Keep coughing shit up, wondering if anyone may know what's up

[Talus]

You would know a lot earlier in life if you had cystic fibrosis. It wouldn't spontaneously develop sometime in your early adulthood (assuming OP's age is >18, <30). [Edit: Like Krono said, it's a genetic disease.]

[Corrderio]

A tad off topic, but I have similar issues with the OP with my allergies. Anyone know any good remedies other than hot drinks to help get that crap out of the back of your throat? My allergies aren't making me cough stuff up, however I can feel something in my throat.

[Myrrh_Quetz]

I know CF is a genetic disease. I have CF. I'm two appointments away from the Lung transplant list. lol I was making a joke. Thus the hidden ninja part.

[Shazaam]

That's yet another genetic disease that he would know he had, and smoking would more than likely have kicked him to COPD.

Hey Shaz, just curious, what division of health care do you work under?

Paramedic/RN. EMS and ER are where I work.

[Masenko]

I had this. I wasn't drinking enough water. Fixed it up in about a week.

[kuronosan]

Is that stuff typically non-prescription?

There are some over the counter things that you can buy, but to get steroids you will always need a prescription. That's essentially what albuterol and other related medications for lungs are.

RN

Nice. Med Tech here.

[Talus]

I know CF is a genetic disease. I have CF. I'm two appointments away from the Lung transplant list. lol I was making a joke. Thus the hidden ninja part.

Ooof, sorry to hear that. Good luck with your treatment.

I'm not a doctor/nurse/tech/wikipediatrician/janitor/etc. (starting med school in Summer 2011 hopefully), and I don't have allergies but whenever I have felt congested or whatever, sometimes I've used a neti pot and it seems to do the trick. Follow my advice with a grain of salt.

[gairaiden]

callisto if ya get a chance try getting checked out for pneumonia. does the mucus your coughing up feel like its coming from your lungs? soon as ya said ya had mucus coming up that's first thing that came to mind

[wyrmtung]

callisto if ya get a chance try getting checked out for pneumonia. does the mucus your coughing up feel like its coming from your lungs? soon as ya said ya had mucus coming up that's first thing that came to mind

This was my first thought too. It might not go away on its own. Got to find a way to go see a doc and get some antibiotics

[Callisto]

callisto if ya get a chance try getting checked out for pneumonia. does the mucus your coughing up feel like its coming from your lungs? soon as ya said ya had mucus coming up that's first thing that came to mind

No, it seems to be coming down my throat rather than up. I don't have any actual coughing aside from when too much of it ends up in my throat and I need to cough it up, it's more just constantly needing to clear my throat, like having to sit and do it for 10-20 straight minutes before it doesn't feel like I have some phlegm lodged in there. It seems to be more sinus-related than allergy related since I do get some pressure up there occasionally and never have any other allergy symptoms, not a trace of itchy/watery eyes, sneezing, and my nose isn't runny.

[Meresgi]

Could be post nasal drip, that's another thing my doctor wanted to check with me on. Do you have a deviated septum?

[MisterBob]

God, Netti Pots are terrifying. Using one of those creates the weirdest feeling ever

[Xanthe]

Might want to check here, sounds fairly plausible.

[Olo401]

No, it seems to be coming down my throat rather than up. I don't have any actual coughing aside from when too much of it ends up in my throat and I need to cough it up, it's more just constantly needing to clear my throat, like having to sit and do it for 10-20 straight minutes before it doesn't feel like I have some phlegm lodged in there. It seems to be more sinus-related than allergy related since I do get some pressure up there occasionally and never have any other allergy symptoms, not a trace of itchy/watery eyes, sneezing, and my nose isn't runny.

This may sound odd but if it's coming from your sinuses down there's a chance it be an abscessed tooth in your upper jaw. Normally you would feel pressure or pain from the teeth and nerves getting compressed, but if the abscess is draining into your sinuses you might not feel anything at all, and all that pus would look similar to mucus once it dripped down to your throat/lungs and thickened up.

[Callisto]

This may sound odd but if it's coming from your sinuses down there's a chance it be an abscessed tooth in your upper jaw. Normally you would feel pressure or pain from the teeth and nerves getting compressed, but if the abscess is draining into your sinuses you might not feel anything at all, and all that pus would look similar to mucus once it dripped down to your throat/lungs and thickened up.

I do actually have a broken tooth on that side that I haven't been able to get removed due to the no insurance deal, that actually might be a possibility

[archibaldcrane]

Going to the doc tomorrow for my mucus-y cough, I'll report the findings.

[Callisto]

Don't really want to start a new thread asking for dental cost help, but I do think Olo was close to the mark. I hadn't realized how close your upper molars and sinuses were to each other, but I think that is probably the cause. I have a broken molar on my upper left side that's almost entirely decayed, and after poking & prodding a bit it does seem really closely related, the more the gums above the tooth get pressure/pain the more my sinuses go wonky, which also explains why it's only my left nostril that gets stuffy and only that side that I feel sinus pressure on.

Not sure if anyone here works in a dental office, but I could use some help trying to figure out what the cost of extracting a broken tooth(there's not much left of it at all coming out of the gums) including anesthetics, so I can maybe try to just pay cash to get it done. There's a chance I may get a 4-month job starting here shortly, if so I likely won't get any benefits from it so no insurance, but I can maybe sock enough cash away to get this thing yanked and hopefully get this all fixed up.

[kuronosan]

It'll probably cost you about $300-400 for the single tooth, without insurance. Find a dental school and you can get it done cheaper by dental students on rotations.

[Alvein]

I have this mucous crap too, I've had it for about 6 months. sometimes it's better, sometimes it's worse. I was on Claritin for years, eventually it just didn't do anything anymore, I started using Zyrtec but that doesn't seem to be doing a lot. My doctor does think it's allergies.
Has anyone tried the Neti pot? Do they do anything? And has anyone moved from Zyrtec to Allegra and noticed a difference?

[Shazaam]

I have a broken molar on my upper left side that's almost entirely decayed, and after poking & prodding a bit it does seem really closely related, the more the gums above the tooth get pressure/pain the more my sinuses go wonky, which also explains why it's only my left nostril that gets stuffy and only that side that I feel sinus pressure on.

Yeah, an abscess will make you cough up crap... but you should have noticed pain or at least the fact that your tooth was leaking pus. (but then again, not everyone has the same hygienic habits...)

Way to forget to post any pertinent medical history when asking for help.

That's like asking why it burns when you pee while leaving out the history of raping porcupines.