Phlegm in my throat and post nasal drip after Covid

Posted by danny2022 @danny2022, Dec 18, 2022

Ever since I had covid in January of 2022 I recovered from the virus but I was left with a constant phlegm in the back of my throat and post nasal drip that will not go away. The feeling of having mucus in the back of my throat actually gets worse when I try to get rid of it by coughing. I have been given steroid inhalers, albuterol, allergy medication, but none of these work. The mucus gets worse especially after I eat. I've never felt like this before and it all started after covid. Can anybody relate to what I am going through?

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For almost 7 weeks now I have had phlegm in my throat that drains into my chest. I don't have a cough but I can breath hard and catch a little of the phlegm and then cough it up. You can hear it rattle in my chest when I breath sometimes too. My lungs are good and I can breath fine but voice is horse and I have had post nasal drip. I went to Urgent care and they gave me steroids and antibiotics but nothing has worked. Could this too be from long term covid. This has been driving me crazy.

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@beebee000

because all this thick phlegm always stays in my throat it really has messed up my sinuses to the point i do get the nasal drip down my throat, the weird thing is it builds in my throat after i eat or drink anything....so to help keep it from building in the sinuses i was prescribed "budesonide" that i use with my navage..it does help keep the nasal drip down. this stuff flushes out my sinus cavities so i can breath.. but i still can't figure out why the phlegm/mucus keeps building...i have alot of other symptoms to that come and go alot but if i could pick just one to go away...it would be the thick yuck in my throat!!!

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Does it get into your chest too. I'm having the same problem and my starts in my throat but drains into my chest. I can feel and hear it rattle when I take a deep breath. The doctor gave me steroids and antibiotics to see if it would help and it didn't at all. I can breath fine it's just so irritating it drives me crazy.

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@mimioto

I understand you misery. I’ve had the same thing since late August 2022, a month after covid. It dries out the nasal passages and sinuses and the mucous is nearly gagging in my throat. I get it. I too am on Symbicort, which is a combo of budesonide and formoterol. The pulmonologist, whom I saw in December, believes the mucous is developing as a result of acid reflux. But do I have heartburn? No. Why? Because it appears to be a problem with sphincters, both the lower (LE), and upper (UE) esophageal sphincters not functioning correctly - so it is known as LPR (laryngopharaengeal reflux) aka silent reflux, which doesn’t cause heartburn since the acid isn’t stuck in your chest between the LE and UE sphincters (as in GERD). Instead the acid shoots up into your throat and the mucous develops to protect your throat, larynx, etc from the stomach acid. I even feel little food particles with the acid as far up as in my nose! Ugh!!! My appointment with ENT isn’t until February. Meantime it helps to eat less and remain upright for 2-3 hours after a meal - don’t lie down! If I eat late and go to bed too soon I’ll have horrible mucous coughing up in the morning that must develop throughout the length of the esophagus. I do find chewing gum helps after eating to keep me swallowing. I mean I chew like a lot of gum for a couple hours after a meal and after every little snack. I even started a gum wrapper chain that I suspect will be quite long by the time this is resolved! What I eat doesn’t seem to matter aLOT because it seems like anything that goes down causes the reaction. Apples though are sustaining for me and celery-NOT ( and it’s supposed to be a good one). And remaining on my feet, moving around, works even better than simply sitting upright. Lounging after dinner? No way. Best of luck to all of us with this misery!

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This is interesting. I’ve had acid reflux off and on for years. Doesn’t matter what I eat or drink. I’ve noticed that sometimes it carries over the next day.
I suffer from horrible sinus and allergies. But I never had this mucus issue until after I had Covid a year ago Christmas. I wake up in the middle of the night and mornings are the worse. Sometimes I end up throwing up.
I’m going to google a few things I saw on here though.
Here’s to a resolve sooner than later.

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@bailey82

Does it get into your chest too. I'm having the same problem and my starts in my throat but drains into my chest. I can feel and hear it rattle when I take a deep breath. The doctor gave me steroids and antibiotics to see if it would help and it didn't at all. I can breath fine it's just so irritating it drives me crazy.

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Wow! Mine has not gone in my chest. My Covid never did either.
Just keep an eye on that.

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I too was experiencing the same long covid symptoms with endless phlegm and nasal drip after recovering from my 2nd round of covid infection. My first round was March 2020 then again in Novemebr 2022. I never had allergies or any related seasonal issues my entire life so having this drip and thick mucus was all new to me. Found an interesting article about Cardamon and gave it try. After 3 weeks of steady cardamom tea I began to notice fewer and fewer instances of throat clearing and after the 4th week I haven't had any phlegm or nasal drips. Hopefully this method is helpful for others as it was for me. I can't remember any other time in my life that I drank that much tea to the point where I gave up my morning cup of coffee.

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@campmontana

COVID-19 “Long Hauler” Symptoms Survey Report
A Study Conducted by Dr. Natalie Lambert and Survivor Corps
Lambert, N. J. & Survivor Corps. COVID-19 “Long Hauler” Symptoms Survey Report. Indiana University School of Medicine; 2020.

This study is about Covid Long haul . Please look it up on your computer Starting on pg 5 and below are some interesting facts that have been found, plus ALL symptoms with Long Covid. keep scrolling and see more. The entire study is very interesting. I am hoping to take a copy of this to the Dr so they don’t think I’m crazy. Hope you can do the same. Good luck to all of you, and please keep informing anything new with our condition. Hugs to you all.

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@campmontana, I noticed that you wished to post a URL to a report with your post. You will be able to add URLs to your posts in a few days. There is a brief period where new members can't post links. We do this to deter spammers and keep the community safe. Clearly the link you wanted to post is not spam. Please allow me to post it for you.

- COVID-19 “Long Hauler” Symptoms Survey Report (2020) https://dig.abclocal.go.com/wls/documents/2020/072720-wls-covid-symptom-study-doc.pdf

I noted that the report is from 2020 and that Dr. Lambert is continuing her research and conducting a new survey. You can read more here:
- Lambert Health Lab: COVID-19 https://medicine.iu.edu/faculty-labs/lambert

For anyone interested in learning more about Post-COVID Recovery Research at Mayo Clinic: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/post-covid-recovery/tab/research/

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@coachmary

This is interesting. I’ve had acid reflux off and on for years. Doesn’t matter what I eat or drink. I’ve noticed that sometimes it carries over the next day.
I suffer from horrible sinus and allergies. But I never had this mucus issue until after I had Covid a year ago Christmas. I wake up in the middle of the night and mornings are the worse. Sometimes I end up throwing up.
I’m going to google a few things I saw on here though.
Here’s to a resolve sooner than later.

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I wonder if you’ve developed asthma. That’s the only real diagnosis I’ve gotten since all this started and the pulmonologist suspects it is covid induced since I had no prior history of asthma. The pulmonologist has said the acid reflux and asthma often coexist. I am using Symbicort for it and although it has helped tremendously through the worst of the worst, I do hate it the idea of becoming dependent on it so I’m trying to wean off of it.

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@mimioto

I wonder if you’ve developed asthma. That’s the only real diagnosis I’ve gotten since all this started and the pulmonologist suspects it is covid induced since I had no prior history of asthma. The pulmonologist has said the acid reflux and asthma often coexist. I am using Symbicort for it and although it has helped tremendously through the worst of the worst, I do hate it the idea of becoming dependent on it so I’m trying to wean off of it.

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Sorry if my other post posted. I messed up 🤦🏼‍♀️
But no. I don’t have asthma. I have no issues breathing unless I’m stopped up. Then I use the awful netti.
My daughter has asthma and eczema. Her whole life almost. But even as a smoker (on a small degree) I take a breathing test every year and I pass with flying colors. I do better than my doctor does. She doesn’t smoke. My lungs are good too.
I thought I may of gotten that smoking thing. COPD? But nope. 🙏🏻. I can’t take antihistamines either. I have RLS. It irritates it. So I have to use a nasal spray. Even Allegra bothers me.
I’ve had a deviated septum repaired and 2 of the balloon surgeries done before Covid. I had horrible sinus infection. But never this bad of post nasal drip.
I have no idea if I’m a candidate for the surgery someone mentioned earlier about freezing the nerves.
But would that help with acid reflux? If that is one cause? So many variables!

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@coachmary

Sorry if my other post posted. I messed up 🤦🏼‍♀️
But no. I don’t have asthma. I have no issues breathing unless I’m stopped up. Then I use the awful netti.
My daughter has asthma and eczema. Her whole life almost. But even as a smoker (on a small degree) I take a breathing test every year and I pass with flying colors. I do better than my doctor does. She doesn’t smoke. My lungs are good too.
I thought I may of gotten that smoking thing. COPD? But nope. 🙏🏻. I can’t take antihistamines either. I have RLS. It irritates it. So I have to use a nasal spray. Even Allegra bothers me.
I’ve had a deviated septum repaired and 2 of the balloon surgeries done before Covid. I had horrible sinus infection. But never this bad of post nasal drip.
I have no idea if I’m a candidate for the surgery someone mentioned earlier about freezing the nerves.
But would that help with acid reflux? If that is one cause? So many variables!

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By the way. I know several people in real life that has developed asthma and worse. One of my best friends is on Oxygen.

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@bailey82

Does it get into your chest too. I'm having the same problem and my starts in my throat but drains into my chest. I can feel and hear it rattle when I take a deep breath. The doctor gave me steroids and antibiotics to see if it would help and it didn't at all. I can breath fine it's just so irritating it drives me crazy.

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no it doesn't go into my chest, i don't have allergies of any kind (been tested for that, even food) and i have no asthma. this phlegm always happens after i eat or drink anything...i do my navage everyday to help keep my sinuses as clear as i can to help keep the phlegm from building to thick...a daily routine.

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