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Ear, Nose and Throat  (Expert Forum)
 | 
Nodule Diagnosis, but I think its a mucous problem
Answered by
Eric Genden, MD - Ear, Otolaryngology, nose, throat
The Mount Sinai Medical Center New York - NY
Questions posted in the Ear, Nose and Throat Forum are answered by medical professionals from The Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Nodule Diagnosis, but I think its a mucous problem

by uniqueflower, Jun 09, 2008 07:14PM
Alright, so there's a bit of a story to all of this. I'll try to break it down into easy to follow pieces. Thanks so much for reading this. Any help is appreciated!

MY SYMPTOMS
I have soreness of throat and my voice will get tired after talking for a fair length of time. My throat seems to always have mucous in it.

PAST TREATMENT
I went through several sessions of voice therapy over a year ago. Through that process I learned many practices to help with nodules.

MY PRACTICES
I avoid caffeine and alcohol almost entirely. Only an occasional soft drink or beer. Since I was diagnosed with nodules I haven't been drinking caffeine or alcohol that much and I drink plenty of water. It has always been frustrating that I take such great care of my voice while others do not, and then I'm the one with the problems.

MY PROBLEMS (INSURANCE)
I was diagnosed while on my parents insurance. I graduated 6 months later and have not had insurance for about a year now. So far any attempt at getting insurance has been denied due to my diagnosis of nodules. E.N.T. visits are really expensive and I cannot afford them.

MY THOUGHTS
After doing over a year of voice practices, not drinking alcohol/caffeine, and drinking loads of water, my voice has seen little to no improvement. During my voice therapy sessions, we always noticed white mucous on my vocal chords whenever I'd get the camera down my throat. I feel a constant excess of mucous in my throat and I believe that the mucous problem is what needs to be fixed, and once that is fixed... the nodules will work themselves out. I also learned during voice therapy that most people with nodules will notice the throat will feel worse after eating. I personally felt way better after eating. I believe this was because the process of eating would dislodge some of the mucous.

WHAT I NEED
I'm hoping that someone here can recommend some practices and some medicine (preferably OTC) that I could do/take to help get rid of this excessive mucous.

by Eric Genden, MD, Jun 10, 2008 05:40PM
The best option is to consider hydration (drink a lot of water) and Guafenasin. Ask your for it at your local drug store.  
Member Comments (2)

by uniqueflower, Jun 10, 2008 06:26PM
To: Dr Genden
Thanks for the advice Dr Genden.

I have a large bottle of Mucinex here at the house and I'm going to start trying to take it regularly. I'll try staying on this for a bit and see how it goes. I'm also going to look around and see if there are any alternatives to mucinex that may work better. Thanks again!
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