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#Stop post nasal drip immediately professional#
And sign up for our FREE newsletter here for daily health, nutrition, and fitness advice.BMC physicians are leaders in their fields with the most advanced medical technology at their fingertips and working alongside a highly skilled nursing and professional staff. Go here to subscribe to Prevention and get 12 FREE gifts. Support from readers like you helps us do our best work. They should be able to do an evaluation and recommend a personalized treatment plan for you. Parikh says it’s a good idea to rope in your doctor. Parikh says.īottom line: If you’ve tried the tips above and still seem to be grappling with intense post-nasal drip, Dr. “I usually don’t really recommend them,” Dr. If you’re tempted to use a decongestant, keep this in mind: They can cause a rebound effect and make your underlying issue and post-nasal drip worse if you use them for more than three to five days. Post-nasal drip starts in your sinuses, and clearing those out with a sinus rinse can help ease up the onslaught, Dr. However, if these changes do not help or OTC meds don’t offer relief, talk to your doctor, who may be able to offer prescription medications if you have a severe form of reflux, known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Scangas also recommends doing your best to avoid spicy foods (or other food triggers, such as coffee, tomato-based sauces, or chocolate), eat at least two to three hours before bed, and sleep with your head elevated.

If you suspect acid reflux is behind your issue, Dr. If you think reflux may be an issue, consider trying OTC stomach acid reducers, like TUMS or Pepcid, when heartburn flares up. If allergies are the issue, nasal steroids like Flonase or Nasacort and long-acting antihistamines like Allegra, Claritin, Zyrtec, or Xyzal can help, Dr. If you suspect you have a sinus infection, talk to your doctor to ensure a proper diagnosis. So, if it’s seasonal allergies, visit an allergist and figure out what’s causing your symptoms and the best course of treatment. “Identify what is triggering it and treat the trigger,” Dr. But, if it’s particularly intense, there are a few things you can do to lighten the flow: ✔️Figure out the source. Technically, this isn’t something you want to stop entirely, given that post-nasal drip helps clear out your sinuses. For colds, you’re usually looking at anywhere from seven to 10 days, he says. While the timeline can vary, if your post-nasal drip is caused by allergies-which it often is-it can last “as long as the ongoing exposure to pollen is present,” says Aaron Clark, D.O., a family medicine physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “The best way to make it go away is to try and differentiate which underlying causes are at the root of the problem, and then either treating the acid reflux, chronic sinusitis, or allergic rhinitis,” he says. It really depends on what’s causing it, Dr. This occurs when the end of your esophagus does not close as it should, allowing the contents of your stomach to leak back up and cause irritation, often in the form of heartburn. However, if you don’t have any nasal symptoms with your post-nasal drip, it could be more of an acid reflux issue, Dr. This can present with increased sinus pressure, decreased smell, and nasal congestion.” “On the other hand with chronic sinusitis, it’s often more consistent post-nasal drip. “If it’s overproduction from the nose and sinuses, you’ll see the symptoms getting worse when your allergies get worse, when your eyes get more itchy, and when your nose is more congested,” he says. You’ll also likely have symptoms of whatever condition is causing your post-nasal drip in the first place, Dr.


“While everyone has a small degree of post-nasal drainage, we do not all sense it.”īut post-nasal drip can be more noticeable when you’re producing more mucus than normal, like when your allergies flare up, you have a cold or flu, or you’re dealing with a sinus infection, says Purvi Parikh, M.D., an allergist with Allergy & Asthma Network. “The average person makes about a quart of mucus in their nose, sinus, and mouth per day, and we all swallow that mucus,” he says. Post-nasal drip is actually a continuous process that’s a normal bodily function, says George Scangas, M.D., a sinus surgeon at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and an instructor in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School.
