Why does eating spicy food make my nose runny?
In: Biology
When you eat spicy food, the spiciness is a result of the presence of spicy substances in the food. Your body’s reaction to these spicy substances is to produce mucus(nasal discharge), which helps to protect the tissues of your nasal lining and sinuses from damage caused by the spicy substances. Nasal discharge, also known as snot, can be a clear, thin liquid or a thick, sticky fluid. Its color can vary from clear to white.
The mouth and the nose are basically linked together due to proximity and because they share similar functions.
When you eat spicy food sometimes this irritates the mucous membranes which will cause you to salivate more, or to have a runny nose.
First, we need to know how the body normally works. The body sends pain and heat signals, in part, as chemicals that fit into receptors of certain nerve cells, like keys in a lock. So if you touch something sharp or something hot, this is how cells tell each other and how the brain finds out.
Spicy foods also have keys which fit those locks. This causes your brain to *think* a pain signal was initiated.
When your body has a pain signal, one of the things it does is it inflames nearby tissue. If that tissue is in or near the nose/throat/eyes, it produces mucus, tears and spit. The reason it does this is to help flush out the thing causing the pain.
So, basically, the spicy food tricked your body into reacting to something hot or painful in your mouth, and one of those reactions is producing fluid.
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