Man’s Runny Nose Leaking Brain Fluid

Joe Nagy of Arizona thought he had year-round allergies - he was shocked to find that his brain was leaking fluid through his nose.

For more than a year and a half, Nagy's nose wouldn't stop running. Once or twice a week, especially when he sat up in bed, he would have a runny nose. The condition worsened over time and soon his nose was running constantly. He said he had tissues on-hand all the time and it was an embarrassing situation to live with.

Frustrated, he went to a specialist who tested the fluid coming from his nose. Nagy was shocked to find that his brain's membrane had a tiny hole in it and fluid was dripping out.

"You don't really think about it, but our brains are really just above our noses all of the time," Barrow Neurological Institute neurosurgeon Dr. Peter Nakaji told KSAZ .

Doctors have since used medical glue to seal up the hole. Nagy is pleased with the results of the surgery.

"I was waiting for the dribble, this leaking 'cause I was so used to it every day. I got my hankie. Nothing. It's never come back," Nagy told the station.

Nakaji said the reason Nagy's nose never stopped running was because humans produce 12 ounces each day to keep the brain from drying out.

Various reasons can cause a leak such as Nagy's. Sometimes a past head injury can lead to brain fluid leaking, or it can be caused from complications from a spinal tap or surgery.

'These leaks can be very very tiny, a little like a puncture on a bicycle tire, that sometimes you have trouble even finding where it is," Dr. Nakaji said.