Man thought he had runny nose; actually his brain was leaking

A 20-year-old Syrian man complained about his runny nose for half a decade, and it turned out to be brain leakage. The man suffered from headaches, seizures, and runny noses constantly. He failed to get it checked by doctors, confusing these symptoms with a cold. He had suffered from a major head injury and a chronic issue for six years.

Doctors discovered the consistent nose running was not a symptom of a cold but rather a serious case of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage. Cerebrospinal fluid leakage is a rare condition. In this condition, the fluid surrounding the brain leaks into the nose and sinuses, leading to head trauma and requiring surgery. It further leaks into the nose or ears.

According to Daily Mail reports, medical professionals diagnosed the man with a condition where brain matter exits through openings in the skull. This condition is called encephalocele; it is a rare condition found in 375 babies a year.

Unfortunately, the 20-year-old Syrian man was involved in a car accident six years ago, which developed into traumatic encephalocele, a rarer condition where injury causes the same symptoms over years without treatment. The patient refused to consult doctors after the traumatic accident, which prevented him from discovering this rare condition.

After long and continuous suffering from headaches and seizures, the Syrian man sought help two months later for nasal leakage and was immediately admitted to intensive care. The doctors found that his condition kept getting worse as the patient had developed meningoencephalitis—a rare and life-threatening condition that combines both meningitis and encephalitis.

The man was admitted to an intensive care unit for a period of 30 days. During this time, medical professionals examined his fractured skull and encephalocele, which had developed in his nasal passages. Medical professionals noted "significant expansion" on the right side of his brain and suggested surgery, but the man refused to take such measures. He returned to medical professionals two months later for a check-up and agreed to the surgery. The Syrian man made a full recovery after a neurosurgeon performed surgery by returning the bulging tissues and reversing the damage.