# Why is my snot so runny? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 19, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-snot-so-runny/251212 "2004-06-19T18:10:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-snot-so-runny/251212/1 "2004-06-19T18:10:25Z")
Alergy season here in bella napoli is hitting me pretty hard this year - it always does. But my snot has _never_ been this runny before. This is pretty gross… but since its already warm it is sometimes going down over my lips before I even notice my nose is running. It is seriously the consistency of _water_. Is there anything I can eat, vitamins or whatever, that will thicken this stuff up? I don’t even want to tell you what happens when I sneeze… ps where does it all come from? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-snot-so-runny/251212/2 "2004-06-19T18:53:10Z")
The inside of your sinuses and nose pump out snot in an effort to wash out the pollen and such. Any of dozens of antihistimine drugs will slow it down, making the snot thicker. Saline nasal spray will also help. And now, a silly answer. No sauce will thicken properly until it boils. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-snot-so-runny/251212/3 "2004-06-19T19:14:44Z")
Hrm, ok. The thing is I am taking prescription allergy medicine (Zyrtec). It worked last year but whatever. Does general wisdom allow me to take an antihistimine with this stuff? I don’t want to go to the emergency room all swollen up and red or anything 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-snot-so-runny/251212/4 "2004-06-19T19:15:57Z")
ps I know I could ask my doctor but its a weekend and Navy doctors don’t work weekends 🙂 and I ain’t going to the emergency room for a runny nose! ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-snot-so-runny/251212/5 "2004-06-19T19:18:37Z")
I feel bad for you, **alterego** , I had terrible allergies when I was a kid but I seemed to have grown out of them. FWIW, I found that over-the-counter antihistimines were always sufficient to stop the snotflow, though not necessarily all the symptoms. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Mahma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@Joe\_Mahma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Mahma)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-snot-so-runny/251212/6 "2004-06-19T20:20:26Z")
> [@alterego](#): > > Hrm, ok. The thing is I am taking prescription allergy medicine (Zyrtec). It worked last year but whatever. > > Does general wisdom allow me to take an antihistimine with this stuff? I don’t want to go to the emergency room all swollen up and red or anything 🙂 Zyrtec _is_ an antihistamine. ---
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-snot-so-runny/251212/7 "2004-06-19T22:24:27Z")
> [@Joe Mahma](#): > > Zyrtec _is_ an antihistamine. :smack: I even took two this morning… _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-snot-so-runny/251212/8 "2004-06-19T23:49:22Z")
If you can’t ask a doctor this weekend, you can call and talk to your pharmacist. S/he might have some suggestions about whether you can safely combine any over the counter remedies with your Zyrtec to make it more effective.