I am not a doctor, but I have played one on TV. So once again, please consult a doctor before starting any new treatment routines. If your doctor keeps pushing pharmaceuticals to treat the thick ropy phlegm, you might want to have a sit down with your doctor and see if they are open to your approach. Take a few peer reviewed articles with you to see if that helps. Yes, allergies could also be a main cause with the thick ropy phlegm. There are many factors that could cause this, and each of us will have a different approach. You could, if you are not already seeing a ENT ask a ENT. For me, the nebulizer (3% saline with 500 mg reduced glutathione) has been spoton. I had to convince the doctor, fight with medicare(declined to listen), then present my case to my secondary insurance case nurse to get a approval for just the nebulizer to be available for me to purchase under a script. This is all because (post nasal drip) is not on the approval coding for DME. The saline was not an issue, and was processed without a challenge. A reminder about misting, vaporizing and nebulizing saline as they are all messy (leaves a dusty salty residue) on everything. These devices should be cleaned after each and every use, if not could lead to more and worse health issues. Prayers for everyone, and hopefully we all can be made better.