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Excessive phlegm or Saliva after Eating/Drinking

I am a 23 year old and I have had excessive phlegm or saliva every time after I eat or drink anything from the time I was about 10-11 years old. It always causes me to produce a "wet" cough (just one) after I eat or drink anything to clear my throat and then several times of just clearing my throat without coughing for roughly 30 minutes. There is no stopping the cough unless I want to choke on the mucus. The excessive mucus affects my voice as well and is really annoying and extremely embarrassing. Everyone always thinks I have some kind of horrible cold if I eat around them, which makes me not want to. I have never met anyone else with this going on with them so I don't know where to begin to seek help. I don't have heartburn, I don't smoke, I don't work around harsh chemicals all day, I've lived in 3 different states (WA, FL, NM) in many different cities in the suburbs and urban areas and no matter where I have lived the problem remains which makes me think it's not environmentally related or climate related. Does anyone out there suffer from this and know what it is and how it can be treated if that is even possible?


This discussion is related to Excessive coughing/mucus after eating.
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Avatar universal
I absolutely have to agree with you on this. Phlegm and mucus can be formed by candida overgrowth (bad gut bacteria). Also look to see if you have a scalloped tongue - if so, this means your body is not absorbing nutrients.

In order to control candida overgrowth, you need to start with a cleanse. You can buy kits for this at health food stores. It involves not eating any sugars (fruit included), no alcohol and no caffeine for a few weeks. Apparently the sugar in these things is what the candida (bad bacteria) feeds on, so you are basically starving it out of your system with the cleanse.

Once you complete your cleanse, you need to reintroduce flora (good bacteria) into your gut. This is done by taking a strong probiotic - the ones you get in the refrigerated section of health food stores and Whole Foods work the best.

For maintenance, drastically cut down your sugar intake and continue to take the probiotic.

Trust me, it really does help.
Helpful - 1
1 Comments
Hi Dana, can you recommend a procedure how I should go with the cleanse?
Avatar universal
Hello. I have the same problem for many years. I've discover that this slime likes sweet. It comes out from every mucous membranes, also from chicks and tongue. It also cause swelling of whole body. I suppose it is bacterial infection or fungus. But the best news is that I found a natural solution of this problem. Try to rinse your mouth with liquid honey. This mucus is going out to honey and you can spit it out. It took me three days and nights and about 4 liters of honey to spit out all of it. During this time I ate almost nothing and drinked lot of water. I felt like a god after this. Also very good results gives aplying garlic on whole skin (be careful with face and espesially with eyes). Also good are garlic enemas. Garlic removes swelling of body and maces this slime going out to honey even more! During this treatment I felt mucous is moving in my body just to meet with the honey in my mouth.
I wish you good health and luck!
Shaman
Helpful - 1
1 Comments
Will you please elaborate a little bit more on how exactly to use honey and fight this sick-ness? I have tried an infinite number of remedies, but nothing actually worked to get the mucus in my throat up and out! I'd be really happy if you help me figure out a way. Thanks in anticipation :)
Avatar universal
Try digestive enzymes. My pharmacist suggested it after I complained about all of the meds the "professionals" keep prescribing. The enzymes worked for me. The one I have is Betaine HCL Caps with pepsin by Twinlab.
Helpful - 1
1 Comments
Something other people suggest is D-limonene. It allegedly prevents acid from burning your esophagus while keeping your stomach acid levels normal, unlike antacids. I'm trying those once I can find them.
Avatar universal
hi i have  the same issues as everyone else and i have tried all known western medicine. i have started trying chinese medicine and it has helped. if anyone would want to know what herbs to take , u can message me.  there are also exercises you can do to help also.  I can also explain it to you from a chinese medicine perspective if you would like.  

I've struggled with this for years and i can finally have some relief!!
Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
i have heard a certain type of tea helps a lot with this . and i know a gallon of water a day defiantly helps. Chamomile Tea
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Avatar universal
I have same problm .tel me better treatment option plz
Regards
Rizwan ramay
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Avatar universal
Colloidal Silver. 1-2 caps a day until you know its gone. The good thing about Colloidal silver is, if you stop taking it early, the infection won't mutate. So if it comes back, just go longer than the first time until its completely gone. Then you can stop taking silver.
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Avatar universal
I am 23yrs old please inform me if you find an answer..
Thank you
Saha
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Avatar universal
I've had this since I was 18 when I ent to college and first developed allergies to environmental irritants. I've had sinus issues as well ever since. Changed my diet many times over 30 years: elimimated most dairy, sugar, spices, etc, but still have this mucus and coughing and sometimes runny nose, every time I eat. I believe it is due to over-stimulation of the nasal passages/sinuses causing post nasal drip causimg the coughing while eating/chewing. Anyway, since preventing this for me has proven impossible, what I ended up doing to stop the coughing and mucus is simply blow my nose when it occurs. It stops pretty much immediately. Without a kleenex or paper napkin handy at all times,I'm a big mess.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Do gargling with salt water 3 times before you go to bed
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Avatar universal
I've noticed that whenever I drink ice water with food I have excessive phlegm after I eat. With warm water I rarely have any issues.  Might be something to try.
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Avatar universal
I have this same issue as far back as I can recall. I have not asked a doctor about this, most likely because I never remember to ask as the "issue" is only present immediately after eating.

I figured it was an annoying habit I picked up from my father, but now I suspect that, in my case at least, it's related to the presence of "esophageal webs". This is my thinking because I feel like some food becomes stuck somewhere in my lower throat. Sometimes this is definitive in that I'm able to dislodge it, and other times it's just a perception (feels like very small or trace amounts and then goes away after a while).  But I ALWAYS have to clear my throat a lot after eating.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I too suffer from excessive phlegm and wet coughing after eating. This has been going on for about a year now. I am curious - has anyone else experienced having an issue with eating nuts? I find that any time I eat nuts of any kind my skin breaks out in red blemishes that last for about 24 hours. The bumps aren't hives - they're more like painful pimples. The reason I ask is that many of those that have posted here have indicated having an issue coughing after eating fats and I've suspected that my issue with nuts is actually a problem with inflammation and digesting fats.  During the past year I've also had the severity of my other allergies (mostly environmental) increase ... suspecting a congested liver is at least in part the culprit.
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Avatar universal
I read that eating the same food choices repeatedly can also make that worse, because it is a respiratory plus digestion inflammatory response and the likelihood of it happening increases when you don't have a lot of variety in your diet. For instance, instead of always having a boiled egg and toast for breakfast, mix it up so you have a variety of different food items for breakfast alternating days. Do the same for lunch choices and dinner choices. If choices are limited, alternate at least every other day or every third day so you're not eating the same choices within 48 hours repeatedly. I read somewhere that this is a great plan if the elimination diet has not identified any obvious problem with you. I personally think that unnatural food additives preservatives and pesticides in produce can also be a cause. When we grew up eating fresh fruits and vegetables, and more fresh local and home grown sources of protein like fish, poultry, beef, no one ever seemed to have the chronic acid reflux and excessive mucus and respiratory reactions with eating.
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Avatar universal
I have always had to deal with a lot of phlegm throughout my entire life. When I was a baby, I could not digest milk. It took me until I was a teenager to stop eating dairy products and that helped for awhile. In my 40s, I started suffering the same distended stomach that so many other posters have mentioned, so I tried to cut out all sorts of foods. I now rarely eat dairy, have gone gluten-free and eat a largely paleo diet.

For a few years that helped with the phlegm but not the distended stomach. Sometimes it sticks out so much that people think I'm pregnant. But recently, the phlegm has returned and I have a wet cough after every meal. No doctors have been able to help me.

I think that the way food is genetically modified and farmed is at the heart of the problem and all of us sufferers are the canaries in the coalmine to alert everyone else to a huge problem that will soon affect everyone.
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1 Comments
sometimes the problem is low stomach acid which makes it hard to break down proteins. The food stays longer couses mucus. Ask your doctor for an acidity level check
Avatar universal
Hi I have had this problem going on for a few months now.. Seems like everytime I eat, basically no matter what I eat I start to cough after about 5 minutes of being done.. I cough and clear my throat to get the feeling of mucus in the throat out but nothing really ever comes up..
Sometimes I will get it during the day for no reason but that doesn't happen too often. I don't go out to eat anymore because I don't like having these attacks in from of people because it is embarassing and unpleasant. I have a bad gag reflex (gag a lot even just after getting a throat swap for strep) and when these coughing attacks occur I cough and clear so much that I start to gag a little and in my more serious attacks I gag a lot and in a sense dry heave and retch.
I am hoping someone out there can tell me what I can do to stop this!
And I have lost weight because I have recently been afraid to eat and when I do I only eat very small amounts because of the fear of having these coughing attacks
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Avatar universal
Hi Gary,

I read your post about using Chinese medicine and exercise to help get rid of the mucus  production after eating a meal. Could you please give me the formula for the chinese medicine herbs?
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Avatar universal
Hi Gary,

I read your post about using Chinese medicine and exercise to help get rid of the mucus  production after eating a meal. Could you please give me the formula for the chinese medicine herbs?

My email is ***@****

Thank you,

Kara
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Avatar universal
BETAINE HYDROCHLORIDE WORKS!
I've had some minor ulcer irritations in the past...otherwise healthy. Out of the blue I developed a "wet cough"....which seem to strike after each meal. Immediately after eating I would cough up a mouthful of mucous/phlegm that was both disgusting and embarrassing! No matter what I ate...healthy meal or unhealthy meal. My wife and I were baffled. I found this thread after days of Google research and tried a few different things...I eventually bought digestive enzyme tablets that contained Betaine Hydrochloride and the after-meal mucous cough-ups ARE GONE!!!! Its been 3 weeks since my last cough-up. Go get it! Try it! It does work!
Thank you Merrimac53 and PortlandMDX!!!
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Avatar universal
I take mucinex after meals if I start getting phlegmy. It has worked every time. I keep a bottle in my purse and take it with a full glass of water. I am a healthy 53 year old female not overweight and excercise three times a week. I suffered for many years with constant coughing. Now that I recognize that the cough is from phlegm and take a mucinex it is such a relief. Mucinex - generic at dollar tree is the least expensive. Hope this helps somone!
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2 Comments
Hi, I think your remedy may help me as I have been battling this mucus cough for 5 years.
Is there any special brand of Betaine Hydrochloride tablets that you got or do you think the NOW brand that pops up when I searched Amazon will do the job.
I'm anxious to try but want to make sure I get the right cure!
TwinLabs
Avatar universal
Get tested for H_Pylori  ....if you have it, take the antibiotic prescribed by your doctor and when done go back to the doctor & get tested again....it is sometimes very hard to get rid of.   Also, take a probotic everyday and I also drink 2 cups of 100% sugar free blend of Cranberry Juice daily  Has been very helpful.
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Avatar universal
H7W
I’ve suffered with excess phlegm after eating for about 14 years now. It started at the age of about 12 / 13 and has always been the worst right after breakfast. At around 12 / 13 I’d notice I would sneeze after breakfast and have to blow my nose once or twice. As time went on, this developed into excess phlegm in the nose and throat which, for years, has resulted in coughing, a runny nose and sneezing to try and clear it (which I have to stifle until I can blow my nose and relieve some of the congestion). I’ll also cough for about half an hour after eating breakfast to try and clear the phlegm in my throat. At lunch, it is slightly less of a problem but I will still get the sniffles and cough a lot. People will often ask if I have a cold! This then leads to me either brushing it off with a short answer or trying to explain my phlegm situation which usually results in some odd / disgusted looks (yes, person-who-doesn’t-cough-after-eating, I do realise this makes it sound like I am allergic to all food but honestly I’m not)!  I was even tested for allergies to milk and dairy a couple of times. Tests always came back negative.

I find the worst offenders are milk and hot meals (having porridge in the winter has often resulted in some of the worst episodes of phlegm). But this isn’t just a food-related issue. My Dad has post-nasal drip (possibly caused from when he used to smoke, possibly hereditary) and was always coughing and blowing his nose to clear excess phlegm.

However, I HAVE FOUND SOMETHING THAT WORKS!
I’ve always been interested in how some foods, particularly natural remedies and ingredients can often be just as effective at relieving symptoms as over the counter drugs. Hear me out…
A while back, I stumbled across a home-remedy for cough syrup:

PURE PINEAPPLE JUICE (1 cup or however much you need) – known to be 5x more effective than cough syrup
TURMERIC (about a teaspoon) – an effective anti-inflammatory
HONEY (to taste) – has some anti-bacterial properties

I didn’t have a cold at the time, so forgot about this combination for a while. Then I came across that interesting fact somewhere else on the Internet – pure pineapple juice is 5x more effective than cough syrup.

So I thought I would give it a try. I went to my local supermarket and bought a carton of 100% pure pineapple juice and had a small glass the next morning with breakfast… THE RESULTS WERE AMAZING! Hardly any sneezing, very little phlegm and no coughing!

Only a few weeks ago, my parents came across the nifty factoid that turmeric is an anti-inflammatory and have been mixing it into milk or hot water to drink. MY DAD HARDLY COUGHS AT ALL NOW! I’ve also started taking turmeric in the mornings with my meal and right after and have had NO SINUS INFLIMATION, PHLEGM OR COUGHING!

I am so pleased that this has worked for me after years of suffering with excess phlegm that I thought I would have to deal with for the rest of my life. I really wanted to share this with fellow phlegm-sufferers in the hope that it will help relieve your symptoms too. (I would just mention here that this may not work for everyone, but it’s definitely worth a try!)

Now the only problem is, how do I bring a spice jar full of turmeric into work without arousing suspicion? :D
Helpful - 0
14287919 tn?1434470794
Hi,
I experience the same thing. I'm a healthy 15 year old with an average (19.7) BMI. The mucous in throat is so thick I have to "hack" it up and it feels like it fills my upper throat (behind the uvula). It's often greenish yellow. My doctor said I might need a surgery to repair my nose (which he said something about having too small sides or premature growth) Anyways, I don't smoke, so possibly it could be nonallergy rhinitis? :I Tell me if you discovered anything!!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have suffered with all the above symptoms. I have had some relief after trying to be strict with no gluten and no dairy.

Even though I have advanced degrees, I don't need a thousand "scientific Pub Med" studies to confirm what my guts are telling me.

Two months after my surgery, my renown surgeon said ooops and we'd have to think outside the box.Or you're in the 5% that this surgery doesn't help.

Food allergies -gluten intolerance, lactose intolerance,no dairy.

I like, love,and need to eat. This can be more of an obsession with food than anorexia  

Nobody wants to sit next to someone who constantly coughs and spits up mucus. Are you alright? Have you seen a real Doctor? Are you contagious?Is there anything we can do to help? Special food?

I need to quit but is there anyone out there?
Helpful - 0
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