Patient suffered from chronic cold for years - but something else leaked from his nose

Man is running cerebral fluid from his nose

A cold is harmless - if it is due to a cold. Greg Phillpotts from New York, however, dripped his nose for a much more serious reason: The fluid of his brain was running out of the nostril.

permanent cold

Phillpotts was suffering from chronic colds and was constantly stuffing a handkerchief into his nose. But behind the supposed rhinitis was a serious health problem.

Persistent cold is usually due to inflammation in the nasal cavity. Extremely rare, however, is not "cold", but brain fluid that runs from the nose. (Image: underdogstudios / fotolia.com)

Constantly new diagnoses

The doctors were constantly tapping new diagnoses: sometimes it was an allergy, then bronchitis, then pneumonia again.

It was getting worse and worse

At times, the doctors slowed down the fluid, but overall it was getting worse and more stressful for the New Yorker: In the kitchen, the Schnodder ran into the food and spoiled the dinner, constantly plaguing the concerned, the fear that it dripped from his nose.

difficulty in breathing

Due to the chronic discharge, Greg could not breathe properly and hardly sleep at night due to breathlessness. That shook him up.

cerebrospinal fluid

Dr. Iloreta from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York finally found the cause of the mystery. It was not a classic cold - Greg did not get nasal secretions out of his nose, but cerebrospinal fluid.

Damper against shocks

This fluid envelops the brain and protects it from shock. If it is missing, bacteria can invade that cause meningitis. Brain research probably brings more knowledge about brain secretion in the next few years.

Everything is all right again

After the correct diagnosis, healing was not a problem. The doctors closed the hole through which the liquid seeped, and Greg can enjoy life again.

A quarter of a liter a day

Kendra from Nebraska in the US had a similar problem as Greg. Every day, about a quarter of a liter of secretions ran out of her nose. There were also extreme headaches. She felt like a zombie, the patient reports.

Also misdiagnosis

As with Greg, the doctors initially suspected an allergy. Only after two and a half years, a physician found that the secretion came from the brain.

How does it come to "brain coryza"?

Between the brain and the outside world lies a small opening, the olfactory cleft. It is a thin bone. If it breaks, brain water comes out and runs through a nostril.

How common is the disorder?

This leakage of brain water is extremely rare - only one in one million people. So it's no wonder that the doctors at Greg and Kendra initially made other diagnoses. With Greg, the cause of the opening is unpublished, Kendra was the result of an accident: She had hit her face on the dashboard of her car, and it probably tore the bone.

How do you recognize the fracture of the olfactory bone??

The leakage of cerebrospinal fluid indicates the following symptoms:

• Drugs for cold do not strike.
• You have severe headaches that worsen when walking upright.
• You suffer from nausea and vomiting.
• The fluid is clear, not greyish, greenish or slimy.
• You have problems seeing.
• They have salty taste in the mouth.

(Dr. Utz Anhalt)