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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Adenoid ‘pad’ is a term I hadn’t heard but that definitely looks like the spot. Can you imagine my most recent ENT first suggested I was describing a tonsil stone, luckily I had a photo of one of the scab/plugs next to a dime for scale. i said btwI actually succeeded in blowing one out my nose once, so clearly it wasn’t a tonsil stone.

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So I just tried adding ¼ teaspoon of the shampoo to my Neti pot solution and the pain was excruciating, it must be raw in there. Maybe I need some healing first! But I did do the saline and that was fine. I’m wondering if a product like Hibiclens would be helpful.

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Sorry to hear about the pain ... just to be sure, was it J&J baby shampoo??? You can't use a regular shampoo
I also warm the neti bottle up in warm water for a few minutes

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Yep, J&J baby shampoo, but it is extremely irritated in there. I did warm the water to skin temp. It’s just me!

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@conniehar
your Question: are you using the oil and saline solution every day? I assume you don't use it at the same time (so 4 different times a day?) I may try the Ponaris emollient or Nozaid. Thanks!

I use the Oil (coldastop) every night now before sleep, and sesamoil during day (one time). Saline solution im slacking bit now, every 3 days maybe (in morning or at night). BUT i had no scabs till now since i started. (3 weeks now... and air is even more dry then when i started)

I whouldn't flush nose and put oil same time.

I started out with flushing nose in morning and night, and adding oil afterwards (5-10min later), when nose stops beeing runny.

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@dapapa @conniehar -keep in mind saline rinse can cause drying as well. Everyone will respond different depending on if your nasal mucosa is thick or thin. Saline is salt. Salt is drying on any skin. And the more you rinse, you are also rinsing away the good bacteria in your nose. If overdone, it can have the opposite effect that you are going for.

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@jeanette527

My dermatologist suggested washing my face with danderouf shampoo. Give it a try.

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Hello! May I ask why they suggested this? - very interested in any association.

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@nrd1

@dapapa @conniehar -keep in mind saline rinse can cause drying as well. Everyone will respond different depending on if your nasal mucosa is thick or thin. Saline is salt. Salt is drying on any skin. And the more you rinse, you are also rinsing away the good bacteria in your nose. If overdone, it can have the opposite effect that you are going for.

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@nrd1 Saline solution dry out nose also that is true, just use it till you feel like your nose is flushed good, then just keep treating with oil and stop the flushing. Later reduce the oil till you find the sweet spot.
I can not recomend babyshampoo, that definatly gona dry the skin, even if its J&J baby super sensitiv its still soap in end, and not idea to put on sensitiv skin.
Im just here to say what worked for me, and thought i whould share.
Rest ist just talking in circle, make diffrent senteces to explain same thing over and over :).

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I’ve had the same thing for about 20 years. My doctor sent a specimen to a lab and it came back as sinus drainage. Gross drainage for sure. I’ve taken all sorts of things to try to get rid of this, but it eventually always returns. So, I’ve given up. Today I just use a nasal wash. Good luck. The key I think is to have your doc to send a specimen to a lab. Then you can learn if it’s from your lungs or nose.

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So, for many years I have been coughing up what I can only explain as “mucus scabs”, thick, oval, highly viscous excretions from the throat, about the size of the small finger nail (Pictures available on request but very similar to those posted!). These seem to develop on the rear upper surface of the uvula (soft palate?).

Severe and constant snorting and coughing has been required to dislodge these sticky resistant fellas, very unsociable and embarrassing. Many time the coughing and snorted has not been successful to to dislodge the formation. Several courses of Omeprazole suggested acid reflux, but the scabs continued.
So, recently I decided to give the nasal rinse (netipot) a proper go. Initially, it was unsuccessful with the fluid merely entering one nostril and draining out of the other, not touching the area where I sensed the problem existed.
Then there was my Eureka a moment!
I realised that the traditional nasal rinse was not touching the back of the throat (upper uvula/soft palate). So, using a combined pump of the pot and a simultaneous sniff, the fluid was able to be flushed down the upper part of the throat. This allowed for simultaneous discharge of the rinsing fluid through the open nostril and also through the mouth (to avoid swallowing the fluid). Severla "sniff" were required and the te timing of this process is crucial to avoid swallowing/wretching, but you soon get used to it, particularity when you get the result.
After a couple of small neti-bottles, it was a revelation as one of those sticky, stubborn mucous fellas must have dislodged and slid effortlessly out of my mouth into the sink with the fluid (worth putting the plug in the sink to inspect !)…and instant relief occurred..I could feel the obstruction had gone!
After a week of flushing this way, 2 times per day, the scabs have disappeared and now I am off the Omeprazole.
Following other advice , I produced my own rinse fluid using distilled/boiled water with a pinch of salt .I also found that heating the water in a microwave to a tepid temperature aided the process with potentially the heated saline solution breaking down the scab adhesion in-situ allowing it break away and flush out.
I now use a nasal rinse once a week just to keep on-top of things which now prevents the development of those nasty sticky fellas.
So, I am now mucous scab free, and more importantly, the constant coughing, snorting and hacking to try and dislodge those nasty, sticky scabs has now stopped and peace has been restored to the household!

I thought you might be interested in how I have resolved this issue.

Maybe I have invented a new medical procedure!!

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