Woman Who Thought She Just Had a Runny Nose, Was Actually Leaking Brain Fluid

A woman in Nebraska who thought she was suffering from a terrible allergies was told by doctors that her runny nose was actually caused by her leaking brain fluid.



Kendra Jackson told doctors at Nebraska Medicine that she had been dealing with a constant runny nose, severe headaches and was having trouble sleeping before deciding to visit a hospital. “It was like a waterfall, continuously, and then it would run to the back of my throat. Everywhere I went, I always had a box of Puffs stuffed in my pocket,” Jackson said, via WGCL.



Physicians examining Jackson diagnosed her with a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak and noted that the woman was losing about eight ounces of brain fluid each day. According to Live Science, the brain produces about 17 ounces of CSF each day.



A leak can develop after suffering a traumatic injury to the head, which causes a tear around the membrane of the spinal cord or brain. If left untreated, serious complications like bacterial meningitis – an infection that causes inflammation of the brain and spinal cord – can develop.



In 2013, Jackson was in a car accident and hit her face on the dashboard. Her symptoms didn’t start until years after the wreck.



Doctors at Nebraska Medicine were able to correct the problem using fatty tissue harvested from Jackson’s body to plug the leak through her nose. Luckily, the procedure is much less invasive than it was in the past where doctors would have had to perform brain surgery to stop the leak.



“I don’t have to carry around the tissues anymore, and I’m getting some sleep,” Jackson said after her recent surgery. Doctors added that Jackson is expected to make a full recovery.