Many Americans are plagued by an uncomfortable itching feeling in the back of their mouth near their throat. It may feel like a tickle, and you may have to clear your throat many times or even burst out in a fit of coughs to get some relief.
Temporary bouts of this sensation can be caused by certain weather conditions, especially cold, dry air, and eating spicy foods. However, some people feel this uncomfortable tickling sensation for weeks or months on end, and if this sounds like you, you may need to visit an ENT doctor in Los Angeles.
The itching feeling in the back of your throat is called post-nasal drip, and it’s caused by an accumulation of mucus that drips from your sinus cavities into the back of your throat. This is your body’s natural way of clearing your sinuses, but when your body has too much mucus, it becomes an issue. ENT specialists in Los Angeles call this condition post nasal drip.
Post nasal drip’s root cause is too much mucus in your nasal cavities, but this overproduction of mucus can be triggered by environmental factors or a change within the body.
One of the most common causes is seasonal allergies, which are very common in those in the Los Angeles area. When plants release pollen into the air, your body can’t help but breathe it in, and it may produce additional mucus to try and flush out the pollen.
Your body reacts to invading viruses by producing more mucus to flush the viral germs out, but this can make you feel very uncomfortable. The flu, the common cold, and even COVID-19 can cause post-nasal drip, and cold weather often leads brings an increase in these kinds of viruses.
A deviated septum is when the middle of your nose is off-center, and it can also cause irregularities in the nasal passages, showing itself in post-nasal drip. Our office offers deviated septum repair, and it’s often covered by insurance plans to help you afford to fix your nasal issues.
Most symptoms of postnasal drip will clear up on their own, but this condition can lead to infection if the mucus ends up getting stuck in your sinuses. If you have postnasal drip that lasts for two weeks or more, you should seek out post nasal drip treatment in Los Angeles.
Postnasal drip is not a condition that our patients are often familiar with. Those who are diagnosed with postnasal drip often don’t even know what it is; they think the tickle in the back of their throat is due to sinusitis, laryngitis, or an allergic reaction. Post nasal drip can be caused by these conditions, but understanding that the scratching in the back of your throat is caused by mucus is the key to treating it.
Lucky for you, there are a variety of methods to treat this uncomfortable condition. The solutions for post nasal drip range from at-home remedies to lifestyle changes to surgery. Depending on the cause of your post nasal drip, our throat specialists can give you a treatment plan that directly targets the source to give you relief.
One way to alleviate the symptoms of post nasal drip is to make lifestyle changes. Your ENT will suggest this if your symptoms are caused by acid reflux or laryngitis.
Acid reflux is caused by stomach acid making its way into the throat because the bottom of the throat does not properly close. Drinking, smoking, and being overweight can cause acid reflux, so maintaining a healthier lifestyle may stop the acid reflux altogether. You can also limit eating at night, as ingesting foods before bedtime doesn’t give your body time to move them from the stomach, causing them to potentially leak into the esophagus. Propping up your head at night will also help.
Your ENT may suggest over-the-counter decongestant medications to dry out the mucus. Because they dry out your nose to prevent mucus from dripping down your throat, many patients feel that their noses get too dry, and dizziness and nosebleeds are also unwelcome side effects of these medications.
If you think that medications will be right for you, you can look into taking Sudafed, Claratin, Allegra, or Zyrtec, as these are the most common brands for treating post nasal drip.
If you like to try at-home treatments, then you may end up treating your postnasal drip while also saving money in the long run. Thinning out the mucus in your nose can be tried at home for little to no cost.
Steam therapy is often used to thin the mucus. Simply heat up a bowl of water and lean over, inhaling the steam. You may feel immediate relief. Vaporizers and humidifiers may have the same effect on your nasal cavities.
You may have also heard about chicken noodle soup being a cure-all, and this age-old remedy may thin out the mucus. Ingesting any hot liquid can help your post nasal trip, so you can try any kind of soup or tea.
You may need your nasal passageways manually cleared out, and our doctors can do this by conducting balloon sinuplasty. For this procedure, a balloon is inserted into your nasal passage, and a saline spray is used to flush out all the mucus. This procedure can be done very quickly and you’ll feel good as new the next day.
The board-certified ENT doctors of Westside Head & Neck treat all general conditions of the ear, nose, and throat. Every doctor under Westside Head & Neck has extensive training in the treatment of:
Even more serious conditions such as neck, mouth, and throat cancer can also be diagnosed and operated on by ENTs. We accept most PPO insurance plans, Medicare, and select HMO’s to keep hearing, swallowing, and breathing relief open to more Los Angelenos. Our two offices are located in Santa Monica and Culver City. To set up an appointment to discuss your ENT issues with any of our physicians at either location, please call (310) 361-5128 or email appointments@westsidehn.com.