More rarely, bacterial sinus infections
are to blame. See a doctor if you have
otherwise unexplained nasal symptoms
that drag on for more than 10 days, if
they worsen rather than improve over
time or if they’re accompanied by a
persistent high fever. Antibiotics may
be needed for some of these cases.
If not sickness or allergies, the cul-
prit might be a medication (such as
birth-control pills or beta blockers),
structural abnormalities in the nose
(such as nasal polyps or a crooked or
off-centre wall between your nostrils)
or irritating fumes (such as cigarette
smoke or smog).
You might be able to get rid of post-
nasal drip by attacking its root cause.
For instance, a doctor could replace
one medication with another or give
you antihistamines or immunotherapy
for your allergies.
But even if you don’t know the cause
or just need to wait it out, you can still
take steps to ease your discomfort. For
starters, drink plenty of fluids, which
makes your mucus thinner. For a bet-
ter night’s sleep, elevate your head.
This will help nasal mucus drain down
your throat properly, rather than col-
lect in it. During the day, inhaling
steam could offer relief, as could tak-
ing a mucus-thinning medication,
such as guaifenesin, or cleaning out
your nose with an over-the-counter
saline rinse or spray.
Postnasal drip is often blamed for
chronic coughing. Many a stubborn
throat rattle is indeed associated with
rhinitis (an inflamed nose) and excess
mucus. And sometimes, taking anti-
histamines or nasal steroids resolves
both problems.
But more frequently, the cough con-
tinues after the nose returns to normal,
according to Dr. Lorcan McGarvey,
who heads up a cough-management
research collaboration for the Euro-
pean Respiratory Society. “Experi-
ences like this led people to the idea
that there might be some other under-
lying issue,” he says.Scientists are now looking into the
theory that a bout of inflammation
can cause lasting hypersensitization
of nerves in the airway. “This fits well
with stories we hear from many patients
about how their cough is set off, even
by innocuous things like laughing or
cold air,” McGarvey explains.
Drugs targeting neural hypersensitiv-
ity have already reached the advanced
stages of clinical testing. So even if
postnasal drip interventions do noth-
ing to help your chronic cough, new
hope is on the horizon.THE BODY
PRODUCES OVERONE LITRE
OF MUCUS
PER DAY.rd.ca 21