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@selfhelper

I have been getting these sores for several years. For those that don't get them, they will not understand it. You cannot see where they attach, but they present as a painful and sometimes scratchy feelling in the nasopharynx. The "scab" becomes loose and I am able to cough it out. It generally looks exactly like a scab and bloody because it just detached from somewhere. It can be the size of a pencil eraser or a quarter. I have come to realize its onset is a result of some type of irritation like allergies or a common cold, and for some reason believe this mucosal area is always vulnerable to developing the sore and scab. I just had minor hand surgery and it flaired up from the use of an LMA.(I coughed up a scab the size of a quarter after two days of a sore, scratchy throat).It is like an ulcer. I have found the best treatment is to start using a NeliMed nasal irrigation with premade salt packets and distilled water. I do this twice a day for 7-10 days after the initial onset of sore throat symptoms. If the ulceration develops, it is usually a very small scab with treatment and there is significant temporary relief of the sore throat until the area is ultimately healed. I do wonder if laser treatment would work for something like this although any surgical treatment would be a last resort for me. I do worry though how this might affect me in my geriatric years. Would I be more vulnerable to pneumonia or other respiratory illness if the underlying condition is unknown to health care providers or that no treatment is done? I suppose antibiotics would work. I also wonder if there is any medication that can treat it like those that can treat ulcers of the stomach lining. On a side note, I also get the tonsil stones on a more regular basis, but those are not the same as what I have described here. I have had no ENT surgery to speak of. Would be nice to have more research available on this.

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Replies to "I have been getting these sores for several years. For those that don't get them, they..."

Hello, and thank you for your detailed post. This sounds exactly like what I get, and your theory as to the cause is very much what I have been concluding. The most important thing that you said was that unless others get these scab things and cough them up, they won't get it. True! In my case, I think dry air has something to do with it, because I get them MUCH more often in the winter, and rarely in the humid summertime, or when I am at the beach - which is VERY humid. Moisture seems to keep them from forming into a hard scab; and since I have been having A LOT of them lately - just about every other day, for a couple of weeks - and a LOT of thick, tenacious stringy mucus as postnasal sludge rather than clear drip - I am going to try a humidifier in my room tonight. I don't have any throat pain, but more of a scratchy throat feeling. I do clear my throat a lot, and have a good bit of postnasal drip which in these past few weeks is NOT clear, but rather yellow. (General throat congestion and throat clearing runs in my family, for whatever that may be worth.) When the scab comes loose and I cough it out, it's a bit of a relief. It does not really come UP from anywhere, it seems more from where upper throat (not visible) meets lower nasal area. When I KNOW it is there, I clear my throat and cough and try too hard to hock it out that I wind up irritating the area even more. Bit of a vicious cycle at the moment. As of today, I am drinking lots of water, planning to sleep with the humidifier, and try my best not to irritate anything, but just let it run it's course. It's a CRAZY thing, isn't it? Some pocket or ledge that collects mucus and hardens and then has to come out! Ugh. Looking forward to HUMID SUMMER. đŸ™‚