins to close, and possible death. Each time the allergic reaction gets “better” which is unfortunately detrimental to the individual himself.

This happens to me. I have year round allergies to mold, which gets blown in on the wind.

Can’t my body resist the mold spores and attack the spinal fluid coming from my brain through my nose? I’m running out of defences here.

@zen The best defense is to drink lots of water. I keep a liter of water next to me at all times while I am awake, and have a bottle on my night stand to sip from when I wake up at night.

@zen don’t shoot yourself, find a good allergist and let his/her nurse shoot you. You will be amazed at how much difference this can make.

Hahaha. No allergist yet, not if it has only been a day or two. I still say cold.

You could have syphilis Maybe you should see a doctor.

Oy.

Now my brain fluid that seepeth through my nasal cavity hurts.

loss of judgment,
concentration & memory are also symptoms of syphilis along with the runny nose.

I bet you have rhino, have you been tom catting around lately?

Yeah but his judgment went out the window a loooong time ago. I’d estimate at sometime in his childhood. Kids don’t get syphilis :D

@SeaTurtle oh far out. I have those symptoms too! What was I doing? Sniff.

Better go to a real doctor.

Could be messed up sinuses. Go to a doctor.

I’ll guess seasonal allergies.
I didn’t start having symptoms of them until I was 40.
Now every March they begin, by May I’m a mess if I don’t take my meds.
Do your eyes water and itch? How about the roof of your mouth? That is always my clue that it’s an allergy.
Get yourself checked out, you should feel better.

”-)

Feeling better. Thanks jells.

Good to hear @zen

Just realised this is in general so this will probably be modded.

^ Thanks! It’s late in the game thread babes – and anyway I’ve yet to see someone modded for well-wishing. Eh, Augs?

Let this be henceforth the happy healthy thread:

May all you jellies who stumblefluther upon ths question now, and years from now, be healthy and happy and have very few sniffles.

I think I was right.