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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Your experience is much like mine. Pictures above look like mine. So, I think we’re on the same page. The only other thing I do differently from others on the forum is to place a bit of oil of oregano on the tips of my nose every night. Have used this for many maladies for 20 years, and it’s always effective. It’s an anti microbial. Don’t put it in your nose because it will burn like heck. I’ll also put some oil under my tongue every night. I know it sounds amazing, but it’s kept me healthy.

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Hey all! Skip the ENT, get Ponaris and a Navage. THANK YOU FOR THIS THREAD. I am now a FORMER sufferer of this awful embarrassing gross affliction!

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@emsnoseiscured

Hey all! Skip the ENT, get Ponaris and a Navage. THANK YOU FOR THIS THREAD. I am now a FORMER sufferer of this awful embarrassing gross affliction!

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@emsnoseiscured- great advice! The control is in your hands to fix this condition. Not an ENT surgeon who couldn’t care less, unless you are giving them something to cut out. Thanks for sharing!

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Hello @emsnoseiscured hello and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Thank you for sharing what has worked well for you so that other members can learn from you.

Can I ask how you arrived at this as a solution for you and how long it has been working for you?

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@relief123

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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I recently ordered a Sinugator from Neil Med, it really blasts the solution in, takes some getting used to. I’ve only used it twice so far but a scab came out 15 minutes later so I think it may work. Also, I ordered a moisturizing rinse and and an antibacterial rinse that contains xylitol, all ordered directly from Neil Med.

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@emsnoseiscured

Hey all! Skip the ENT, get Ponaris and a Navage. THANK YOU FOR THIS THREAD. I am now a FORMER sufferer of this awful embarrassing gross affliction!

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I ordered the Ponaris and it should be here tomorrow. I can’t afford the Navage. Do you think this would work in a regular sinus rinse bottle?

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@jberrymor

I ordered the Ponaris and it should be here tomorrow. I can’t afford the Navage. Do you think this would work in a regular sinus rinse bottle?

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My Navage came like 3 weeks after I started the Ponaris and the Ponaris alone helped so so much. The Ponaris alone made the "scab" soft enough, small enough with the oil that it came out in smaller bits that did not make me gag. The good part about the Navage is that it gets those bits out for you, essentially. Really, its just a fancy neti pot. I absolutely believe that a sinus rinse bottle would help. Maybe try the oil and see hoe you do and expand from there. Let me know how it goes!

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@jberrymor

I ordered the Ponaris and it should be here tomorrow. I can’t afford the Navage. Do you think this would work in a regular sinus rinse bottle?

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I can recommend the cordless Sinugator by NeilMed, it is amazing and less than $30. It’s powerful and dislodges the scab better than anything’s else I’ve tried.

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@emsnoseiscured

My Navage came like 3 weeks after I started the Ponaris and the Ponaris alone helped so so much. The Ponaris alone made the "scab" soft enough, small enough with the oil that it came out in smaller bits that did not make me gag. The good part about the Navage is that it gets those bits out for you, essentially. Really, its just a fancy neti pot. I absolutely believe that a sinus rinse bottle would help. Maybe try the oil and see hoe you do and expand from there. Let me know how it goes!

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Thanks so much for the reply. It was delivered today so I’m hoping it works.

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