Continued Post-Nasal Drip and Constant Mucus in Throat

Here it is May and still having issues with post nasal drip. Anyone have any thoughts on if this will go away? Allergy pills don’t work, Flonase doesn’t work. Doc still seems to think it’s due to COVID

It doesn’t sound like allergies.. I’m having the same issues and I’ve been taking Sudafed a nasal decongestant every 6 hours and it’s been helping a lot.

I was diagnosed by my ENT physician with chronic Neurogenic Cough, Throat Clear. I’m on a 3 month treatment plan with a steroid injection, low dose of Tramadol when needed, Omeprazole (for silent reflux), Iodoral (Iodine & Potassium supplement) and a probiotic. It’s only been 4 days and I’m finding relief from the spastic cough, post nasal drip and mucus. It had been lingering for 4 months.

I’ve had throat clearing & mucus issues for years but Covid made it twice as productive & extremely frustrating!
When mucus is really bad, I use guaifenesin to thin it which makes it a little more manageable. I also gargle/spit frequently (especially after eating) which has made a difference.
But, yes, the mucus is very annoying.

The only decongestant that works for me is the original Sudafed. I buy the generic pseudophendrine hydrochloride that is sold at the pharmacy window. Nothing else seems to work including the steroid nasal sprays.

Have you tried nasal rinses? That was the absolute saving grace for me. A common brand has a YouTube video that demonstrates how to safely use theirs, and it comes with complete written instructions inside the box. I had to get desperate enough to try it out, but desperate I was, and it worked! My congestion problem had developed during the onset of the pandemic when COVID testing was hard to come by. Thank God for nasal rinses. I consider them essential in emergency supply kits now.

See my earlier post. I had the same issue since January. ENT Dx: Chronic Neurogenic Cough / Throat Clear. After 1 week of treatments it’s gone. It was 4 months of agony with the mucus and constant cough.

Here are a few thoughts, understanding that I am not a medical worker and your personal health might require that you not take any of these actions without consulting with a doctor first. My focus is on removing irritants from your environment and protecting your nasal passages from blowing air and dehydration. However, your issue may not be due to irritants so this may not apply to you.

If this has occurred primarily when in contact with allergens (pets, dust mites, mold, etc. inside, foods you may be allergic to, or pollen and other outdoor allergens or allergens from your car, for example), ask your doctor about the advisability of using Flonase twice a day. It's important to ask in case it may interact with other things you are taking or otherwise not be best for you.

Wearing a clean, well-sealed disposable surgical or N95 mask might reduce symptoms if they are due to allergens or nasal irritants. Also, consider an adequate HEPA filter air cleaner where you spend most of your time, either in your HVAC system or freestanding. Size and quality make a difference. However, if your home, car, or office, wherever you spend your time indoors, is not very well cleaned, especially with clutter, carpets, or fabric upholstery, it may be difficult for an air cleaner or HVAC filter to keep up with all the allergens in the air. Using a HEPA filter allergy vacuum would be important versus a typical vacuum as typical vacuum cleaners can kick a lot of allergens into the air while a really good HEPA well-sealed, powerful allergy vacuum removes and contains the allergens. A key to success is cleaning and/or changing the filters (all of them) regularly and according to instructions. A friend used to have his granddaughter vacuum his house weekly. However, he nearly never cleaned the two filters in his very expensive vacuum. Therefore, the vacuum sucked up very little and his carpets were extremely dirty and full of cat hair. Once I pushed him to remove and clean the filters, that same vacuum removed massive amounts of cat hair, dirt, and who knows what else.

If your postnatal drip is due to allergies or irritation from something in the air, you might need to also use preservative-free individually packaged eye drops to rinse and moisturize your eyes. Wash hands well first to avoid getting anything into your eyes including COVID if it's on your hands from things that were exposed.

Chemical contamination can also cause postnatal drip. If that's the issue and not allergies, fresh air brought in with open windows while exhaust fans are running in the house or with window fans forcing air out, combined with removing contaminated items from the house or very deeply cleaning them can make all the difference. Understand that if you have chemical irritants in your home, they may have saturated all the fabrics, carpet, pillows, uphostered furniture, paper and cardboard items, foam items, and even plastics. So, deeply clean, using the most nontoxic cleaners you can find. I'll leave instructions on that up to you to find on the internet. Know that it can take a long time to remove toxic chemicals from your indoor environment, but warm weather makes it much easier. The best thing to do is to physically remove all the contaminated items possible, deeply clean the carpets or, better yet, remove them, and deeply clean all the other items before putting them back inside. It may be impractical to remove everything, but the more you remove, the faster you can have clean air inside. Some things will have to be aired inside, but the fewer contaminated items you have inside, the faster those things will be less contaminated. Try to throw out things like cardboard boxes, papers you don't need, and food that is contaminated (unsealed packages of flour, tea, etc.). For things you never use, like clothing that you don't wear, wash it in hot water and donate it if that gets it clean enough to ethically pass it on. Wash your own things as well as you can and wait to put them back in your home so that they don't get recontaminated. Area rugs can be aired out outside after a very thorough vacuuming with a HEPA allergy vacuum and possibly professionally cleaned with nontoxic cleaners if you can access that or, if safe for them, cleaned outdoors. You may have dust and other contamination in your HVAC system or in wall units and so clean what you can as well as you can understanding that cleaning ductwork might just disturb it enough to send more contaminants into your living spaces.

The takeaway is to remove as many irritants from your environment as possible, avoiding replacing them with chemical irritants from cleaners.

Also, moisten your breathing passages with steamy baths and showers, hot soup and drinks (not too hot as you can breathe in the steam while you let the liquid cool some), and so on. Avoiding blowing air and/or wearing a mask when exposed to it can also help your mucous membranes heal. Drink plenty of water to help your body keep hydrated.

Hope this helps!

I have had to deal with the constant mucus and drainage since November 2020. I have two high quality air purifiers, one on each end of my carpet free, fabric free furniture, no drapes, house. As I previously posted I’ve tried so many things…some seem to help temporarily but the bottom line is nothing has
“cured” it. I work at trying not to blow my nose constantly by letting everything drain down my throat, which I try, try not to clear/cough nonstop. One thing that helps me (which I forgot to put in my previous post…brain fog, another lovely
gift, one of many from Covid!) is using Arm & Hammer Simply Saline 3-5 times minimum per day more when necessary, as it’s non-addicting. It helps me clear the mucus, dust, pollen’s etc… I encounter daily. It has a great delivery system that does not allow anything to flow back into the nozzle and contaminate the container. I have encountered that issue with other nasal sprays.
This nasal spray, for me is definitely worth using, I hope anyone else dealing with this issue will at least try it for several weeks, not a cure but a great “weapon” in our arsenal as we try to win this ongoing battle!
Hang tough, never quit trying to overcome all the challenges Covid has left some of us
with. We are trying to regain any semblance of our former selves and I know we are worth the work it’s going to take…be good to you. Prayers, hugs and smiles to all.

Lol I forgot (imagine that!) to add that I try to start each day with 8 ounces of water, then I have either green tea (the kind with caffeine because heaven knows the extreme fatigue is always present) or I squeeze the juice of one lemon (organic if you can find them) with honey and hot water. Both beverages help thin the mucus in my throat.
At night I sometimes have more green tea, (minus the caffeine) and soak in as warm/hot water I can tolerate with Epsom salt for 20 minutes, letting the bathroom steam up. This serves a dual purpose, it seems to help with the drainage & mucus issue and promotes sleep which is another major problem. Hope this helps you too. Also try to find a good ENT that’s not surgery/procedure only oriented. Mine is terrific, I have had Balloon Dilation pre-Covid, which helped then and continues to help now.
Fingers crossed all will find some degree of relief soon!