Wake up in morning throat congested and fliuid in right ear

[michelle23]

I have been experiencing this for a couple of months and really need some advice. I wake up every morning with what feels like lots of phelgm in my throat, and since I sleep on my right side, there is some fluid that seems to build up in my right ear. Nothing ever comes out of my ear but when I lift my ear off the pillow there is a suctioning sound, and when I wiggle my finger in there I hear stuff. I also get a flutter felling in my ear sometimes. Whew...........My main concern is the phlegm/mucous in my throat. I take nasonex and prilosec (for suspected  GERD) but nothing seems to help. ANy suggestions on what this could be or what I can do?

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

You should get a chest xray and lung function testing to rule out asthma and also any lung involvement. Do you have any cough, wheeze, breathlessness, allergic symptoms , etc?

You should take oral antihistamine medications like cetrizine or loratadine and it will help with your symptoms. Also take steam inhalation and saline nasal drops several times a day.

Do you have symptoms of GERD?

The ear symptoms could be related to this only, but you could still get an ENT evaluation to rule out any otehr cause of the ear symptoms.

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

Regards.

[michelle23]

I definitely have post nasal drip and currently take nasonex. A ct scan oy sinuses revealed that I have a devisted septum. I sometimes wake up with a tight feeling in my chest. Could this be asthma maybe? Why would I get fluid in my right ear? Thanks for your attention to this matter.

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

Do you have any associated symptoms of cough, breathlessness, wheezing, post nasal drip, fever , etc?

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?

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/ ENT specialist because then you would need to get certain investigations done and would probably need steroid nasal sprays and a course of antibiotics.

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

Regards.