Every day I cough up what looks like a scab with ugly mucous and blood

My "vocal fold paresis" was caused by misdiagnosed insect-borne illness. It became late-state disseminated illness without early treatment. My laryngeal nerve was affected....one of many sequelae that were not understood - by me or the doctors I consulted - for a long time.
'Pacing myself,' by limiting conversations, especially when acoustics are not good, helps a lot. Thanks for asking.

You may also be interested in this related discussion:
- Breathing irregularities caused by vocal cord injury https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/breathing-irregularities-caused-by-vocal-cord-injury/

Wow!! Thank you so much!!!

I’ve may have made a connection. Seems as though when I stopped wearing a mask, my symptoms stopped. Today I had a mask on and it’s happening again. I do have a deviated septum that I will probably have surgery for. I’m just wondering if my nasal passages dry up when I’m wearing the mask. No idea, but food for thought.

Me too! Every two to three days. I've been to more than one ENT without an explanation. They form then break off and it feels like I'm choking then I spit it out and the cycle starts again.

I have learned that if you have a divit in your nasal passage where bits can collect, they will. As most nasal cavities have staph, a pool of infection grows and gets too large for the space & breaks off. There is no way to remedy the situation. The nasal wash can help, but not much. I have noticed that through the pandemic and with mask wearing I've been free from this twice weekly event for almost two years.

I've had that same problem for 12 years. My ENT put me on Steroid drops I put in a saline spray. No luck. Antibiotic cream. No luck. His student has that same problem. He says the blood vessel next to the septum is very very close to the surface and bleeds a minor amount. The next step is to cauterize it. That is still no guarantee.

Hi all, I just created an account so I can come back later and read through everything. 3-4 years ago I started getting drainage every few days that was difficult to swallow. I never had allergies so I figured it was that. It progressed to last year where I was having issues daily. At some point I realized I could see the mucus at the back of my throat: thick, white, rope-like. I get it periodically through the day now, normally a bit I’m the morning, maybe around 10, then around 2, then always around 5-6, then a couple times in the evening. Now it dries out into large circular clumps, sometimes yellow, or green, or bloody and I can feel it drying out then have to hack and snort until it dislodges and I feel it drop from my adenoids. Sometimes it’s just thick mucus and sometimes it’s dried like a scab. My ENT didn’t believe me about the drainage at first and claimed allergies or acid reflux. Tried treatment and testing for both. He then tried an antibiotic followed immediately by a CT scan. It cleared for a week or two and this the CT was clear. He finally saw it on a scope and saw that it was coming from my adenoids. “Crusted and weeping”. He was very concerned at this point. Tried another antibiotic and a steroid nasal rinse. Very mild relief. He tried to declare me healed when he didn’t see an active drainage event the next time. I kept pushing and insisted on a biopsy (he first suggested it then tried to convince me otherwise the day of the appointment). It showed tissue necrosis due to chronic inflammation and nothing else. No fungal, no viral, no bacterial, no malignancy. I tried prescription strength mucinex and it may or may not help? His suggestion is now adenoidectomy. I am 30, female, very mild allergies (according to testing), wide air passage, normal anatomy, non-smoker, rarely drink, not very active but eat fairly well (have to reduce carbs due to GI enzyme deficiency). 125 pounds, otherwise pretty healthy but history of chronic bronchitis after every cold (probably due to poor sleep hygiene and stress). Rare issues with asthma. Recently diagnosed with sleep apnea. Still have my tonsils, never had issues with them. I have some thyroid cysts/nodules but haven’t grown under observation for a few years. My adenoids are not enlarged, just inflamed.

It keeps progressively getting worse. I often can’t dislodge the mucus plug and end up gagging, dry heaving, coming super close to vomiting. I had to pull of the highway the other day because I couldn’t move my throat muscles without violently gagging. The mucus is incredibly thick and sticky so it sticks to my gag flexes.

I get married at the end of the month and will be spending the day swishing mouth wash to get rid of the mucus smell on my breath. Post wedding, I will select 1 of 2 doctors he recommended for a second opinion.

I work in a very small print shop internal to a business office and live in an 103 yo house but I think these problems first started at my old job and in my old apartment but I don’t want to rule out environmental factors either.

Hi jfvero, I posted last night when I ran across this thread and your posts were encouraging. Are you still having problems or doing your routine to prevent? Previously, my research led me to believe that I could have an infection that bounces back after antibiotics due to biofilm. I wasn’t sure how to disrupt the biofilm to the adenoid area so that’s great to hear about the j&j baby shampoo. Hopefully my next ENT can help me pair a new antibiotic with a biofilm treatment routine. Could you pass along the specialist’s info that you saw? I’m in Missouri but I don’t want to sit through another year of arguing the existence of a daily problem with someone who is afraid to admit they don’t know what’s going on.

Welcome, @momomouse. I applaud your persistence in searching for answers.
Does your ENT suspect adult adenoid hypertrophy, also known as enlarged adenoids? This unusual growth of the adenoids usually occurs in children under 5, but can happen to adults rarely. Will you have the adenoidectomy? Or wait for the second opinion?