# bad cold- why gunk out of one nostril only? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 3, 2004, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-cold-why-gunk-out-of-one-nostril-only/253432 "2004-07-03T23:44:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-cold-why-gunk-out-of-one-nostril-only/253432/1 "2004-07-03T23:44:17Z")
sorry, I have probably got too much time on my hands sitting at home feeling miserable, but I have been producing lots of impressive thick yellow gunk, but out of one nostril only. Is this because (i) only one lung is infected so it stays on the same side? (ii) when it gets up the throat it decides to slide in one side only (deviated septum? ) (iii) most of it is produced in the sinuses I suspect not (iii) as I have been coughing up lots too. While (i) seems unlikely, I distinctly remember in the past being gunked up only on one side, then a day or two later being gunked up only on the other. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2004, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-cold-why-gunk-out-of-one-nostril-only/253432/2 "2004-07-04T00:27:02Z")
> [@scm1001](#): > > sorry, I have probably got too much time on my hands sitting at home feeling miserable, but I have been producing lots of impressive thick yellow gunk, but out of one nostril only. Is this because > > (i) only one lung is infected so it stays on the same side? > (ii) when it gets up the throat it decides to slide in one side only (deviated septum? ) > (iii) most of it is produced in the sinuses > > I suspect not (iii) as I have been coughing up lots too. While (i) seems unlikely, I distinctly remember in the past being gunked up only on one side, then a day or two later being gunked up only on the other. If your gunk is thick and yellow, you probably have a sinus infection. Does it smell and taste bad, too? You might want to see your doctor and get some antibiotics. With a viral cold, snot is typically very plentiful, but clear and watery. But yeah, I’ve noticed that too, when i have a cold - only one side tends to get completely plugged up. Granted, that’s better than **both** sides at once, but it is extremely annoying. With a lot of head-tilting and smacking, I can get it to ooze to the other side of the sinus. When I feel it getting there, I blow my nose like crazy. I can breathe more clearly for a couple minutes, but it always comes back. Give this method a try. It’s better if you can keep it moving, to get it out more quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2004, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-cold-why-gunk-out-of-one-nostril-only/253432/3 "2004-07-04T00:46:21Z")
I second the sinus infection. I had the same symptoms and was out for nearly 6 weeks this year. Bad mothers they are… ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2004, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-cold-why-gunk-out-of-one-nostril-only/253432/4 "2004-07-04T13:05:45Z")
> [@scm1001](#): > > Is this because > > (i) only one lung is infected so it stays on the same side? You don’t have one nostril per lung… both feed into a single airway. Yes, it’s likely to be a sinus thing on one side. ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2004, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-cold-why-gunk-out-of-one-nostril-only/253432/5 "2004-07-04T22:39:53Z")
Oh, and the stuff you are coughing up is stuff that dripped down from your sinuses and is then coughed up, not up from your lungs. ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-cold-why-gunk-out-of-one-nostril-only/253432/6 "2004-07-05T10:34:42Z")
> [@flight](#): > > Oh, and the stuff you are coughing up is stuff that dripped down from your sinuses and is then coughed up, not up from your lungs. I had always thought that it came from my lungs. Thanks for the replies ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-cold-why-gunk-out-of-one-nostril-only/253432/7 "2004-07-05T15:01:03Z")
> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#): > > If your gunk is thick and yellow, you probably have a sinus infection. Does it smell and taste bad, too? You might want to see your doctor and get some antibiotics. With a viral cold, snot is typically very plentiful, but clear and watery. Untrue. Viral infections cause thick yellow and/or green or other multi-colored mucus also. In fact viruses probably cause most “sinus” infections. Antibiotics are not needed for the vast majority of upper respiratory infections. QtM, MD ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-cold-why-gunk-out-of-one-nostril-only/253432/8 "2004-07-05T15:27:32Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > Untrue. Viral infections cause thick yellow and/or green or other multi-colored mucus also. In fact viruses probably cause most “sinus” infections. Antibiotics are not needed for the vast majority of upper respiratory infections. > > QtM, MD Yes. I was just relating what usually happens with me. Anytime I’ve had a cold where the mucus turned thick, yellow, and bad-tasting/smelling, I’ve always had to be prescribed an antibiotic, or else it moved down from the sinuses and developed into bronchitis. I’ve had chronic sinus infections/bronchitis for a good portion of my life. However, I neglected to mention that I have severe allergies and athsma which complicate things, so my situation may be different from the general population. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-cold-why-gunk-out-of-one-nostril-only/253432/9 "2004-07-05T15:36:01Z")
> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#): > > However, I neglected to mention that I have severe allergies and athsma which complicate things, so my situation may be different from the general population. Then your situation is very different from that of the general population. I expect you’re on maintenance pulmonary anti-inflammatory medications along with antihistamines. That would change your clinical picture entirely. And it would be best not to extrapolate someone else’s medical needs based on your own experiences in disssimilar situations. The mods _hate_ that. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-cold-why-gunk-out-of-one-nostril-only/253432/10 "2004-07-05T16:56:21Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > Then your situation is very different from that of the general population. I expect you’re on maintenance pulmonary anti-inflammatory medications along with antihistamines. That would change your clinical picture entirely. And it would be best not to extrapolate someone else’s medical needs based on your own experiences in disssimilar situations. The mods _hate_ that. 😃 Yup, I’m on Ventolin diskus and Flovent, and the new antihistamine Aerius, every day. I’ve been this way since I was a year old, guess I’m so used to being nasally/respitorally (if that’s a word) impaired, I sometimes think everybody else knows what it’s like as well… alas, not so… 🙂