What Is Excess Mucus in the Throat?
You can feel gross when your body generates so much mucus that you cough up the sticky, thick goo. However, mucus is essential for good health. Your throat mucus consists of antibodies and enzymes that shield you from harmful organisms or particles that may cause illness. It signifies that your body is healing when you cough up mucus.
Fortunately, there are effective treatments for excessive mucus production. The right treatment depends on knowing why your body produces too much mucus in your throat. While home remedies can be effective in some cases, prescription and over-the-counter medications may be necessary when an underlying illness causes mucus in the throat.
What Is Mucus and Why Does Your Body Produce It?
Mucus may be green, yellow, beige, clear, red, or black when coughing, sneezing or spitting. You can tell what's wrong with you by the colour, amount, and texture of your mucus, as well as how your body responds to illness. The membranes in the nose and sinuses produce mucus.
Antibodies and enzymes in it prevent harmful bacteria, viruses, and allergens from entering the body. As a line of defence, it acts as a barrier between your body and harmful antigens. The mouth, nose, throat, and lungs are lined with respiratory mucus. Mucus is also produced in other body organs, such as the cervix, digestive tract, and urinary tract.
Symptoms of Excess Mucus in the Throat
The following symptoms often accompany mucus production:
- Chest congestion
- Runny nose
- Sinus headache
- Sore throat
- Wheezing
- Cough
- Nasal congestion
- Restlessness and trouble sleeping.
What Causes Too Much Mucus in Your Throat?
Various illnesses, including bacterial infections, viral infections, allergies, and lung diseases, can cause an overproduction of mucus.
Acid Reflux
During acid reflux, stomach acid travels up your esophagus and sits at the back of your throat.
Postnasal drip is caused by acid reflux irritating the throat and causing an excess of mucus to be produced in the throat and nasal passages.
Allergies
Aside from itchy eyes, allergies can cause sneezing, wheezing, congestion, chest tightness, runny noses, and coughing. You produce mucus to help expel an irritant when you have an allergic sensitivity to a food or something in the environment, such as dust, pollen, or dander.
Asthma
Asthma symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain, chest tightness, and coughing. It is possible for coughing to be dry or wet with phlegm.
Your airways become inflamed if wet with white or clear mucus. You may need medical attention if you cough up thick phlegm regularly.
Infections
Extra mucus can be produced by bacterial and viral diseases such as influenza, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Mucus may be green or yellow. It is a sign that blood has mixed with mucus when you cough or blow red mucus. You may have irritated the tissue lining of your nose or throat by wiping, rubbing, coughing, or blowing too much.
Lung Diseases
A host of lung diseases can lead to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). As a result of long-term exposure to substances that irritate the lungs, such as cigarette smoke, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema, fall under COPD. Asthmatics can develop COPD in some cases.
Dehydration
As your body becomes dehydrated, mucus may thicken, and cilia, which line many internal organs, have difficulty pushing it through your body, causing it to feel stuck and making coughing difficult.
Dry Environment
Dehydration can result from air conditioning, central heating, or an extremely dry climate.
The cold or dry air can aggravate the nasal passages, producing thick mucus.
Caffeine And Alcohol Consumption
Caffeine in coffee, black tea, and energy drinks can contribute to dehydration, which can thicken mucus produced by nasal and respiratory cells.
Heavy alcohol consumption can damage the mucociliary transport system, which removes mucus from respiratory passages. Your body will have trouble regulating mucus production if it is damaged.
Smoking
Smoke from tobacco can irritate the lungs and cause chest pain, wheezing, and coughing.
COPD, heart attacks, strokes, and death can result from long-term exposure.
Home Remedies to Get Rid of Mucus In Throat
When you're producing a lot of mucus, you can try various effective home remedies.
In addition to OTC and prescription medications, you can try the following home remedies to treat the underlying cause:
Chicken soup: decreases inflammation associated with sinus congestion and colds, according to a study conducted in 2000. It is thought that chicken soup decreases mucus production by preventing neutrophil migration, resulting in an anti-inflammatory response.
Drink plenty of fluids: Water, diluted juices, decaffeinated teas, soups, and lemon water can refresh you and loosen congestion.
Gargle warm salt water: It relieves sore throats and breaks up phlegm.
Avoid excess dairy: A high dairy intake can increase mucus production when battling phlegm due to illness.
Consume lemon, ginger, and garlic: According to a 2018 survey, lemon, ginger, and garlic can help treat colds, coughs, and excess mucus.
Maintain a warm body temperature to aid your body in fighting illness: You can stay warm by sipping hot liquids, taking hot showers, wrapping yourself in a blanket, and layering your clothes.
A humidifier can bring humidity to the air and lower clear congestion and phlegm: Humidifiers with air purifiers can eliminate irritants that may be causing excessive mucus production.
Best Medications for Treating Excess Mucus
Over-the-counter (OTC) options can relieve symptoms such as a stuffy nose, cough, and chest congestion, depending on what is causing excess mucus production. Medications may be necessary when chronic illnesses such as cystic fibrosis or COPD cause excess mucus production.
OTC Medicines
- A runny nose, itchy throat, and chest congestion caused by an irritant in your environment can be treated with OTC antihistamines in sedating and non-sedating options. You can use them to dry up your nose and clear your airways. Drowsiness is caused by sedating antihistamines. While taking them, avoid operating heavy machinery and drinking alcohol.
- Nasal sprays (like Flonase or Afrin) or oral decongestants (like Sudafed) may be prescribed for a stuffy nose. Nasal sprays like Afrin or oxymetazoline should be taken for a maximum of a few hours as they can cause rebound congestion. Flonase is a nasal corticosteroid spray used daily to reduce nasal inflammation. ). Decongestants work by constricting your blood vessels, allowing you to breathe easier. High blood pressure patients should avoid oral decongestants containing pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine.
- Expectorants: Guaifenesin (Mucinex) thins mucus, making coughing easier.
- The use of suppressants reduces the amount of coughing and clearing of the throat. As a result, they coat the throat and soothe irritation.
Prescription Medications
Excess mucus production can indicate a more serious health condition, such as chronic lung disease or cystic fibrosis. Your healthcare provider may prescribe stronger medications to help you eliminate mucus.
Among these medications are:
Dornase-Alfa (Pulmozyme): is a mucus-thinning medication used to treat cystic fibrosis. It can be inhaled through a nebuliser and is suitable for children aged six and up. You can cough up sputum and clear your lungs with Dornase-Alfa.
Hypertonic Saline: Inhaled through a nebuliser, hypertonic saline attracts water into the airways, thins mucus, and stimulates coughing. Some saline solutions are over-the-counter, but this one is only available on prescription.
When to See a Doctor for Excess Mucus
If home remedies and OTC medications haven't worked, consult a doctor. A serious underlying health condition can cause excessive mucus production in some cases.
You should seek medical attention immediately if you suffer from one or more of the following signs:
- Coughing for more than two weeks
- Bloody cough
- Bloody mucus or foul-smelling mucus
- Fever of 101 F (38 C) or higher regularly
- Breathing difficulties or shortness of breath
- Feelings of illness spreading throughout your body
A lot of mucus in the throat can be your body's way of informing you that it is battling a viral or bacterial infection. A doctor may prescribe medicine and conduct a physical examination.
How Mobi Doctor Can Help
Mobi Doctor offers online urgent care. In minutes, you can check your symptoms, research conditions and treatments, and text a healthcare provider if needed.
Mobi Doctor is a virtual clinic that provides online consultations and 24/7 support for people with health problems. You can talk to our experts about any health problem, whether an infection, an injury, or a mental health issue. We offer tailored advice and support from our team of doctors and experts.
