Involuntary nasal dripping when eating

[MrsDoodah]

Does anyone else have this? I think it may have a name - Gustatory Rhinitis! My poor husband cannot enjoy any meal without his nose dripping involuntarily into his food!! Interestingly, he has no mouth saliva/dribbling at all, and no nasal dribbling when not eating, but this business is a real issue for him at meal times. We've resorted to sticking tissues in both nostrils, but this obviously makes it hard to eat/breath properly. Anyone have any solutions?

[Andy-man]

Hello Mrs Doodah,

I had a thought about this problem you mention your husband has this morning at the breckfast table when my wife (the MSA person in our household) remarked on that her eye was running badly. This has happened before.

I wonder if this is caused by a tear duct being activated at an inappropriate time?

Sorry I do not know what to do about this problem.

Andrew

[MrsDoodah in reply to Andy-man]

Thank you for your message Andrew. This MSA certainly is mystifying - there's always something turning up to test us isn't there!Maureen

[Andy-man in reply to MrsDoodah]

Hello Maureen,

I am not sure 'mystifying' is the word I would use. I think most people I have heard would say it is a cruel disease. All of us who are carers have to keep smiling.

If you have access to podcasts, I suggest you have a listen to the 'Movers and Shakers' podcast. Admittedly it is about Parkinsons but there is some cross over and if it only makes you smile it has done you some good.

All the best Andrew

[MrsDoodah in reply to Andy-man]

Thank you Andrew, will certainly check it out.

[Jud11]

My husband who suffers with MSA also has this problem. His nose will run when eating and also when he exerts himself too. This has been happening for some time and we have not been able to find a resolution.

[MrsDoodah in reply to Jud11]

It is such a problem isn't it. My husband already struggles with going out places, and this has now made him even more reluctant as he won't even have a small snack if we go out these days. He doesn't even want to eat in front of the family at home anymore - particularly the grandchildren. This disease can be so cruel. Hope you are managing with your husband

Maureen

[Jud11]

As you say such a cruel disease. You just get your head around one symptom such as low blood pressure, poor mobility, bladder issues and then something else crops up🙈🙈 Our problem at the moment is probable sleep apnea, I am having difficulties securing an appointment with a Respiratory Clinic, waiting list is 55 weeks long!!

He has been suffering with MSA for over 5 years and some days I have felt deep despair, your whole life changes so much. Luckily we moved from our house over 2 years ago into a large retirement village, the apartment is disabled friendly and we are able at the moment to take advantage of all the social life here.

It is good to know that there are other people out there going through the same challenges and understand the problems we encounter.

I send my best regards to you and your husband.

[MrsDoodah in reply to Jud11]

My husband was only diagnosed last July but has rapidly deteriorated. He also had really bad sleep apnoea together with REM sleep behaviour disorder - thrashing arms, shouting, jerking limbs, He was referred to the hospital and given a c-pap machine that has greatly changed all that. He wears it every night for the whole night and it has stopped his snoring, greatly diminished his other symptoms, and reduced his sleep apnoea episodes from an average of 24 to 3 episodes a night!

I do hope you can get seen for this soon, as that is at least one thing in all of this journey, that has improved both our lives. The others just seem to arrive on a regular basis, and give us a constant stream of hurdles to encounter. I struggle to get my husband out of the house due to his mobility & continence issues at the moment, therefore our social life is almost nonexistent right now. But I am hoping things may improve a little to enable us to at least get him out in his wheelchair to enjoy some of this lovely weather we are experiencing.

It is all so very wearing isn't it. But as you say, it helps to know that we are not alone on our journey.

Take care.

[Jud11 in reply to MrsDoodah]

So glad to hear the breathing machine has improved your husband’s quality of life and yours too. It is so difficult when the fatigue from sleep apnea treduces quality of life. Fingers crossed I can get this resolved soon🤞🤞 Can I ask did your husband have to stop in hospital overnight so that they could study the breathing at night? My husband also has the REM sleep behaviour disorder.

I am sorry you cannot get out and socialise because this really helps us and me in particular.

I do hope you can manage to get out with the wheelchair over the summer and enjoy some fresh air. My husband used to be a very keen Crown Green bowler and we bought a lightweight folding electric chair which I can manage to lift in the car, I can then take him on his good days to watch his friends bowl. It makes me so sad that this condition has robbed him of everything he loved to do, I am sure you feel this way too. He has an NHS chair also that he uses around the apartment and for walks outside.

I will let you know if I have any success with getting him seen much sooner.

Keep strong.

[MrsDoodah in reply to Jud11]

He had an outpatient appt last May at the respiratory clinic at the hospital prior to his diagnosis of MSA which came out of the blue 2 months later following a bad episode of collapse and seizures which hospitalised him for 3 months. At the time he was using a walker but could mobilise well with that, although his speech was becoming affected. He had 2 visits - the first was to give him a monitor, which he had to attach to himself for 24 hrs at home. I then took in the mini recorder containing the data the next day. 2 weeks later I rang to find out the results and they said it had shown sleep apnoea and he needed a machine. We went into clinic the following week and a mask was fitted and we were given a machine & shown how to set it up - and that was that!

It has wireless connection to the clinic where they are able to review his data remotely. All in all, a very simple and straight forward process from our point of view.

I do hope this has helped and that you have a similar service very soon.

It is nice to know that your husband can at least watch his favourite game of bowls, but it must also be very frustrating for him not to be able to play ☹️. My husband was also extremely active but can no longer do a lot for himself now, which is so very hard to accept.

This disease is hard on us all. Best wishes to you both.

[Jud11 in reply to MrsDoodah]

Thanks for sharing your husband’s sleep apnoea experience, 🤞I can get an early appointment with Respiratory Clinic.

[ReverendBadger]

Yes got the runny nose when eating symptom. It takes a while to start up so I can usually get one bowl of food eaten before the nose adds its own special sauce. Then it's a matter of trying to clear enough out of the nose with multiple paper hankies. It is always worse at evening meal times compared to breakfast or lunch.

[MrsDoodah in reply to ReverendBadger]

😂....snap, that seems about the course for us! At least we can find a sense of amusement somewhere amongst all this!

[esj20]

Not making light of this but, my nose runs quicker than i bloody can now!

What next i wonder will crop up?

[MrsDoodah in reply to esj20]

😄

[Kaye31]

yes try atropine drops