Why does spicy food make your nose runny?

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Why does spicy food make your nose runny?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

I literally saw this 2 days ago. It’s only about two mins long and very informative

Tldr at bottom.

Basically there are some foods, such as spicy foods that contain capsacin, that will trigger a nerve in your face called the trigeminal nerve. This makes the brain think that there is something toxic in our mouths of brain (technically there is as the capsacin is something plants make to stop them being eaten!). So the brain sends a signal back down the trigeminal nerve to make your nose run and help clear away the substance from our upper airways.

It’s not just chilli containing food that can cause it. Wasabi creates that heat sensation by a different mechanism can do it too. Some people find raw onion or garlic will make their noses run aswell

Tldr: brain is told by mouth that bad thing is in there. Mouth and nose are connected. Brain tells nose to star running to help clear any bad bits that waft up there in the air floating between the mouth and nose to help clear away the nasty thing

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