Cold & Flu: Runny Nose During The Cold Season

 HOW TO STOP A RUNNY NOSE & CONTROL YOUR SNEEZING 

Nothing is more irritating than constant sneezing or a runny nose that just won’t quit. Thankfully, there are steps you can take to get relief for your nose. But before we can put that tissue box away, we need to figure out what causes sneezing and all that sniffling.

WHY DOES YOUR NOSE RUN?

Your nose is a complex organ that acts as a gatekeeper against the germs and allergens in the environment. Even when you’re not sick, your nose is lined with mucus. When you inhale bacteria, viruses, or allergens, your mucus production can go into overdrive to flush out the invading cells. Taking the right medicine will help if your runny nose is a symptom of your cold, flu, or allergies, but there are other runny nose remedies you can try to get that dripping under control.

HOW TO STOP A RUNNY NOSE

Don’t let your nose turn into a faucet. If you’re tired of reaching for a tissue box, try the following runny nose home remedies:

• Drink plenty of fluids to thin your mucus, allowing it to drain faster

• Try using a neti pot, which is designed for nasal irrigation, to clear out your mucus

• Elevate your head by at least 10 inches while sleeping

• Use a humidifier to further thin your mucus and add soothing moisture into the air

HOW TO STOP SNEEZING

Though sneezing a lot is annoying, it is actually a defensive mechanism for your body to expel allergens and other irritants from your nose and throat. Sneezing is not normally a serious health problem. Instead, it is usually a minor response to everything from allergies, the cold or flu, dust, smoke, mold, or even the weather. Here are some tricks to help you control and suppress your sneezing sensation:

• Moisten your sinus with a few drops of a gentle salt water solution

• Enrich the air around you with a cool mist vaporizer

• Settle into a bowl of warm soup or hot tea

• Use an active air filtration system to minimize irritants in the air

• Avoid direct exposure to cold temperatures

IS IT A COLD OR IS IT THE FLU?

Though there is a lot of overlap between how you feel when suffering from a cold or flu, some of your symptoms can help you figure out the underlying cause.

 Sneezing:  though it is common to sneeze during a cold or flu, very frequent sneezing is often due to allergies.

 Itchy Eyes:  are often due to allergies. In general, feeling itchy is a good indicator of allergies.

 Fever:  a sign that your body is fighting off a virus. A flu will often cause a more severe fever than the common cold.

 Aches + Pains:  usually a sign of the flu and can be associated with a fever.

If you’re still not sure if you or your loved one has cold or flu symptoms, head over to our helpful diagram to better understand the cause of your sneezing and runny nose symptoms. 

WHEN TO TAKE MEDICATION OR SEE A DOCTOR

If your runny nose and sneezing is making you uncomfortable, you may want to turn to over-the-counter medication. TYLENOL Cold & Sinus^® can help you get back to feeling better, and you can also discover the full line of cold, cough and flu products below. Or, use the information you’ve learned to ask your local pharmacist what the right Tylenol product is for you.

Call your doctor or seek medical attention if any of the following conditions persist:

• If your runny nose or sneezing does not improve with over-the-counter medication

• If new symptoms occur that are unrelated to a cold, or the flu

• Read the label for other conditions

Last but not least, always remember a sneeze travels at about 160 kilometers an hour, so be sure to keep your friends and family safe by sneezing into a tissue or your sleeve. The sick day you prevent, could be your own!