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Suggest Treatment For Cough With Thick Mucus In Throat
Question: I get these uncomfortable obstructions in the form of thick mucus or phlegm in what seems to be my eustation tubes. by messaging down the sides of both sides of my neck I am able to get it out of my nose by doing a sort of grunting and growling. massaging my larynx grabbing grabbing both sides with my fingers helps break up whats causing discomfort. Massaging a pressure point under my jaw line to the left of the middle of my chin where it hurts affords some relief. breathing hot vapors from my humidifier helps loosen whats clogging me up so that I can cough it up or grunt and growl it out of my nose. I'm constantly grabbing and massaging and pushing different pressure points all around my throat neck and chin line trying to get relief from things that feel stuck in my throat and neck. My throat closes up to the point where swallowing even a small vitamin is tough. sometime I half to cough up out of my troat what I just chewed in order to chew it again to try to re-swallow. This is not always but most of the time. I had a squamous cell removed from my right tonsil july 2013. I had radiation and chemo right after. My mouth gets very dry my tonque gets painful since my salivary glands were damaged by the radiation. I have had to use gabapentin for years for this pain. my sense of taste is strange and very whacked out. I belong to Kaiser and have seen the department head of the head neck and throat medical department many many times and all he can say is that they can do nothing and that I should seek alternate care like chiropractic or acupuncture which I have done and got some short term relief. I make myself sneeze and this helps break up the clogged mucus stuck in my neck after I grunt and poke at points on the side of my neck and throat. a lot of these problems started after I came back from England this past October. I took a motorcycle ride at night and came down with what was diagnosed as sinusitis and bronchitis.I read that sinusitis is hard to cure and may take two or more types of antibiotics. It said that I could have permanent changes to my sinuses. Maybe this is what's going on. I took augmentin and doxycycline.. any help would be appreciated as I grunt and massage myself through life. YYYY@YYYY
Brief Answer:
Increase respiratory tract moisture
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thank you for your query.
I'm Dr. Shuba Hariprasad and hope to help you with your query today.
I've read through your query and believe that your symptoms are due to the lack of normal secretions and fluidity of the mucus which is usually present in our respiratory tracts.
Salivary glands, throat and sinuses always have some secretions that help keep our mucous membranes moist. When these dry up or don't function, we can have thick secretions that are stringy and difficult to clear up.
This may even predispose to infections of the sinuses, throat and lungs.
I would :
- elicit any history of allergies or recurrent respiratory infections
- examine you for any lingering sinus infections or inflammation.
- check if you have any mechanical obstruction in clearing your nose or sinuses (like a deviated nasal septum or a polyp). These could make your secretions collect and drain into the back of your throat instead of down through your nose.
-get a detailed medical history (diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, high cholesterol, Thyroid hormone imbalances) and medications used (which may cause dryness)
Since your salivary glands were affected, I would aim my plan of treatment towards making your respiratory tract more moist and to loosen the secretions.
This can be done in the following ways:
- steam inhalations every 3-4 hours. To include your nose and mouth (you will need to protect your eyes by placing wet and squeezed cotton over them while doing this)
Use plain saline sprays after this to loosen secretions or dislodge blocked secretions.
Blow your nose gently, one at a time
- close the windows or turn off the exhaust in your bathroom. Run hot water for a about 20 minutes. Steam up the bathroom and then stay in for half hour. Time consuming but it help with relieving these secretions. Do this once day.
-use humidifiers (but not too long). The heat can dry your mucous membranes as well.
-garlic is a natural Mucolytic. Two medium sized pods twice a day. Saute them is a little oil or boil them is some milk with a pinch of turmeric powder and drink up.
-fenugreek seeds, either soaked in water over night or as sprouts. Have half a teaspoonful twice a day.
-most important have warm or body temperature water. About 3 liters a day, frequently throughout the day.
-avoid too much caffeine, sugary & carbonated drinks/ Salty, spicy, oily & fried foods. These can dry up the secretions.
-antihistamines, used for cold, sinuses also dry up secretions. Avoid them.
If you do get a cold, sinusitis or lung infection, mucus production will be more. Taking Mucolytic drugs to help with clearing them out from when it begins will help in quicker resolution, instead of waiting till it is too much and too thick.
I suggest you consult your doctor to rule out lingering sinus infections or mechanical obstruction for drainage.
Please try the above suggestions. I know it works and I sincerely hope it will help you too.
Kindly let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.
If not, please close this discussion and rate my answer.
Wish you good health
Regards,
Dr. Shuba Hariprasad
Increase respiratory tract moisture
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thank you for your query.
I'm Dr. Shuba Hariprasad and hope to help you with your query today.
I've read through your query and believe that your symptoms are due to the lack of normal secretions and fluidity of the mucus which is usually present in our respiratory tracts.
Salivary glands, throat and sinuses always have some secretions that help keep our mucous membranes moist. When these dry up or don't function, we can have thick secretions that are stringy and difficult to clear up.
This may even predispose to infections of the sinuses, throat and lungs.
I would :
- elicit any history of allergies or recurrent respiratory infections
- examine you for any lingering sinus infections or inflammation.
- check if you have any mechanical obstruction in clearing your nose or sinuses (like a deviated nasal septum or a polyp). These could make your secretions collect and drain into the back of your throat instead of down through your nose.
-get a detailed medical history (diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, high cholesterol, Thyroid hormone imbalances) and medications used (which may cause dryness)
Since your salivary glands were affected, I would aim my plan of treatment towards making your respiratory tract more moist and to loosen the secretions.
This can be done in the following ways:
- steam inhalations every 3-4 hours. To include your nose and mouth (you will need to protect your eyes by placing wet and squeezed cotton over them while doing this)
Use plain saline sprays after this to loosen secretions or dislodge blocked secretions.
Blow your nose gently, one at a time
- close the windows or turn off the exhaust in your bathroom. Run hot water for a about 20 minutes. Steam up the bathroom and then stay in for half hour. Time consuming but it help with relieving these secretions. Do this once day.
-use humidifiers (but not too long). The heat can dry your mucous membranes as well.
-garlic is a natural Mucolytic. Two medium sized pods twice a day. Saute them is a little oil or boil them is some milk with a pinch of turmeric powder and drink up.
-fenugreek seeds, either soaked in water over night or as sprouts. Have half a teaspoonful twice a day.
-most important have warm or body temperature water. About 3 liters a day, frequently throughout the day.
-avoid too much caffeine, sugary & carbonated drinks/ Salty, spicy, oily & fried foods. These can dry up the secretions.
-antihistamines, used for cold, sinuses also dry up secretions. Avoid them.
If you do get a cold, sinusitis or lung infection, mucus production will be more. Taking Mucolytic drugs to help with clearing them out from when it begins will help in quicker resolution, instead of waiting till it is too much and too thick.
I suggest you consult your doctor to rule out lingering sinus infections or mechanical obstruction for drainage.
Please try the above suggestions. I know it works and I sincerely hope it will help you too.
Kindly let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.
If not, please close this discussion and rate my answer.
Wish you good health
Regards,
Dr. Shuba Hariprasad
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Arnab Banerjee
Answered by
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