Why do stuffy noses get more productive when you’re recovering from getting sick? If the point of a runny nose is to expel the bad germs through mucus, then wouldn’t it make more sense for them to get less productive as you recover because the bad germs are mostly gone?
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Actually, a runny nose is just the result of your body making extra mucus. This is separate from a stuffy nose, which is caused by *inflammation* (which is like swelling, but inside the body in this case). So basically, when our noses and sinuses get irritated — by an illness or allergies — they do 2 things: they produce more mucus and they become inflamed.
As long as your nose is stuffy, there is a lot less room for mucus to drain out and for air to come in. *That doesn’t mean that you have less mucus!* Instead of coming out of your nose, the mucus usually drains down the back of your throat into your stomach. When the congestion goes away, however, the mucus can start finally flowing directly out of nostrils, which is why your nose gets runnier as it gets less stuffy.
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