Phylem in my throat

[jymme]

For years I have suffered with the Cold in my throat.  Most people can treat, head, chest and sinus cold, however, I can't find anything to treat the cold that's in my throat.  It was thought to be GERD, but treatment didn't remedy the cold in my throat.  I'm constantly clearing my throat, I can cough and clear but it's painful and makes my throat sore.  Sometimes it contains slight blood but not always. It's seem to having something stick in my throat, but I can cough up the something sometimes.

[National Jewish]

Postnasal drip is drainage from the nose and sinuses dripping down the back of the throat.  There could be several reasons for this drainage.  One is an allergic reaction to inhaling something.  A second reason is a non-allergic, non-infectious inflammation in the sinuses that can linger after a cold.  A third reason is chronic sinusitis.  Postnasal drip can cause a cough as a result of irritation of the throat and lungs.  The slight amounts of blood could also be from the irritation.  You may experience the postnasal drip as a constant feeling of phlegm stuck in your throat.  As long as you are not on a fluid restriction you should be drinking 6 to 8 8-ounce glasses of non-caffeine non-alcoholic fluid daily.  This will thin the phlegm so that it moves more easily.  Clearing your throat can irritate your throat and make it sore.  When you feel the need to clear your throat sip some water to clear the phlegm.  A nasal wash helps remove phlegm from the nose and sinuses.  This can temporarily reduce the postnasal drip and lessen your cough.  A prescription nasal steroid spray decreases swelling of the nose and phlegm production.  This may prevent the postnasal drip and cough.  To get the most help from a nasal steroid spray use it after doing a nasal wash.  A nasal steroid spray does not provide immediate relief of symptoms.  It may require several weeks of routine use to become effective.  Please read our Nasal Wash MedFact at http://www.nationaljewish.org/medfacts/nasal.html for more information about this technique.  Share this information with your doctor to see if you would benefit from this daily treatment.