5 months of mucus production

[pugmum]

First of all let me state that I am taking my 4 year old pug to see another specialist next week. But in the meantime I was wondering if any of you might have ideas about what is going on.

Back in July he began having severe bouts of reverse sneezing, sneezing thick mucus (from opaque, to yellow, to greenish), and occasional gagging. He's seen 3 vets, taken amoxicillin and one other antibiotic that was apparently for resistant strains of respiratory issues. None of these helped. He has had two complete blood panels and chest x-rays. Nothing appeared to be amiss.

He has normal stools and urination, is not lethargic, appetite is normal and appears well otherwise. This morning he vomited mucus only as he hadn't eaten breakfast yet. This really concerns me because he has never vomited that I can recall. He still wanted breakfast so I gave him just a little soft food. He normally eats Hill's r/d. So far he has not vomited again. If it occurs again I will take him to the vet, but I'm in Mexico and the language barrier may make things challenging.

The mucus production is intermittent. Sometimes it's clogging his nose where he is obviously having trouble breathing and he sneezes this stuff out his nose. Sometimes it doesn't appear to be there at all. Other times it is in his chest only. I hear this when he breathes in and then maybe a few times a day he has a productive wet cough.

I'm very concerned. Any advice would be deeply appreciated.

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

It is possible that your Pug could have gotten a foreign body up his nose.  A foreign body(FB) such as a plant fiber, or other object can be breathed or snorted in and then become lodged in the nose.  The body tries to eliminate the FB by sneezing, and discharge, and other symptoms that you describe.  Finding the FB may require nasal and skull X-Rays, a nasal scope or even an MRI.  If a nasal foreign body is found it might have to be removed with a nasal scope or surgically.    

Another possibility is a fungal infection of the nasal passages, such as Aspergillosis, which can cause long term nasal and upper respiratory symptoms.  Fungal infections do not respond to antibiotics.  Anti-fungal medication must be used, sometimes long term to eliminate the fungal infection.

Pug's commonly have stenotic nares (very small nostrils) which can cause a mechanical inability of the body to clear the upper respiratory system, or FB and also make it difficult to breath; this may be a contributing factor for your pug.

If a cause cannot be found I think that your pug's nasal mucosa and upper respiratory system may require biopsies to find definitive cause.

[pugmum]

Thank you so much for your response. My pug was under anesthesia in late September for elongated palate resection. At the time, my vet informed me that she was going check to see if his nares should be enlarged. She decided against it telling me that they appeared okay. I wish now she had clipped them so that may have helped him clear this thing up. My pug had already started this intermittent mucus production for a couple months then. Of course when he went in for his surgery it was not apparent. This seems to happen whenever I take him to the vet! Anyways, I guess I'm now wondering if she took a good scope of the interior of his nasal passages or not. I am going to call and speak to her.

As for the fungal infection, what is normally prescribed to clear this up? You mentioned this treatment may be long-term and I'm wondering about the dosage/cost/side-effects. I'll research Aspergillosis and other possible fungal conditions but any more information around something like this would be helpful. Thanks again for your time.