chest congestion

[liv4divn]

Hi,
I have seen my doctor, but to no avail.  Had a chest x-ray, said the words heaviness in the chest, so went for stress test, etc for the heart.  All is great.  What it feels like is the chronic post nasal drip I have has caused congestion in my upper chest.  However, the weird part is, I really have no cough, and the occasional cough has never brought anything up.  In the past, if my chest begins to feel this way, it is followed by the painful cough and coughing stuff up.  I would not call what I have sometimes as pain, it feels more like irritation.  When I am active, as well as when I drink a lot of water, it seems to be much better.  Sit in front of the tv and the next thing I know I have a glob sitting in my throat.  Any information would be grately appreciated.  Debbie

[trish2828]

Have you thought of anxiety?  I get a tightness in my chest when I get stressed.  Go on the anxiety blog.  I did the same thing and got every test done and that's what they thought it might be.

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

These symptoms could be due to sinusitis, rhinitis, asthma and in rare cases GERD.

Are you on any medications currently? Has a CT scan of your sinuses been done? Are you allergic to any specific substances? Have you had allergic reactions in the past? Do you have any associated symptoms of cough, breathlessness, wheezing, fever , etc?

You could take oral antihistamine medications like cetrizine or loratadine and see if it helps with your symptoms. Also take steam inhalation and saline nasal drops several times a day.

If your symptoms still persist, you should consult your doctor because then you would need to get certain investigations done and would probably need steroid nasal sprays and a course of antibiotics. You should also talk to your doctor about getting a sputum examination done, and a lung function test done if you have associated breathlessness or cough.

Let us know about any other doubts that you have and post us on how you are doing.

Regards.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

You seem to be having chronic cough. . Some common causes of chronic cough include asthma, allergic rhinitis, sinus problems (for example sinus infection),post nasal drip and esophageal reflux of stomach contents. . Infections such as bronchitis or pneumonia can also cause coughing. These infections can be caused by virus, bacteria or fungus.

In your case, as you are having constant post nasal drip, so you could be suffering from chronic sinusitis leading to cough. Diagnostic tests for sinus infections include tans illumination test,X-Ray sinuses and CT sinuses.Pls get yourself evaluated by an ENT specialist or a respiratory medicine specialist to find out the cause after thorough investigations.

Till that time take steam inhalation at home and avoid eating or drinking two hours prior to bed time. Take antacids and Prilosec for gastritis and raise the head of your bed about four inches with blocks. Suck cough lozenges or hard candy when episodes of cough comes. Drink extra fluids to help thin secretions and make them easier to cough up.

Hope I have provided you with sufficient information. In case you need any more then pls post us.