Woman Mistakes Brain Fluid Leak For ‘Runny Nose’

When a woman from Nebraska first started getting a runny nose, she thought it must be a cold symptom. Until it lasted for years.

By WKBW on May 8, 2018
brain fluid
(Photo by George Marks/Retrofile/Getty Images)

When a woman from Nebraska, Kendra Jackson, first started getting a runny nose, she thought she had a cold. Until it lasted for years.

It all started in 2013, after a traumatic car accident. Kendra’s vehicle was hit from behind, which resulted in her face slamming against the dashboard. Her runny nose was accompanied by other cold-like symptoms including sneezing, coughing, and constant headaches. She told KETV:

“Everywhere I went I always had a box of Puffs, always stuffed in my pocket. [It was] like a waterfall, continuously, and then it would run to the back of my throat.

For years, doctors told her that her runny nose was just due to allergies, but Kendra continued to see medical professionals. She knew something else had to be wrong.

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Finally, at Nebraska Medicine, doctors told her that she suffered from a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak. Basically, Kendra was losing a half-pint of brain fluid through her nose daily.

CSF leaks previously meant that the patient had to go through brain surgery. However, thanks to modern medicine, doctors are able to treat it without going through such drastic measures. In Kendra’s case, they used fatty tissues to plug up the small hole between her skull and nostrils causing the leak.

Kendra feels much better post-surgery. She said with a laugh:

“I don’t have to carry around the tissue anymore, and I’m getting some sleep.”

Thankfully, she’s expected to make a full recovery!

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