To make things even more complicated, as if they are not already complicated enough. I have chronic congestion, sneezing, and a runny nose and have for years. I think I have Nonallergic rhinitis.
Nonallergic rhinitis doesn't involve the immune system. Yet causes sneezing, congestion, and a runny nose just like a cold, a flu, or a true allergy.
Same here. I have both allergic and non allergic. With the latter my nose gets clogged up feeling not runny. Happens many times throughout the day from various triggers. Primarily one sided (left).
No, I don't think ME is as simple as a particularly tough microbial infection. If it was, I wouldn't have had so many temporary remissions from various treatments, many of which are not known for being antimicrobial.
I believe that microbial infections can worsen ME, and trigger them in the first place, but that they aren't the core dysfunction. I still think the core dysfunction is a positive feedback loop, which might be inside some cells, or might involve extra-cellular processes as well.
