Joe Nagy endured 18 months of unhappy streaming before finally being diagnosed (Picture: Fox)

A runny nose that did not stop streaming for 18 months has turned out to be caused by the victim’s brain leaking fluid.

Joe Nagy thought the non-stop drip that kept embarrassing him could be blamed on allergies.

But after a year and a half of suffering, he was stunned to discover a tear in a membrane of his brain meant fluid was leaking all the way from his brain through his nose.

The problem has finally been fixed by surgery – but even this was delayed because the unfortunate Mr Nagy also found himself diagnosed with meningitis.


The final straw for the patient from Phoenix, Arizona, came when a ‘teaspoon-sized’ dollop of fluid leaked from his nose in a business meeting and soaked a stash of important documents.



His nose had initially begun running ‘once or twice a week’, but quickly became a more regular problem.

Mr Nagy told US network Fox10: ‘I got to the point where I had tissues all the time.’

It was only after incessant visits to his doctor that the real problem was discovered: a small hole in the membrane surrounding his brain.

He admitted: ‘I was scared to death, if you want to know the truth.’

Once he had fought off the worst of his meningitis, the leak was repaired by neurosurgeon Peter Nakaji at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona.

He used some cartilage from Mr Nagy’s nose to plug the gap and prevent any more of the clear liquid streaming out.

Dr Nakaji said: ‘This is one of the more common conditions to be missed for a long time, because so many people have runny noses.’

Mr Nagy said: ‘I was waiting for the dribble. This leaking, because I was so used to it every day. I got my hankie. Nothing. It’s never come back.’