Thanks for telling us about your problem of blocked and runny nose which frankly speaking, is one of the most common reasons why my patients come and see me!
These are most likely signs of underlying irritation of a hypersensitive nose, a condition termed rhinitis. The actual cause of rhinitis can range from allergic reactions to substances in the environment such as house dust mite, grass and pollen, to more nonspecific triggers like changes in temperature and humidity. The nose is a fantastically complex organ designed to react to changes happening around it so it usually produces a certain amount of secretions in normal healthy people anyway.
The problem is when the lining and soft tissue inside the nose become chronically inflamed and irritated, then the soft tissue and their special mucus glands go into overdrive and continue to produce too much mucus secretions, leading to a persistently runny nose. The soft tissue also swells up all the time, giving rise to that irritating blocked nose sensation that makes it difficult for you to breathe through your nose.
What you should do is to have a proper and thorough examination of your nose by an experienced ENT specialist with a short and safe procedure using a flexible nasal endoscope in clinic. Allergy testing may also be carried out to find out what might be triggering off your nasal allergic reaction.
Of course, more rarely, sometimes a constant leak of clear runny fluid from one side of your nose may represent a leak of brain fluid due to a crack in the bone at the top of the nose which is supposed to protect the brain. This may happen after an episode of head injury or previous nose or brain surgery, but we have seen spontaneous leaks of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) occurs before, though these are quite rare.
Once your nose is properly examined and the root cause is identified, then the right course of medications can be prescribed for you and the most appropriate advice given to help you get better. All the very best!
