His constant sniffling - Anyone know what might be causing this?

I posted this under Rhinitis because it's the closest thing I've found so far.  

So here's the deal: my boyfriend sniffles.  All the time.  Every day.  While watching Jeopardy the other night, I kept tallies (privately, I didn't show him) and found that in 8 minutes, he sniffed 31 times.  I love him, but it's driving me absolutely up the wall.  I know he can't help it, but hearing it all the time is so irritating, I just can't take it anymore.  And I know he's self-conscious about it, because he told me he was.  He's done it at least since he was a kid, which I can guess because in pictures of him as a little boy, playing in his room, looking out the window, there's a roll of toilet paper or a box of tissues nearby.
The sniffling isn't really an "inhale" motion.  It's kind of a sharp, forceful expulsion of air through the nostrils, but it makes a sniffing sound.  My only other leads are polyps or a deviated septum, but I really can't find a lot of information on it.  Anyone have any ideas?

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Your friend needs to consult an ENT specialist. Since he has the problem since he was a child there is always a chance that he has either a deviated nasal septum (DNS) or high eosinophils or allergic rhinitis. All can cause sniffling. DNS results in poor drainage of nasal discharge and hence sniffling.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[moony239]

thanks!  i'll pass the info along, it's really appreciated!

[ElizabethD]

I just read your post describing your boyfriend's sniffling and was thinking that could be me writing that post. My boyfriend has the same problem. And has had it since he was a child. He says it's allergies and that the allergy medicines make him drowsy...but I'm not so sure it's even allergies. I really can't take it anymore. I'll be studying in one room with the door shut and can still hear him sniffling in the other room. Has your boyfriend gone to an ENT? Had any luck?

[jms67]

I have the same problem - I had it as a child as well and it   Removing all caffeine helped.  Something like jeopardy would trigger a kind of nervousness. So, cutting out caffeine completely helped a lot, but doesn't help completely.  All stimulants make the problem worse.  Another thing that helps is do things that help hyperventilating - like holding breath for a bit.

So what i noticed with coffee is that it also dries out the sinuses make make coffee a double problem.

The interesting think in all of this is that when I alleviated the sniffing and blinking by removing caffeine, I developed a new problem which is throat clearing.  However, the throat clearing is productive, i.e. there is actually mucus where as with the sniffing there was no runny nose like what happens with allergies.  I think the reason the throat clean occurs is that caffeine esp things like coffee I think are natural bronchial dilators.

Ultimately I haven't found the root cause and some even think it is a form of Tourette's.  I would really like to solve this completely, but I do think my suggestions will help immensely.

And of course always consult with a doctor, but no doctor has helped me with this and when I mention my symptoms and things that have help they have just been dismissive.  But, I'm sure i'm just not going to the right specialists.

I hope this helps.  This problem is annoying for both the person with symptoms and the folks around them.

[Dale290]

I have sniffels all the time. It came on after a bad cold last year.  nothing seems to help, except taking a 1/2 of a 5 mg flexeral at bedtime,  It calms the constant sniffiling and I can sleep. Some spells last for hours, some all day and some effect me breathing as well as I am constantly sniffling. Does anyone have answer.