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

Posted by needtoknow @needtoknow, Feb 10, 2016

Every day I cough up what looks like a scab with ugly mucous and tiny amounts of blood. It seems to come from the back of my throat or nose. My doctor has seen the scab but does not see anything wrong. This, to me, seems really odd. Has anyone had this problem?

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An Otolaryngologist is probably the one to ask about bothersome sinus problems. There is a possibility of nasal polyps. I had a hard time with allergies, nasal congestion and so on. Best thing I ever did was finally be seen by a good Otolaryngologist and help was on the way. Good luck.

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@reebobbin

Anything new? I still have not figured this out. But it’s getting worse. I use a q tip to scrape the back of my throat multiple times a day. I also use the q tip To try and drag down the green scab from the back of my throat bc it gets hung. I’ve taken a dental mirror and shined a light in the back of my throat with the mirror facing upwards, and it reveals what you cannot see just looking directly at it. There’s tons of green globs in that area above my throat. I’m calling a new ENT tomorrow. From the beginning, I’ve always thought this was staph. I had a breast augmentation done January 2016. Before surgery they informed me I had MRSA? They had to administer antibiotics before my surgery. By chance, do any of you have breast implants? Heard of these side effects with breast implant illness. (BII)

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@reebobbin - did your dentist by chance have any input on this situation, if you've happened to be in for a checkup?

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@lisalucier

@reebobbin - did your dentist by chance have any input on this situation, if you've happened to be in for a checkup?

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Yes I actually saw him about it a couple of years ago and they recommended I have my wisdom teeth removed? Not sure what that would have to do with it but I got them removed anyway. I’ve gone back for cleanings and mentioned it, but told me I would need to reach out to a specialist.

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@moreinfo Hi there I have scabs in my nose sometimes they have blood in them . My Dr. explained that if you have dry eyes,dry nose you will tend to get scabs. He said to watch the humidity in the air if it is dry you will have to use a humidifier also to keep the nose moist use Vaseline or a nasal saline you can buy from the drugstore and rub around in the nose . So this is what I was told and do Keep the nose moist and don't have scabs then Hope this will help you

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This. Exactly. I've been watching this thread and wanted to share what I've found. I suffer from post nasal drip with a deviated septum. I was having these scabs like clockwork, once every 10 days. I'd seen multiple ENTs and no one was able to help. When I ate fatty foods (dairy, avocados, fried foods, etc.) it made the problem worse so I avoided them as much as I could. That made sense to me - there's a correlation between what I eat and how much mucus my body produces. @moreinfo you mentioned dry air. I concur 100% x 1000. I'm used to sleeping with a fan - pointed at my face. As soon as I forced myself to go without (back in July), the scabs have almost completely stopped. I've only had one in the past 4 months. The post nasal drip is still there, but I'll take that over the scabs any day. In my case, I believe these scabs are a "mechanical" problem vs. an infection or illness. If you're reading this, I don't know if this will help you. But I hope it does.

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Sleeping with one's mouth open causes dryness of the mouth with mucus drying into a scab. Small amounts of blood might result from the tension of removing the dried mucus. Some find relief with a sleep study and a trial of breathing assistance equipment, Continuous Pressure Assistance aka CPAP. Some keep a humidifier in the bedroom and a carafe of drinking water on a bedstand. Rinsing one's mouth and gargling with water when first awake might be helpful. Some use a chin strap to keep the mouth closed.

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Hello. This is my first time commenting on here. I'm a nurse with over 10 year of experience, and 2 of that working directly for ENT specialists. In addition, I am currently suffering from the same symptoms that many have mentioned. Symptoms: Daily mucus plug that is about the size of a full fingernail. It begins with swallowing excessive post-nasal drainage, the drainage builds up, then an irritated and stinging sensation, and finally it reaches a point when I know hacking once more will dislodge it. Once dislodged, it has a firm yet tacky texture with fresh mucus borders. Sometimes it has a scant amount of blood. I have a history of sinonasal surgeries to correct a deviated nasal septum and to open for proper drainage of the sinus cavities. Most recently, I went to my local ENT at Ohio State which is ranked #3 in the country for ENT. They performed a nasal endoscopy and found that I have a nasal perforation at the back base of the septum. He stated he believes that the back of the opening is acting as a dam, preventing the drainage from draining quick enough. This is backing up and allowing it time to dry and become tacky. They have recommended that the perforation be corrected to allow better drainage. Let me say this, it occurs worse in fall and winter (dry months). Note, these symptoms are different than those experiencing scabs in the nose, and different from those with COPD who cough up mucus plugs (this is a lung disorder). Those experiencing what I have would do well to use saline rinses that promote flushing out excess mucus. It is a drainage issue. Best of luck to everyone and may we all gain some relief soon.

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My "adenoid boogers" are the same as yours. I can feel them breaking off and have to race to get water & gargle them out. I haven't in the past 7 years learned how to remove them without water. Interestingly similar I has surgery for deviated septum about 10 years ago. My lovely ENT says that it's from an ongoing mild infection of the adenoid. He's suggested a nasal rinse 2-3 times a day as taking the antibiotics that reduce the infection isn't sustainable over time. He says cauterizing or removing the adenoid will likely not be a solution.

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@glassshark

Any luck? My ENT suspects it might be caused from silent acid reflux that happens while I sleep at night... but we haven’t done anything to explore this possibility further yet... does anyone else on this thread get acid reflux or GERD?

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Interestingly yes, yes I do and with the same "adenoid Booger" dropping down my throat every day or so. My ENT didn't seem to think there was a connection.

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@glassshark

Any luck? My ENT suspects it might be caused from silent acid reflux that happens while I sleep at night... but we haven’t done anything to explore this possibility further yet... does anyone else on this thread get acid reflux or GERD?

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@glassshark - did you end up getting referred for evaluation for acid reflux or GERD?

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