Excess Phlegm in Throat: Causes and Treatments

You can get rid of excess phlegm in throat in two main ways. Here’s a closer look at these methods.

Refill Your Body With Fluids

It may seem like generic advice, but drinking water and other fluids are genuinely one of the best ways to get rid of excess phlegm in your throat. For one, as stated earlier, this issue might be due to you not drinking enough fluids. And two, when you drink more water, you are basically diluting the mucus.

Once the mucus is more watery, it becomes easier to pump out of your body, and it’s no longer likely to get stuck midway. Of course, not all fluids would work, so here’s a look at what should work:

• Water
• Black tea
• Green tea
• Chicken soup
• Warm apple juice

Yes, it doesn’t necessarily eliminate the issue of your body overproducing phlegm. Still, it’s an excellent way to relieve the symptoms while you wait for the problem to solve itself.

Speaking of which, another remedy that should provide relief is over-the-counter medication.

Take Over-The-Counter Medication

Decongestants, as the name implies, are drugs that help relieve symptoms concerning congestion.

It might be known for getting rid of mucus in one’s nasal regions, but it’s not as helpful when it comes to excess phlegm in the throat. It won’t do anything to reduce the production of mucus in your airways.

For that job, expectorants would be better.

Expectorant works like a decongestant, except rather than targeting the mucus in the nasal regions, it focuses on the mucus in your airways. Hence, it’s the best medication for excess phlegm in throat.

Unfortunately, those are the only two immediate remedies for excess phlegm in your throat. The good news is though there are only a few ‘cures’ to this problem, there are a bunch of prevention methods.

What To Do To Prevent Excess Phlegm In Throat

As they say, prevention is better than cure, and nothing can describe excess phlegm better than that phrase. Rather than waiting for your throat to accumulate phlegm, here’s what you can do:

Use Humidifiers

One of the main causes of excess phlegm is a house that’s too dry.

Since that’s the case, using a humidifier to make your house a lot less dry should do the trick. It may not have an immediate effect on your condition, but over time, you’ll notice less phlegm in your airways.

Gargle Using Warm Salt Water Regularly

You don’t have to do it every time you need to gargle, but once a day should help prevent excess phlegm.

That’s because salt is quite effective when it comes to getting rid of germs, while the warmness of the water can help clear phlegm from the back of your throat. It’s basically hitting two birds with one stone.

Stay Hydrated

While it’s one of the immediate remedies to excess phlegm, it’s also an excellent way to prevent it from happening to you again. Besides, it’s an excellent way to prevent many other short-term illnesses.

Avoid Beverages That Lead To Fluid Loss

Since your goal is to hydrate yourself as much as possible, it would be counterproductive if you drank diuretic beverages. Diuretics are any medication or liquid that helps get rid of water in the body.

Examples of beverages that one can consider a diuretic include:

• Coffee
• Soda
• Alcohol
• Tea

Stop Or Minimize Your Smoking

Studies show that smoking is linked to an overproduction of mucus.

If you smoke, then your smoking habit is likely the reason why you have excess phlegm in your throat. Stopping that habit, or at least minimizing it, should reduce the likelihood of having too much mucus.

Steer Away From Pollution

The body takes its mucus production up a notch when it detects irritants or germs entering the body.

When you’re often exposed to air pollution, like smoke from vehicles or burning objects, it’s likely going to lead to excess phlegm. In that regard, make sure you steer away from sources of air pollution.

When Should You Call A Doctor

There are instances where the aforementioned treatment and prevention options don’t work as effectively as they should. If that’s the case, your condition might be much more severe than you initially thought.

Below are signs that you may have to call a doctor:

• The excess phlegm in your throat has been present for over four weeks.
• The phlegm is only getting thicker despite your efforts.
• The phlegm is changing in color.
• You have a fever on top of the excess phlegm and other symptoms.
• You’re experiencing chest pain.
• You’re coughing up not only phlegm but also blood.

If you notice even one of these signs, call a doctor immediately.