Suggest Treatment For Thick Phlegm In Throat And Chest

Posted on Wed, 17 Jun 2015

Question: Hello, back in March I had a 24 flu and since then I've kept a cough but have accumulated phlegm in my throat. It won't go away. It was yellow but now it's white but it's thick. It's more in my throat than in my chest.

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (19 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
It needs investigation

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

protracted cough after a respiratory tract infection can be related to:
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which can be accompanied by shortness of breath (only mild at first, during exertion), wheezing etc.
- sinusitis, accompanied by nasal discharge, headache etc
- post-infectious cough, that is cough that persists for up to two months after the resolution of the other symptoms of infection.

A clinical examination by your primary care physician and a chest X-ray are essential for the assessment of your cough. Depending on the cause antibiotics (sinusitis) or bronchodilators (COPD or post-infectious cough) might help with the symptoms.

I hope I've helped!
You can contact me again, if you'd like for any questions you may have.

Kind Regards!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar