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Frustrated with Post-Nasal Drip?

5 min read  |  January 14, 2025  | 

Post-nasal drip can be annoying to live with, but it’s typically temporary and treatable. It happens when mucus builds up in your sinuses and drips down the back of your throat. This can trigger coughing, a recurring tickle in the back of the throat and voice hoarseness.

Why is mucus in my throat?

The glands in your nose and throat are constantly producing mucus — which is normal and necessary for your nose and sinuses to work properly.

This mucus moistens the air you breathe, cleans your nasal lining, and traps and clears out particles you inhale, which helps your body avoid air-borne infections. You normally swallow mucus throughout the day without noticing it. But when you can feel it collecting in your throat or dripping from the back of your nose, it becomes more obvious and bothersome. That is post-nasal drip.

What causes post-nasal drip?

  • allergies
  • common cold
  • flu
  • bacterial infections
  • sinus infections (sinusitis)
  • changing weather and dry, cooler air
  • bright lights (can trigger sneezing, runny nose)
  • spicy foods (can trigger sneezing, runny nose)
  • pregnancy
  • certain medicines, such as birth control pills and high blood pressure medications
  • getting older
  • chronic acid reflux (GERD)
  • deviated septum

What are the symptoms of post-nasal drip?

  • feeling mucus draining into your throat
  • frequent swallowing
  • feeling of a lump in the back of your throat
  • urge to clear your throat
  • cough that bothers you more at night
  • sore throat
  • swollen tonsils
  • sounds of gurgling or voice hoarseness
  • bad breath
  • nausea (from excess mucus draining into the stomach)
  • ear infections

How is post-nasal drip diagnosed?

If you’re experiencing these bothersome symptoms, your health care provider can help determine the cause, which is the best way to find the most effective treatment for your condition.

To get an accurate diagnosis, your doctor may perform:

  • physical exam of your ears, nose and throat
  • nasal endoscopy (using a camera to look inside of your nose and throat)
  • X-rays

Post-nasal drip can be hard to cure. But you can manage the symptoms.

The most effective treatment for post-nasal drip depends on the cause.

Allergic nasal drip

Try to determine what you’re allergic to, and avoid those allergens and irritants. See an allergist or ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist for allergy testing.

Tips for reducing allergic reactions to dust and other environmental allergens:

  • Regularly remove dust from household surfaces.
  • Use pillow covers and mattress covers to prevent dust mites.
  • Change air conditioner filters frequently.
  • Shower before bed to clear your sinuses.

These medicines may provide temporary or daily allergy symptom relief:

  • over-the-counter antihistamines
  • over-the-counter decongestants
  • over-the-counter nasal sprays (cromolyn or glucocorticoid steroids)
  • oral steroids (prescription)

Doctor-administered immunotherapy (allergy shots or drops under the tongue) may provide long-term allergy relief from exposure to allergens.

Common cold, flu, or COVID-19 (which are viral, not bacterial)

It can be hard to determine if you have caught a virus, developed a bacterial infection, or are suffering from allergies. You may need to visit a healthcare provider or do a telehealth consultation to get a diagnosis.

If your post-nasal drip is triggered by the symptoms of the common cold, flu or COVID-19, try the following for symptom relief:

  • Drink warm liquids to help thin out the excess mucus.
  • Over-the-counter nasal sprays (cromolyn or glucocorticoid steroids)
  • Over-the-counter decongestants
  • Neti pot (nasal saline irrigator)
  • If you get diagnosed in the early stage of COVID-19 infection, antiviral medication may help reduce the length and severity of your infection.

Bacterial infections

Bacterial sinus infections require diagnosis by a primary care physician, urgent care provider or ENT specialist. These infections are treated with antibiotic drugs, which may provide only temporary relief until the infection clears.

Chronic sinusitis

This chronic (lasting 12 weeks or longer) inflammation of the sinus or nasal passages must be diagnosed by your healthcare provider. They may recommend sinus surgery, which can open blocked sinuses.

Chronic acid reflux

Treatment and lifestyle changes to prevent post-nasal drip caused by GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) include:

  • over-the-counter antacids
  • over-the-counter acid blockers
  • avoiding foods and drinks for at least three hours before bedtime
  • keeping your head elevated six inches to eight inches above your body at bedtime
  • losing excess weight
  • avoiding caffeine and alcohol

When you can’t determine the cause of your post-nasal drip

If you and your doctor have ruled out an active viral or bacterial infection, chronic sinusitis, allergies and GERD, try some general measures to allow mucus secretions to pass more easily.

Regardless of the cause of your post-nasal drip, drinking more water and warm liquids and avoiding caffeine and diuretic medications (which drain fluid from the body) should help reduce the symptoms. This is especially true for older people who often need more fluids to thin out secretions.

In addition:

  • Mucous-thinning drugs, such as guaifenesin, can thin secretions.
  • Nasal irrigation systems (nasal douches, a Water Pik with a nasal irrigation nozzle) may alleviate thickened secretions.
  • Over-the-counter saline nasal sprays can moisten the nasal passages and may provide some relief.

Should I see my doctor?

If you try some of the over-the-counter and lifestyle approaches to prevent and manage the symptoms of post-nasal drip, but it doesn’t clear up within a couple of weeks, contact your doctor. If your post-nasal drip goes away and then returns, or if you’re experiencing other symptoms along with it, see your doctor because you may have an allergy, infection, or other condition that requires medical diagnosis and treatment.

You want relief quickly when you’re suffering from a condition that affects your nose or sinuses. The rhinology sinus and allergy team at the University of Miami Health System is focused on providing state-of-the-art, evidence-based medical and surgical treatments. UHealth experts can help you breathe easier with an accurate diagnosis and leading-edge treatments in a compassionate setting.

To schedule an appointment at UHealth, call 305-243-3564 or request an appointment online.


Dana Kantrowitz is a contributor for UHealth’s news service.


Medically reviewed by Roy Casiano, M.D., FACS.


Tags: causes, cough, Dr. Roy Casiano, mucus buildup, post-nasal drip, relief, sinus issues, symptoms, throat irritation, treatment, University of Miami Health System

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