Hi,
All of you on this board have one thing in common. You all have very sensitive blood vessels in your nose. But what triggers them to seemingly become sensitive. First off I am going to bet that most of you have larger noses. I do as well. I would be interested in hearing posts from you all as to the sizes of you nose. Larger noses have larger blood vessels. Therefore, when they get stimulated it is easier for you to see them. But why does this happen? It happens because you are ingesting something that is causing them to expand. You are eating a food, beverage, drug, etc. that is a natural vasodilator and it causes the blood vessels in your nose to open up more than usual and flush more blood through them. Let me be clear, this is not rosecea that you are experiencing. Many of you have stated that it occurs in the mid or late afternoon. This is most likely because you have eaten something for lunch or dinner which has triggered this to occur. It also explains why it comes and goes. It does not happen every day because you are not eating the food that triggers it. Not many people experience this. Ask yourself if you have ever seen another person in your life exhibit this symptom. This is why physicians generally cannot help. They do not see people with this problem.
So what foods cause it? In my 30 years of experience I have found the following food to be the biggest problems.
1. Artificial sweeteners
2. Caffeine
3. Alcohol
4. Hot spice foods
5. MSG
Most of you are experiencing this because you are drinking things with artificial sweeteners or adding it on your own. Do an experiment for me. Get your self a cup of tea and add a few packs of NutraSweet or sweet n Low and then see if you get a red nose in about 20 minutes. Many people have stated that they get it a lot when they go from the cold to the warm inside. This is mostly because people go inside and drink a hot cup of tea or chocolate with artificial sweeteners.
Caffeine is a natural vasodilator. Meaning it naturally open or widens your blood vessels. Combining the two is a lethal combo. If you add artificial sweeteners to your iced tea you will be Rudolph in an hour or so.
Alcohol is also a natural vasodilator. It opens those big sensitive blood vessels in your nose.
Hot spicy foods – anything causing a warm sensation causes vasodilatation. Once ingested and in your systemic system it causes your nose to turn red.
MSG – I do not know much about MSG but I feel that it may cause this problem.
This explains why most of you feel this sensation in the 2:00pm or 6:00pm hour because it is after lunch. It also explains why it takes so long to go away. It is because you must digest and clear the foods from your body.
What helps? – avoiding those foods that do this. Keep a mental or written record of everything that goes into your mouth. When you feel the nose getting red, check your food intake record to see what it may have been. Keep in mind that artificial sweeteners have many names – sucralose, aspartame, NutraSweet, sweet n low – do some research and check the food labels of everything you eat.
If you have accidentally ingested one of these foods then try to keep ice cubes in your mouth. This can cause the vessels in your nose to constrict back down and reduce the swelling- it has worked for me.
There are some other things that can cause this. Things like BP medications, erectile dysfunction medications, sinus infections. Try blander diets, avoid caffeine and artificial sweetener, and alcohol and I bet you will see an improvement. Keep this forum active and we can all work together to try and make our lives better.
Answered by
Prabodh shar
at
10:42 AM on May 25, 2012
