Constantly producing phlegm – No cough or cold?
03.October, 2009
For the past 2 months, i seem to have been constantly producing phlegm which i am forced to swallow (what feels like) constantly throughout the day – I dont have any sort of cough, and the phlegm isnt thick. The phlegm is clear when i do spit it out.
Does this sound like a chest infection? After a while, i start to get muscular pains around the chest and arm areas if i swallow a lot
I do smoke on and off – And i had a chest infection for which i was prescribed antibiotics for at the start of December – The phlegm problem has been pretty much ever since then
I did quit smoking for 4 weeks after new year and the problem was exactly the same
You don’t say if you smoke, which would be all the explanation needed as smokers continuously produce excess mucous after a while, and this continues even if they stop.
If you are a non smoker, it might be due to a local irritant or allergen or also possibly post viral hyper-reactivity. Do you remember if you had even a simple cold just before the problem started?
4 weeks would have have been enough time to wait and see, at 2 months a GP visit is justified. Hopefully you will not see someone who prescribes inappropriately. There is no real possibility that your symptoms would be explained by bacterial disease and therefore an antibiotic is NEVER going to be the correct management.
am 38 and Kelly B are correct hyper-reactivity is an asthma-like problem, though anyone can experience it and a 4-6 week course of inhaled steroids might settle things down, but other possibilities would need to be excluded first.
EDIT: BTW Kelly B bit concerned about your comment re yourself. Asthmatics don’t get any more ‘chest infections’ than non asthmatics, at least until they are much older and their disease, as it can do if poorly treated, gradually moves across from asthma, which is reversible airways disease, to COPD which is not. Unfortunately however many patients even with clearly diagnosed asthma which is not fully controlled, that is still has breakthrough periods of instability with colds, still meet poor GPs who tell them that they have a chest infection and prescribe useless antibiotics, when in fact they should of course be modifying the asthma management or using steroids to treat break though.
04.October, 2009 um 4:51 am
If you smoke that could be what is doing it.
-Cass
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04.October, 2009 um 5:17 am
You could make some money outta that, bottle it and sell it.
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04.October, 2009 um 5:51 am
Do you smoke? It may be smoker’s cough.
Or it could be the result of seasonal allergies.
JMHO.
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04.October, 2009 um 5:56 am
Yup sounds like a chest infection and if you are producing phlegm then thats a good thing.
The muscular pain is the result of your chest forcing the phlegm out, a cough is another by product of an infection and not a way of discharging the phlegm. Count yourself lucky that you don’t have any other symptons.
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04.October, 2009 um 6:45 am
Sounds like asthma-related illness to me. You might need to strengthen your airways with steroidal inhalers. See your doctor.
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04.October, 2009 um 6:58 am
You should get it checked out. Try getting an air filter for your bedroom as well. It’s possible that you have an allergy to something like I do. I get a persistent productive cough when the weather is cold and wet (might be allergic to leaf mold), and an air filter helped me.
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04.October, 2009 um 7:29 am
Sounds more like Asthma than an infection…if it was an infection the phlegm would not be clear…see your doctor
EDIT:- thanks for the concern Dr Frank…I have only been under an asthma dr for the last 4 weeks….so I have just started steroids. I also have po;ands syndrome and am awaiting an appointment with a respritory physio toadress my frequent chest infections
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Asthma sufferer and frequent chest infection catcher
04.October, 2009 um 7:46 am
You don’t say if you smoke, which would be all the explanation needed as smokers continuously produce excess mucous after a while, and this continues even if they stop.
If you are a non smoker, it might be due to a local irritant or allergen or also possibly post viral hyper-reactivity. Do you remember if you had even a simple cold just before the problem started?
4 weeks would have have been enough time to wait and see, at 2 months a GP visit is justified. Hopefully you will not see someone who prescribes inappropriately. There is no real possibility that your symptoms would be explained by bacterial disease and therefore an antibiotic is NEVER going to be the correct management.
am 38 and Kelly B are correct hyper-reactivity is an asthma-like problem, though anyone can experience it and a 4-6 week course of inhaled steroids might settle things down, but other possibilities would need to be excluded first.
EDIT: BTW Kelly B bit concerned about your comment re yourself. Asthmatics don’t get any more ‘chest infections’ than non asthmatics, at least until they are much older and their disease, as it can do if poorly treated, gradually moves across from asthma, which is reversible airways disease, to COPD which is not. Unfortunately however many patients even with clearly diagnosed asthma which is not fully controlled, that is still has breakthrough periods of instability with colds, still meet poor GPs who tell them that they have a chest infection and prescribe useless antibiotics, when in fact they should of course be modifying the asthma management or using steroids to treat break though.
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GP for more years than I care to remember
04.October, 2009 um 8:14 am
Do you eat dairy products??
this can cause nasal drip..im constantly swallowing cattarh after eating cream/chocolate etc
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04.October, 2009 um 8:39 am
I was like that until I took Dannex then all the phlegm came out and I stopped…..try some.
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Experience