I'm a 24 year old, relatively healthy male, and I recently (about a week ago) contracted the first cold of the season that was going around. This strain was a doozy, and sort of knocked me off my feet for the first few days; I had a fever, was exhausted, lots of congestion and coughing, etc.
After the first few days, I noticed that my upper teeth started hurting whenever I was walking. It was like the impact of my heel on the ground sent a shockwave up to my teeth, and my inflammed sinuses were sending referred pain into my teeth. This hasn't ceased since then.
Around that same time, I noticed that my snot suddenly changed from generally clear or milky in color to bright, highlighter yellow. It all appears to be from just my left nostril, and while most of it is thick, after I blow for a little bit, the thick stuff turns to a very runny, very yellow fluid that feels almost like a bloody nose dripping out of my sinuses. Sometimes, the color is just a normal, milky yellow, but most of the time it is very dark, and often almost orange. This morning, after blowing a little bit, I noticed there was a fair amount of blood in it.
I don't feel as though I have a fever, and most of the sinus headache I had a few days ago is gone. I don't feel the pain and tenderness that most people associate with sinus infections. It's just consistent stuffiness and large amounts of this intense, yellow junk in my nose, along with the teeth thing.
I have two main concerns about the color of this mucus, which I've never experienced before, and certainly not for this long.
The first is sinus infection. I've heard that bright yellow or green mucus can indicate the presence of bacterial infection, but of course, this isn't a definitive test. Also, I've only had the congestion for about six full days, and I know it may be hard to tell this early on if I'm dealing with just the cold or a secondary infection.
The second is the leaking of cerebrospinal fluid. I know that bright yellow fluid draining from the nose can be from a tear that causes cerebrospinal fluid to enter the nasal cavity and the ears and stuff. I haven't had any recent brain injuries, but the watery, neon yellow color of the stuff coming out of my nose is unnerving me. Also, I had to hold in a sneeze when the cold started because I had a mouth full of food, and afterwards, it kind of hurt to blow my nose on that same side of my face the yellow **** is coming out of, but only for a day. Is it possible to accidentally rupture something like that while holding in a sneeze?
I generally "feel" alright. I wasn't feeling all that great during the last week, but I'm back to about 80%, so I feel as though if it were a sinus infection, I'd be feeling more feverish and lousy. Am I wrong?
Thanks,
Jake