I've been coughing up phlegm for 6 years. How to make it stop?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I have been to many doctors about this over the last 6 years, I now turn to anonymous forum users whose medical credentials I can not verify.

I am a male in my late twenties.

I have suffered mild asthma all my life.

I have been coughing up phlegm for 6 years. It is white-ish in colour. I am unable to do much talking, or laughing, without some phlegm working it’s way up in to my throat, and then me needing to “clear” it with some coughing.

Sometimes the amount of phlegm I am producing at any given time goes up and down, but it never fully goes away.

I have been taking asthma Ventolin and Seretide for years. I recently upped the strength of my Seretide dose (under doctor’s instructions) to see if it would make a difference to the amount of phlegm I bring up. It did not.

I had a chest XRay last year to see if there was anything unusual showing, there was not.

One doctor told me that if I lived in a moudly dwelling, that could trigger my symptoms. I used to live in a moudly dwelling, but have now been living in a new, non-mouldy dwelling for almost a year. The symptoms persist.

After vigorous exercise, I usually bring up some chunky pieces of phlegm over the next day or two.

I am a non-smoker, and I don’t take drugs other than my prescription asthma medication.

I have a high caffeine diet. I eat a lot of meat. I eat a lot of saturated fats.

But I am not overweight, I have a stocky, athletic build.

Any ideas what could be causing my phlegm issues?

2

Since you have seen a number of medical professionals, I assume the phlegm was analyzed under a microscope. What was the outcome of that? Surely they must have been able to tell you what was making it white.

3

Allergies?

4

Have you just been checked by general practitioners or have you seen an allergy and asthma specialist as well? It could be allergies as kkrose suggested. Are you taking any medication for allergies? I’m not a doctor, but I would suggest seeing if you can get an MRI or whatever would allow looking more closely at your lungs.

5

Looking for Medical Opinions? Try IMHO. Moved from General Questions.

samclem, Moderator

6

Your symptoms sound very similar to what I’ve experienced for most of my life. I realized a few years ago that I wasn’t actually coughing up phlegm from my lungs. What was actually happening was that I had a post-nasal drip which would trickle down the back of my throat, causing me to cough or clear my throat all the time.

My number one cure for the post-nasal drip is using a Neti Pot. If I use it daily, my symptoms are dramatically reduced.

7

Do you eat dairy? My husband found that his overall phlegmminess went down when he cut back on dairy products.

8

Another vote for the nose. That was the determination for me by an allergist. So I use a prescription nasal spray and an inhaler for the asthma.

I also take generic Mucinex to loosen up the crap that manages to escape from my nose and wander down to my bronchial tubes.

A neti pot works beautifully.
~VOW

9

Thanks guys, I have a neti-pot on order from the local chemist. I’m cautiously optimistic that it could be my issue.

So thank you FloatyGimpy and VOW.

10

I have had problems with my respiratory system since my 20s that are almost identical to yours. I’m 53, and only (finally) started seeing a specialist in my late 40s. Turns out its a form of asthma called chronic cough variant asthma. Inhalers help quite a bit. Maybe ask your dr about it.

11

I’m not qualified to diagnose you, of course, but I can describe my own experiences. My excessive phlegm and mucus issues were the result of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) not accompanied by heartburn symptoms. Antacids and proton-pump inhibitors were absolutely no help. The only thing that worked was lifestyle changes: Smaller and more frequent meals, no lying down after meals, no eating for several hours before bedtime, a less fatty diet, and looser-fitting clothes. I was also advised to cut back on coffee at the same time, and I did (modestly), but I’m not convinced that was one of the things that helped.

12

Neti Pot looks unpleasant to use, but if it works for people, then that’s cool.

I recommend two things: 2X daily gargling with Listerine, and the Rx nasal spray already mentioned by others because of post nasal drip. The gargling really cleans out the deep throat gunk (no deep throat jokes, please, I’m being serious). You’d be amazed how much gunk collects in the back of your throat. Listerine, the amber original one, is “harsh” such that it almost feels like your tongue and throat are being scraped clean. Takes a while to get used to, but doing this 2X daily (AM, PM) for a month or two will really clean things up. I suggest you give that a try.

The nasal spray does help with the post nasal drip. I use Flonase. Your doc should be able to give you a prescription.

HTH, and good luck.

13

That was my thought as well. My summer allergies have been pretty awful lately and it leads to post nasal drip which in turn leads to coughing up phlegm.

14

Your problem is caused by chronic nasal drip. It nothing to do with asthma or your lungs. I heartily recommend nasal irrigation, it will clear you right out after few days of use. I do not use the neti-pot, I use this device while in the shower which does the same thing with much less fussing.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Waterpik-SinuSense-Pulsator/15126930

Turn it on and it injects the water into your sinus. It’s IMO much less of a PITA than the neti-pot. Just use warm (body temp) shower water and mix in a saline packet. It will clean you out!

Do it two or three times in a row if you really want to get the crap out.

One warning with all irrigation devices is that occasionally a small amount of water can get temporarily trapped in your upper nasal passages and will release later (30 minutes to an hour or so) when you bend over. This also happens to surfers. This can be embarrassing socially so don’t irritate right before going out on a date.

15

I have no idea what might be causing it, but I had a less severe bout of something similar one year, and my family made me drink alot of Yerba Santa tea, but I wanted to be even more pro active and ordered Fenugreek seed which is an herbal remedy for coughing from bronchitis with heavy phlegm.

I put the seeds through my coffee grinder and made gelatin capsules with ground fenugreek and took about 4 to 6 caps per day depending on how bad it was. Also, I put the ground seeds in a pot of boiling water and inhaled the steam from it.

16

If you do use a neti pot or other nasal irrigation device, always use boiled/distilled/filtered water and clean the device every time. Otherwise, there’s a chance of this happening: Deaths Of Neti Pot Users Prompts Tap-Water Warning : Shots - Health News : NPR

17

I had trouble with post nasal drip all my life. I started taking guaifenesin (generic Mucinex), and it made an amazing difference.

It’s a mucous thinner. It also seems to make my body produce less mucous. What is produced is thin and clear, and goes down my throat naturally, without irritation.

18

More praise for the Neti pot! Warm up the water to body temperature.

19

I’ll second that.

20

Use the neti pot in the shower. Just put the saline packet in the pot, then fill it up from the shower head and use it. Shower temperature is PERFECT for this purpose.

Gotta confess, though, I only use tap water straight from the tap when I’m on a municipal, chlorinated water system. At my AZ home where we have well water, I heat up bottled water in the microwave.
~VOW