I’ve got that cold that’s going around – cough, runny nose, lots (and lots and lots) of sneezing.
All of these symptoms completely disappear when I’m asleep, including the runny nose. (I woke up in the middle of the night and had to pee – my nose was fine when I woke up but running like a faucet by the time I got to the bathroom.)
Why is that?
My WAG is that during the night while you’re lying on your back the snot is going backwards and down your throat instead of forwards and out your nose.
Okay – but why no sneezing or coughing? Why do you have to be awake to sneeze?
I just think you might be lucky - during the last cold I got, I can tell you that the coughing didn’t stop when I was asleep. I didn’t get much sleep that night.
The whole point of medication like NyQuil is that most of us, most of the time, DO continue to have symptoms throughout the night.
Hmm. If you still had your symptoms you wouldn’t be getting much sleep. So, if you’re lucky enough to get some sleep chances are it’s because you’ve had some relief from your symptoms.
Personally I normally get symptoms at night, and have to stick wads of tissues up my nose so I don’t drown in snot, yeck!
Another possibility, do you take night time cold/flu tablets that contain more powerful antihistamines than the day time ones?
I don’t take any antihistimines or decongestants – vitamin c, zinc, and echinacea only.
I know this is GQ, and I have no factual answer, alas.
But I can say that if your symptoms cease when you sleep, you are among the blessed! My runny nose eases up at night, for reasons cited above. But congestion gets worse. Cough and sore throat don’t improve, either, and I end up taking bunches of decongestants and stuff just to get a few hours of decent-quality sleep.
That is a very good question twickster. It is something I have often wondered about too. Why is it that a severely runny nose will stop when you fall asleep and then start up again when you wake?
I have gone to sleep with a runny nose that, if it kept leaking at the same rate as when awake, would have me drown in a pool of snot.
It not just the physical positioning of a nose in repose - when lying down awake the nose still runs. And the flow stops when sleeping without using drugs.
i am a vertiable snot fountain sleeping or awake. I put a bath towel on my pillow.
I detest head colds … I would rather deal with morning sickness than snot=(
My weapons … guaifenesin/mucinex in combination with nasonex at the first tickle in the back of the throat that indicates a cold coming on, and eeping it up religiously for the whole time. Keeps the snot monster from hitting. If I lapse and am late doing either nasonex or guaifenesin by even as short as an hour, I get the snot fountain:(