Ask a doctor on the topic of General medicine

Phlegm in the throat

January 2, 2014 | 20,00 EUR | answered by Dr. med. Frauke Gehring

Good evening, I have been dealing with annoying phlegm in my throat for a while now, as well as occasional coughing. In the mornings and after eating, I always have an increase in phlegm that I try to clear my throat of. In addition, I initially had a sore throat. The ENT specialist suspected silent reflux and prescribed Pantozol and then Omeprazole. The sore throat is almost gone now, it only comes back when I clear my throat too much, but the phlegm is persistent and doesn't go away. Sometimes I feel like there is a lump of phlegm stuck in my chest, that's how it occasionally feels. My ENT specialist wants to see me again next week if it doesn't get better. Should I maybe see another doctor? Or are these symptoms typical for reflux? This constant clearing of my throat is annoying, I'm afraid to eat because I always have to clear my throat so much afterwards. Two days ago, I had severe stomach cramps and nausea, so I hardly ate anything and had some relief from the phlegm. Now that the nausea is subsiding and I'm eating normally again, I'm completely congested with phlegm. Please advise, thank you very much!

Dr. med. Frauke Gehring

Good evening,

These complaints are indeed very typical for reflux! The stomach acid flows back into the throat while lying down and then enters the bronchi during breathing, causing a constant irritation and therefore mucus formation.

The fact that the sore throat has already improved indicates that the theory of your ENT doctor is correct.

However, I would recommend getting an endoscopy to see how the mucous membrane looks there, and whether the dosage of the Omep needs to be increased. As for the throat, I am optimistic that with increasing duration of therapy, it will not produce mucus anymore.

I wish you continued improvement!

Best regards, Dr. F. Höllering, specialist in internal and general medicine