Feeling of water up nose
Posted , 3 users are following.
Hi for the last few days I've had the feeling of water up my nose. My sinuses keep clearing and blocking almost every few minutes. It's driving me mad.
I've Google and I'm now terrified it's water coming up my nasal passages when I swallow or drink water. I've not had any water come out my nose but when you Google it sheer panic sets in as it says it's always neurological because the soft palate is weakening. Mostly this is caused by MND. At that point I want to faint.
I've tested it a couple of times by sticking tissues up my nose and drinking orange juice and it never seems to stain the tissues. Once there was a small dot but it's hard to tell. My GP has looked at my mouth and says it all looks fine but I'm terrified this is the start of something good awful. He thinks I should forget about it and it will go away.
Can anyone else relate? I've got not other issues except food sometimes gets stuck in my breastbone if I eat too fast and I have quite severe post nasal drip but these are not new symptoms and I've had this off and on for several years.
Thanks
0 likes, 3 replies
Larches TLM
Posted
The first thing I'd say (and sorry if you've heard it before) is beware Dr Google! You can always get 101 potential diagnoses ranging from trivial to terrible and start ticking off symptoms and convince yourself it's something serious, but very often it's just panic setting in. That's not a criticism - it's human nature. Health is precious so of course we all want to be on guard for serious problems.
As for your GP, on one level it's reassuring to know things look normal to him, but on the other level it sounds like he's provided no explanation for your symptoms. I suspect he may not be overly concerned because it's only been a few days (so far) that you've had the symptoms.
If it was a longer term problem, I would suggest asking outright for a referral to an ENT specialist. The worst that can happen is the GP will be reluctant to do so, but if the symptoms persist over say a couple of months and you have no explanation or remedy, I think you're entitled to ask. Perhaps even worth trying to see a different GP next time.
The other thought is a long shot, but you mentioned that feeling of food stuck at your breastbone, and I have a vague recollection that GORD (acid reflux) can cause a feeling like that. I know it can also cause nasal symptoms, even when more obvious acid reflux symptoms are absent (so-called silent reflux, if I remember correctly - but I'm no expert). So that's perhaps another avenue to discuss with your GP if this continues to be a problem.
Having said all of that, it sounds like it's early days so with any luck this could just be something like an infection that will pass within a week or two. I'm sure it's not pleasant, but maybe you just need to see how it goes (and perhaps try a routine decongestant?).
All the best...
TLM Larches
Posted
Hi Larches thanks for the reply I'm highly anxious and I think the GP just thinks it's anxiety. I'm focusing on it and if I didn't I would be fine! It's just so weird everytime I swallow my nose feels prickly. I will try and stop focusing on it and see what happens.
Larches TLM
Posted
Definitely worth trying to distract yourself so you don't focus on it too much. Maybe a good excuse for a treat - watch a film or do whatever else you enjoy.
If after that you find you're still struggling, you could look up 'Mindfulness' exercises on YouTube and see if that helps. It's a way of teaching yourself to recognise the vicious circle of worry and to teach yourself to handle it by calmly acknowledging troublesome thoughts as they float in and out of your mind, just observing and acknowledging them without allowing them to cloud your thinking or prime your body for a fight-or-flight reaction, which just leads to more worry. Honestly worth a go if you've not tried it. Might take some patience and persistence to get into the swing of it, and it might sound a bit mumbo jumbo, but really the principles behind it are sound.