Hi

Thanks for the query

Congestion in the throat could be due to various reasons such as allergy, sinusitis, acid reflux from the stomach, etc.
     
The description mentioned by you seems to be of post nasal discharge from the sinuses along with inflammation on the post pharyngeal wall (back of the throat). The "grit" like thing is the multiple lymphoid swellings developed on the pharyngeal wall to combat inflammation and infection on the pharyngeal wall.

To sum it up, you are suffering from pharyngitis (secondary to the sinusitis). I would suggest you to avoid both coffee as well as the coca cola. Both of the above beverages worsens your throat problem and increases the production of phlegm. Coffee will induce dryness of the throat and increases the production of phlegm from both the throat as well as the sinuses, whereas chilled coca cola causes spasm of the blood vessels on the mucosa leading to poor clearance of inflammatory mediators from the affected site.

Apart from this, you need to drink plenty of warm water, avoid cold beverages and oily food. You need to start on a course of good antibiotics (such as a combination of amoxycillin and clavulanic acid), anti inflammatory medicines (such as ibuprofen or diclofenac), a mucolytic (such as ambroxol or bromhexine) and saline nasal spray (to clear off, the thick discharge from the nose). Also, do steam inhalation to reduce the congestion of the sinus openings and the throat.

Hope I have answered your query; I will be available for the follow-up queries.

Regards
Dr. Naveen Kumar N.
ENT and Head & Neck Surgeon

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