“We worry about meningitis, because if there’s a leak, that means something could get back there,” said Hsu. “We see a lot of people who have some kind of accident, where they hit their head, and now several years later they have a leak,” said Ivan.Ī CSF leak can also occur along the spine, such as after a medical procedure like a lumbar puncture, also known as a spinal tap.Ī leak in the skull is particularly worrisome, though, because the nose is a pretty dirty place.
This might be a surgery or a head trauma. Ivan said that “there are other leaks that appear spontaneous but are related to something that happened to the person in the past.” Some people may develop a CSF leak spontaneously for no known reason. “When the pressure in the head gets low, you can have a headache,” said Hsu, “but a lot of times, people don’t know about a CSF leak.”Īccording to the CSF Leak Association, spontaneous spinal CSF leaks affect at least 5 in every 100,000 people each year. Not everyone has all of these symptoms, though. These include stiff neck, fever, and chills.Īccording to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, people with a CSF leak may also experience nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears or changes in hearing, and sensitivity to sound or light. Signs of an infection are another concern, he said. Ivan, a neurosurgeon with the University of Miami Health System said headaches are another sign to look out for, especially if they happen every time you sit or stand up. When fluid accumulates in a space inside the head, it can come rushing out when you tip your head forward - “like a bucket being filled up and then dumped.”ĭr. Hsu, chair of the department of neurological surgery at UC Irvine Health, said that the fluid may also “come and go.” Patients who have had a CSF leak have described the fluid as having a salty or metallic taste.ĭr. “But if it doesn’t get better with medication, or it keeps persisting, or it’s constantly dripping, then that’s a cause for a little bit more concern,” said Levine. Corinna Levine, an ear, nose and throat surgeon with the University of Miami Health System. If you have fluid leaking out of your nose, that doesn’t always mean you have a CSF leak, said Dr. When a CSF leak is in the head, the fluid can drain from the nose or ears, or discharge into the back of the throat. This allows the fluid that bathes the brain and spinal cord to leak out, leading to a drop in the volume and pressure of the fluid. Until a specialist correctly diagnosed the source of the liquid as a CSF leak.Ī CSF leak is caused by a tear in the soft tissues that envelop the brain and spinal cord - known as the dura mater. Which is what happened to Kendra Jackson, a 52-year-old woman from Nebraska.Ī few years after Jackson was involved in a serious car accident, she developed headaches and a runny nose, according to ABC affiliate KETV.Įven though she was losing about half a pint of fluid every day, her doctors for years thought she had allergies.
Leaking brain fluid out of your nose is probably not something you think about very often.īut being aware of the symptoms of this condition - known as a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak - can help you seek medical help and avoid misdiagnosis.
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