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drainage of watery yellow fluid from nose

Friday while I was bent over blow-drying my hair, bright yellow fluid suddenly started dripping out of my nose.  It felt like a nose bleed and that's what I thought it was until I observed the color.  I had never seen any fluid that color come out of my body before.  The drainage was unilateral--left side only.  I made an appointment with my doctor but cannot see her until Tuesday.  Investigating a bit onlne I saw something that seemed similar--CSF leakages.  But I have had no brain injuries, only a recent cold.  My question is--is this probably what I think it is?  Do I need to be very concerned?  Should I insist on seeing the doctor sooner or go to emergency?  What should I do in the meantime?  It hasn't happened again since then.  I'm really feeling a bit scared.
Thanks so much
Heidi
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Avatar universal
Blocked sinus draining serum is the correct answer.  Serum is normal part of your bloodstream;hence the reason it "feels like a nosebleed." In one sense, it is.  You body's bloodstream is >60% water which is the major component of this straw-coloured stuff called "serum." The other ``elements of your bloodstream are red blood cells (RBCs;hence the colour of oxygenated haemoglobin bound to the RBC), white blood cells (WBCs;mostly fight infection and turn to thick opaque pus seen in abscesses, etc) and platelets (plts; clump together to help your blood clot when you get a laceration, etc). A prior infection could have introduced elements of the blood stream into the sinuses that were trapped there from the edema (swelling of tissues lining): once the edema reduced the sinus ostia (holes) open up enough to allow any fluid "leftovers" so to speak, to drain out.  These leftovers can be the serum fluid (which can be an orange/yellowy clear "straw coloured" fluid).  You can also have drainage come out related to changes in sinus pressure which could occur with blowing the nose, posture changes, altitude changes, etc.  The sinuses are quite easy to block and hopefully this gush of fluid is a sign of their unblocking/clearing up.  

As mentioned, this is unlikely to be CSF; CSF is clear unless there is an infection in the CSF (e.g. meningitis) or bleeding inside the CSF(e.g. ruptured aneurysm).

Should you have any other associated symptom, head to the nearest university hospital emergency department as they never turn you away and never require an appointment to see you.
Helpful - 2
3 Comments
I had the same thing but also have had an intense headache for 3 days.  Abnormal for me.  Is this reason to worry?
Thank you.
so glad i found this thread, had this happen to me after getting my wisdom teeth out and was super freaked out about csf leaks after reading about it online so much, had pretty much the exact same thing happen, laid down one day and randomly had a bunch of this super bad smelling watery yellow fluid come out of my nose. looking back on my recovery my upper cheek was very sore for most of it and i was super stuffed up on one side, at first i attributed this to just my sinuses acting weird from getting my teeth out but now i think it was 100% this, the weird thing was that for the entire duration of my recovery i was on amoxicillin which is supposed to prevent a sinus infection, the main reason i got my teeth out was because of an infected one that they also gave me a weeks worth of penicillin for so i wonder if those 2 weeks of similar antibiotics caused me to develop a penicillin resistance. i went back to the dentist to get checked out just to be sure it was nothing going wrong there and they suspected the same thing, gave me some new antibiotics to make sure the infection is 100% gone but after a few days of drainage it’s down to maybe a few drops, it’s not as yellow as it was and the smell has almost completely gone away
Avatar universal
Hi guys! So I’ve read a lot of your responses to your question but I have not seen anyone mention sinus cysts yet. So I decided to tell you you guys my personal story. So about 4-5 years ago I had an MRI done which showed that I had a cyst in my right sinus. They told me it was a very common thing and if it doesn’t cause any problems then it does not have to be taken out. About a year later after working out I bent forward and I had this bright yellow fluid running out of my right nostril. I got pretty freaked out too but then I looked into it and I realized that it could be a sinus rupture. So I didn’t worry about it too much. Until a couple of days ago it happened to me again. But this time I remembered that it had to be the cyst that most likely has grown back and ruptured again. It is definitely dental related since on the right side I have a wisdom tooth that it too big and it cannot grow out fully. Also the root of the tooth is very close to my sinus so when it ties to grow out further it causes pain for time to time. Now I am not a doctor but i just wanted to give you my story so hopefully it helps out some of you guys! Hope you guys have a great day!
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Avatar universal
I got this a while ago and thought nothing of it and just got it again, I think from my left nostril too.
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I have the same issue I had a very large cyst in my arm pit and it lasted 3 weeks till it popped the day it popped I bent over to pick something up and bright yellow fluid came out the left nostril accompanied by dizziness and stiff neck a feeling of in balanced
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Avatar universal
Omg!!!! Same thing just happened to me!!! I  Have had a really badd sinus infection for the last week and then on Monday  Clear yellow Olive oil started dripping out of my nose very bright about 5 drops. This happened about 4 times on Monday I went to ER to calm my nerves and the DR  said it was not csf and most likely seursangues fluid. She prescribed me a Z pack of antibiotics.  I'm on day 3 and have had some bright yellow mucus....hoping it goes away soon.  She suggested I saw my ears nose and throat doctor  So I made an appointment but of course they don't have anything until 2 months from now.  Everyone else that had this did it end up clearing up?
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Avatar universal
h_g
i am no doctor, it could be a sinus infection too. hopefully everything  is ok . Go and get it checked out and keep us informed. Good luck
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I know you have a ton of responses to comb the here. But you should go with your intuition. If you're really concerned it may be a CSF leak, you should get checked out sooner. You could go to urgent care and see what they recommend based on their evaluation.

Given that you haven't had a traumatic injury AND you had a recent cold, it's unlikely to be a CSF leak. But there have been very rare cases of seemingly spontaneous CSF leaks.

The "halo test" is extremely reliable in my profession (emergency medicine), but it typically only works if there's blood in the fluid. You could try allowing some of the fluid to drip on to an absorbent, white material. If a lighter ring develops around the center, it may be CSF and you should head to the ER. But, remember that the results are unreliable if there is no blood.

Finally, a CSF leak will drip rather continuously. Meaning that it would definitely drip every time you bend forward. Try bending right now, if it doesn't drip it was probably just snot.

Snot can absolutely be thin and watery. It can also drip in a way that feels like a nose bleed. I always have watery nasal discharge when the polen counts are high. It's always clear. But you may have some residual yellow tinged mucous from your cold.

If it does wind up being a sinus infection, keep in mind that most of these infections do not require antibiotics. So don't be surprised if your doc doesn't offer antibiotics.

Sorry that this response is kinda all over the place and likely riddled with typos! But I hope you get good news soon. In the off chance it is a CSF leak, you should take it easy until that's ruled out. You can even sleep/lay down with your head elevated.
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1 Comments
I forgot to add the disclaimer!
DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor. The medical education I have given fits within the legal scope of practice in my state. This is not a substitute for medical evaluation. If you feel that you are experiencing a medical emergency, call an ambulance (911 in the US) and/or be seen in an emergency room.
Avatar universal
Did you go swimming the day before?
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These were all super helpful! I was working last night and my urine was this neon yellow color. I look up in the mirror and there is this neon yellow fluid coming out of my nose... and until I found this page, the Internet was not much of a help. Hoping it’s just a sinus infection. Not sure if I should schedule a doctors appt.
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1 Comments
Regarding your urine, did you happen to ingest a larger quantity of B vitamins prior to this? B vitamin supplements commonly cause bright yellow urine. So multivitamins, energy drinks, and even cereal can cause the urine you're describing. I'm not sure about your nose drainage, your unusual urine could be related or it could just be the B vitamins.
Avatar universal
Sounds like the craziest thing. Ive had this sinus thing for about 3 days now, I endlessly keep blowing out yellow **** outta my nose.  Today i was eating Grilled chicken and dipping it into crushed garlic. My friend made me laugh and the garlic went up nose from inside my mouth and then just plain liquid started flowing outta my nose. After about 1 minute of trying to clear out my nose my sinus was literally gone! Im serious crush up some garlic but make sure its like a sauce and sniff it up. Garlic is known to kill bacteria and infections. Helped me!
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Avatar universal
Same thing here ... I was working night shift ... Bent down to pick some stuff and this yellow stuff like olive oil start dripping out of my right nostril ... I panicked and went to nearest hospital emergency ... My x- ray was normal and so was my cbc .. Doctors told me it was sinus infection ... Your experinces helped me calm down untill my mri appointment is ready .. Thanks alot !!
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Avatar universal
Same here just bent down to pick up some clothes and all of a sudden amber yellowish fluid leaked from my nose onto my hand... I then check to see if it was really me leaning from nose.. never ever had I experienced such thing no traumas or head injuries but I have been getting pain on my left back side of the head... scared. I will be making a Dr’s appointment ASAP
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Avatar universal
Well it looks like I can join this club. I also had the very first bout of yellow fluid out of my left nostril this morning. Same story as everybody else. Bent forward and out it came. Was shocked. Immediately thought of cerebral fluid, but have no history of head trauma, but have had sinus infections fairly often.
Then I remembered back to nursing school. Cerebral fluid feeds and protects the brain. That is why it contains sugar. One of the things we used to do in head trauma cases was to use a diabetic blood sugar tester to test the clear fluid of the nose to see if it contained sugar. So I think that I will visit a diabetic friend today and test that yellow fluid from my nose to see if it contains any sugar.

However, just seeing the number of people that are all telling similar stories, I highly doubt that it is anything serious.
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1 Comments
the sugar idea will of course only work if you have absolutely NO blood in the fluid leaving the nose, because blood also has sugar in it.
Avatar universal
sinus leakage had that and cleared up with medication
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Avatar universal
I just recently had the same thing but it was after I had 6 teeth pulled my Dentist told me it was all the bacteria built up behind the infection in my teeth and now its draining and it is sinus infection that is being released.  It's yellow runny and has a rotten smell. It was actually a good thing because it was stuck in there until I had the dental surgery and it had much infection so I'm glad it's draining out just hope it hurries up and be over.  This was my first and hopefully last problem like this.
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Avatar universal
I am a international student at university of Cincinnati and am not habituated to the cold weather. At night, in 3 degrees celsius (36 deg F) I went out wearing only my shorts and t shirt. After some time, I went into a store (suddenly warm) and came out (cold again) and after a minute, a light yellow/orange clear fluid started pouring out of my nose. It was slightly salty/tasteless and sticky. This continued for about 5 minutes and I leaked around 10-20 ML. This is the first time anything like this has happened to me and am really scared. I have memory problems and some attention related problems. I have university insurance, so probably I will go visit the health center tomorrow. Hope it is nothing serious.
-M
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Avatar universal
I can relieve a lot of tension here. I have had this problem for about 10 years now. I get it during or after colds. I had sinus surgery 10 years ago, have had catscans, mri's and CSF fluid tests done. I saw two neurologists as well who specialize in this problem. Turns out it is Rhinitis or infectious rhinitus. May go away on its own or you may need to treat with antibiotics. Be calm, don't overwork or bend to much. It should go away in 4-5 days.
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Do you also get lightheaded, dizzy and the chills when this happens?
Avatar universal
Let me join the club as well. Same yellow fluid but this time on my right nostril. I had to fix our bluray player so i bent also and this happend. I just came from more than a week long cold. Fluid rushed down my nose like crazzzy.  I was freaking out until i read your experiences. Thanks so much for sharing cause it helped me calm down. Advanced Merry Christmas Guys! We should form a facebook group! =)
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Avatar universal
Anyone been treated for Fungal Sinusitis rather than bacterial ??

My bet is that fungal is more likely and often wont go away on its own, and certainly wont go away with Antibiotics
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Yes I have been treated for Fungal Sinusitis both sides of the nose in June 2013. As you rightly said, the problem did not go away completely and permanently but gave almost 100% relief after operation. But since then the doctor advised me take Rinergil/Montec LC 1 tablet a day forever. If I stop it for any reason, the problem (pain in the operated area in the nose, pain from operations ated area in the nose to brain via eye temples) begin. Even yellow color liquid gel forms in the nose. Partial blockage of the nose on any one side happens too. So, is it common in people undergone surgery for fungal sinusitis?? Any comments please??
18874616 tn?1469127109
I just got the same. I have been experiencing it for past 3 days, and I had also serious tooth pain,  I will be seeing doctor tomorrow for my teeth. anybody with clue why the yellow water leak out of the nose?  
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3 Comments
I have the same thing right now. Leaky nose and i have tooth pain. Can u tell me what your doctor said?
Hi.. same here.. I’ve just recovered from tooth ache n this thing happened.. could this water leaked related to this tooth ache that we had... Can u please share what your doc said? Thanks..
I just went through the same thing.  I started with an upper back tooth pain four days ago.  It got so bad I went to the dentist and had exray so taken as the painful tooth has a crown on it.  The X-ray showed nothing, all good.  So I was prescribed amoxysillin as it has to be an infection.  I started the pills yesterday evening and 24 hours later I suddenly started draining drops of clear yellow watery sticky discharge. I think my toothache was actually a sinus infection which is draining away.  I was freaked out at first till I came to this site.  Even though my toothpain was getting better, the moment e fluid drained the remaining toothpain was gone.  Hope this comment helps someone
Avatar universal
Hey there, I've had similar problems to u. Overall this has been about 3 years and 2 weeks ago I it happened while I was flying (on plane). I kind of noticed that it happened when I am sometimes a little unwell. Dr referred me to ENT. had CT scan. They found a mucus retention cyst BUT, Dr said it was only a coincidental finding. The yellow fluid incidents should not have been caused by that.  Looking at my CT, he reckons it might be that my cyst blocks part of the pathway of the mucus,and so the fluid only leaks out when there is an accumulation and when my head is at a certain position that the fluid can flow pass the cyst and out the nostril. P.s. mine is on my right nose.
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Avatar universal
Oh my God same exact thing is happening to me today i was just having my head down and yellow fluid started leaking from my left side of the nose but i dont have any pain i hope to God it will stop by it self please any of you advise me if this is serious thanks God Bless
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Avatar universal
Oh my God same exact thing is happening to me today i was just having my head down and yellow fluid started leaking from my left side of the nose but i dont have any pain i hope to God it will stop by it self please any of you advise me if this is serious thanks God Bless
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Avatar universal
I also just started experiencing this phenomenon.  It began yesterday about 3 hours after having a tooth root canal procedure (with Novocaine) followed by insertion of a new crown.  It continued this morning.  My guess is that my experience is related to that.
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i had a crazy bad toothache on the top right of my teeth and it was so bad i couldnt sleep at night, went to a trip to the dentist and they did some xrays and couldnt find any problems or whatnot and i asked them to dig my old fillings out and replace with new ones and it still hurts like crazy after, and one day after that i start having yellow watery liquid just dripping out of my right nostril without warning whenever i look up to my right. what is happening??
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