Originally Posted by bbattle

My gloves are covered, my tights are covered, the bike is covered, everything is covered in a glistening coat of snot. Get used to it.

Originally Posted by derath

Better aim with the snot rocket maybe?

-D

Originally Posted by GuitarWizard

My nose does that pretty much year-round when riding.

Originally Posted by GuitarWizard

My nose does that pretty much year-round when riding.

Originally Posted by dekindy

After having a month long attack in January and regular attacks all my life in the fall and spring including ear infections, I went to an allergist and got tested. I am allergic to mold and dust mites and will begin taking shots next week. I am now taking Claritan daily and doing NeilMed sinus rinses twice per day followed by flonase. I have been following this regimen a couple of weeks and it is helping tremendously. I am anxious to get a couple dozen shots in before mid-April to see if they help.

My attacks last days/weeks and make me feel miserable, short tempered, and unable to concentrate. I am fed up and hope that my new regimen and allergy treatments give me relief. I noticed that I was breathing hard a lot this summer and fall even when my exertion level did not call for it. I just got back into cycling and it made me realize my sinuses were getting worse. The weather has been miserable since I started this regimen and I had a virus this week. I am anxious to get back riding and work out and see if I can breathe better!

Originally Posted by MCW

Question 1: How come your nose runs when you go out in the cold? Is this how you catch a cold?

Dr. Mitchell answers:
It's been cold enough outside that I, too, am grabbing for the tissues when I first come in. I asked Thomas Kidder, MD, exactly why this happens. Dr. Kidder, Associate Professor and Chief of the Division of Adult and Pediatric General Otolaryngology at the Medical College of Wisconsin, started his explanation with a discussion of the normal functions of the nose.

While the obvious job of the nose is the sense of smell, the nose's other big job is to ready the inhaled air for the throat, voice box and lungs. The nose warms up and humidifies the air, and it filters out dust, germs, smoke and other particulate matter. Inhaled air picks up heat and moisture as it contacts the inside of the nose, which has grooves and ridges to make a large surface area.

The lining of the nose has glands that secrete water and mucus and, just under the surface, there are hundreds of yards of blood vessels that supply a constant source of heat. (You can see why it's easy to get a bloody nose.)

Under ordinary circumstances, the nose and sinuses produce as much as four cups of mucus every 24 hours. This mucus is constantly being swept back into the throat and subsequently swallowed. On a very cold day, when both the temperature and relative humidity are low, the nasal blood vessels dilate so more blood reaches the nose and thus its mucus and heat machine. Because more liquid is being produced in the nose than can be swept back into the throat, the nose "runs."

This normal function of the nose is not how you catch a cold. A cold is an infection of the lining of the nose, sinuses and throat, caused by a virus that managed to penetrate the body's defenses. The cold virus also causes an expansion of blood vessels and so you get the same symptoms of congestion and runny nose.

Originally Posted by DRLski

I know this is a common thing for cyclist during this time of year but why won't my nose stop running!!! ?

Originally Posted by DrPete

Best description I found, from the Medical College of Wisconsin: