The cursed drippy nose occurs unfortunately not only with colds, but also as a result of a host of other problems. The unlucky sufferer constantly wipes and wipes, but all too often misses a bit here and there. Wet spots on that newly pressed dress shirt certainly won’t impress your date.

One common cause is vasomotor rhinitis, which is a fancy name for a miserable condition. Exercise and either hot or cold weather will basically cause the nose to go in overdrive. Nerves go hay wire and stimulate constant production of snot. This of course occurs right in the middle of a long run where you forgot your handkerchief.

Allergic rhinitis is another nice thing to have. You are allergic to something, usually but not always outside and every time you find yourself near that object, your nose runs. Chronic exposure can cause polyps which in this condition are basically extra tissue produced as a result of the allergic response.

Sometimes too much of a good thing is not so good. Such is the case with rhinitis medicamentosa. Here, someone takes Afrin or a similar type of nasal spray for much more than the recommended five days in a row. The medication works by constricting or narrowing the blood vessels within the nose. However, with time the body gets wise and the vessels don’t narrow or even worse start to increase in size. Certain medications such as statins or a type of cholesterol lower agent and some  blood pressure medications can also cause rhinitis.

For kids, sticking something up the nose and then forgetting that you put whatever in your nose can be a problem. You can expect the tissue of the nose will be irritated and runny nose will result.

How to treat rhinitis depends on  the cause. Vasomotor rhinitis and allergic rhinitis respond well to certain nasal sprays, which often contain steroids or other chemicals known to reduce inflammation. Stopping the offending medication often solves the problem for rhinitis medicamentosa. And of course removing that impossibly smooth bead that your kid managed to stuff up his nose will also stop the rhinitis,. (you might want to consider having your doctor do this).

These are the most common cause of this truly miserable condition.