Why does eating spicy food make my nose runny?
In: Biology
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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