Woman discovers shocking truth behind runny nose doctors said was 'allergies'

Specialists have discovered the shocking truth behind a runny nose doctors claimed was allergies.

Nebraska woman Kendra Jackson had been seeing doctors for years trying to get to the bottom of why her nose was constantly running and why she had chronic headaches and a cough.

Many doctors had simply put the symptoms down to allergies.

“Everywhere I went I always had a box of puffs, always stuffed in my pocket,” she told KETV.

Ms Jackson suffered a car crash in 2013. She was hit from behind and her head whacked the dashboard.

Her symptoms started shortly after that.

“[It was] like a waterfall, continuously, and then it would run to the back of my throat,” she told KETV.

Doctors at Nebraska Medicine later discovered she had a cerebrospinal fluid leak (CSF), where half a pint of brain fluid was running through her nose daily.

Ms Jackson said she “couldn’t sleep, I was like a zombie” and doctors told her the fluid could have caused a serious infection.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, CSF is when spinal fluid leaks through a hole in the skull.

“Patients typically complain of clear, watery drainage usually from only one side of the nose or one ear,” it said.

“Drainage can increase with tilting the head forward or straining. Other symptoms can include headache, vision changes and hearing loss.”

Nebraska Medicine Rhinologist Dr Christine Barnes told KETV the surgery Ms Jackson finally had a few weeks ago was not too invasive and they used angled cameras and instruments to patch up a hole between her skull and nostrils with fatty tissue.

Since the surgery, Ms Jackson’s life has returned to normal.

“I don’t have to carry around the tissue anymore,” she said.

“And I’m getting some sleep.”