Feeling that constant tickle in your throat, the need to clear it, or that annoying sensation of mucus stuck there? You’re not alone. This common issue, often caused by phlegm or mucus, can really mess with your day-to-day life. Luckily, there are some simple, natural ways to get rid of it and feel better. We’re going to look at what causes this problem and then dive into some science-backed methods to help you clear things up.
🔥What’s Up With All That Mucus?
Our respiratory system, basically our nose, throat, and lungs, is lined with a layer of mucus. Think of it like a protective shield. It catches tiny particles, bacteria, and viruses, stopping them from getting into our lungs. Usually, we don’t even notice it. But sometimes, this mucus gets thicker and builds up, making us feel like there’s something stuck in our throat, leading to coughing or constant throat clearing.
While mucus is a good thing for protecting us, too much of it can signal that something’s not quite right. You might have heard that clear, runny mucus means allergies, and yellow or green mucus means an infection. That’s partly true, but it’s a bit more complicated. Before we get to the solutions, let’s figure out what might be causing all that phlegm.
Key Takeaways:
- Infections: Viruses or bacteria can make your body produce more mucus to fight them off. If you have a fever, trouble breathing, or thick, green phlegm, see a doctor.
- Acid Reflux: Stomach acid can sometimes come up into your throat, causing a scratchy feeling, dry cough, and pain. This can also make your throat produce more mucus.
- Chronic Bronchitis: Long-term inflammation of the airways, often from smoking or pollution, leads to extra mucus. Quitting smoking is key here.
- Dry Air: Air conditioning or heating can dry out your throat, making it produce more mucus to protect itself. This mucus can then get thick and sticky.
- Post-Nasal Drip: Excess mucus from your nose can drip down your throat, causing a constant feeling of stickiness. If this lasts a long time, it’s good to find out why.
- Tumors: In rare cases, certain cancers can cause more secretions and irritation, leading to a scratchy throat, cough, or voice changes. If symptoms don’t get better, especially with voice changes or neck lumps, see a doctor.
📌Common Causes of Phlegm
Let’s break down the most common reasons you might be dealing with a phlegmy throat.
➡️Infections
When viruses or bacteria get into our airways, our body’s defenses kick in. White blood cells and other substances rush to the scene to fight them off. This causes inflammation in the lining of our nose, throat, and bronchial tubes, making them produce more mucus.
This mucus then traps the germs so your body can get rid of them quickly. That’s why when you have a respiratory infection, you often feel congested, have a scratchy throat, and cough up phlegm. This cough, called a productive cough, is actually helping you clear out the mucus.
But if you also have a fever, trouble breathing, or are coughing up a lot of thick, green phlegm, or even blood, it means your body is having a hard time fighting the infection. In these cases, it’s a good idea to get medical help to make sure it’s not a serious respiratory infection that could affect your health.
➡️Acid Reflux
Another very common reason for persistent phlegm in the throat is acid reflux, also known as gastroesophageal reflux. If the valve that separates your stomach from your esophagus, called the lower esophageal sphincter, doesn’t close properly, stomach acid can travel up into your esophagus and sometimes even reach your throat, especially when you’re lying down. This can cause a scratchy feeling, a dry cough, and sometimes pain. Not only that, but this constant acid exposure in your voice box area makes your body produce more mucus to protect the area, leading to that continuous phlegm in your throat.
And it doesn’t stop there. While you sleep, acidic gases from reflux can be breathed into your lungs, causing irritation and sensitivity in your bronchial tubes. This can lead to symptoms so similar to asthma that doctors sometimes get confused and might treat these patients with asthma inhalers when the real problem is reflux. So, if you have a persistent cough and scratchy throat that gets worse when you lie down or after meals, especially if you also have heartburn, acid reflux might be the cause of your phlegm.
➡️Chronic Bronchitis
Chronic bronchitis is when your bronchial tubes are inflamed for a long time, usually because of smoking or long-term exposure to pollution. This makes your airways produce more mucus than usual. So, if you smoke and notice an increase in mucus and coughing, don’t just brush it off. These could be the first signs of chronic bronchitis. It’s really important to see a doctor in these cases, and most importantly, to quit smoking. Right now, quitting smoking is the only effective treatment for chronic bronchitis.
➡️Dry Air
Spending a lot of time in closed spaces with air conditioning or heating, or living in very dry climates, can irritate the lining of your nose and throat. To protect itself, your body might produce more mucus. But if the air stays very dry, these secretions can dry out too, becoming thicker and stickier. They then get stuck in your throat, and your body can’t get rid of them on its own.
Plus, this long-term dryness can mess with your cilia, which are tiny hair-like structures that line your airways and help move mucus out. If they don’t have enough moisture, they slow down and can’t clear secretions well. So, if your throat feels irritated, dry, itchy, and you have sticky mucus, it’s really important to add moisture to your room. We’ll talk about how to do that naturally later.
➡️Post-Nasal Drip
Sometimes, that annoying sticky mucus feeling in your throat actually comes from your nose. It’s called post-nasal drip. Our sinuses and nose are always making mucus to clean and humidify the air we breathe. Normally, this mucus goes forward and we clear it from our nose.
But sometimes, when our nose and sinuses produce too much mucus, some of it drips down the back of our throat, causing that persistent mucus sensation and a constant need to swallow. This cause is often easier to fix, as we’ll see. But if these symptoms last a long time, it’s a good idea to get help to figure out the root cause, which could be anything from rhinitis to chronic sinusitis or even an allergy you didn’t know you had.
➡️Tumors
Before we get to the solutions for getting rid of excess mucus or phlegm, let’s talk about a less common but serious cause. Sometimes, persistent phlegm can be an early sign of a tumor in the voice box, throat, floor of the mouth, or esophagus. Some types of cancer can cause increased secretions and irritation, showing up as a cough, scratchy throat, or changes in your voice. While this is rare, especially if you don’t have risk factors like smoking or heavy alcohol use, it’s important to be aware. See a doctor if these symptoms don’t get better over time, and especially if you notice changes in your voice or feel any lumps in your neck.
✅Natural Ways to Get Rid of Phlegm
Now that we’ve covered the main causes of persistent phlegm, let’s look at ways to ease that excessive mucus feeling and get rid of it naturally.
✔️Drink Plenty of Water
First off, water is your best friend. It’s the best natural mucolytic out there because it hydrates and thins out mucus, making it less sticky. So, drinking enough water is super important. When you don’t drink enough liquids, your body’s secretions, including mucus, get thicker and harder to get rid of. This makes them stick to your throat and lungs, causing that annoying feeling of phlegm that just won’t budge. A good strategy is to always have a glass of water nearby and sip small amounts every hour, even if you don’t feel thirsty. You can also drink broths or certain herbal teas that help with phlegm, which we’ll talk about next.
✔️Saltwater Gargles and Nasal Rinses
Another very effective and simple method that’s available to everyone is gargling and rinsing your nose with saltwater. Here’s how it works: salt pulls water out of your cells and into the mucus. Your body always tries to balance things out, so when it detects too much salt in your nose or throat, it sends water to those areas, hydrating the mucus and making it easier to expel. But that’s not all. Salt also has properties that help fight off viruses and bacteria, which can reduce inflammation and excess mucus production if an infection is the cause.
To make the saltwater solution, you just need warm, previously boiled water and sea salt or regular table salt. Use about half a teaspoon of salt per cup of water. You can gargle several times a day, holding the mixture in your throat for a few seconds before spitting it out.
For your nose, you can use a syringe or a nasal irrigator. Tilt your head to one side and let the water go in one nostril and come out the other. Even though it seems simple, nasal rinses with saline solution have been shown in many studies to be so effective that most medical groups recommend them as a first-line treatment for persistent mucus. They work well and have no side effects.
✔️Warm Baths or Showers
Another helpful habit for thinning phlegm and making it easier to get rid of is taking warm baths or showers. Let the steam get into your airways. The heat and humidity help thin out thick mucus, making it more liquid and easier to cough up. Plus, steam also helps relax the muscles in your respiratory system. You can also do steam inhalations by pouring very hot water into a bowl and leaning over it with a towel over your head to trap all the steam. You can add a few drops of essential oils like eucalyptus, peppermint, or thyme, which have soothing and decongestant properties.
People in Finland know this well; they have a strong sauna tradition, with an estimated one sauna for every three people. For them, saunas are more than just relaxing; they’re a healthy habit for preventing colds and respiratory problems, thanks to the effect of this moist heat. If you live in a very dry climate or spend a lot of time in places with air conditioning or heating, it’s important to use humidifiers to keep the humidity in your room between 40% and 50%. A much cheaper option is to place bowls of water near radiators or air conditioners, or simply put a basket with damp towels in your room.
✔️Herbal Teas
Finally, there are several herbs that, thanks to their mucus-thinning and expectorant properties, can help you get rid of that annoying phlegm. Among the most effective, according to scientific evidence, are:
- Thyme Tea: Thyme’s main compound, thymol, is very effective against excess mucus in the respiratory system. Studies even show that thyme extract can improve bronchitis symptoms like coughing and sore throat.
- Oregano Tea: The active compounds in oregano, carvacrol and thymol, boost your immune system by stimulating white blood cell production. This helps prevent bacteria or viruses from settling in your throat. Not only that, but these substances in oregano have shown properties that fight microbes and, most interestingly, help you cough up phlegm, which can definitely help clear any annoying phlegm in your throat. For both thyme and oregano tea, use one or two teaspoons of dried leaves in 240 ml of boiling water. Let it steep for about 10 minutes, then strain before drinking.
- Ginger: If there’s one plant known for thinning and breaking up thick mucus in the airways, it’s ginger root. Until recently, we knew that ginger’s active compounds had antibiotic and antiviral properties, and that ginger is a strong anti-inflammatory. But now, new evidence shows that ginger extract can stop mucus production from the start and also relax the smooth muscles in our airways. This helps us move air and any impurities more easily. The recommended dose of ginger is half a teaspoon of powder, or if you prefer tea, use 2 cm of fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced. Put it in a saucepan with 240 ml of water, bring it to a boil, then simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to let the ginger release its active compounds into the water. Then strain and serve.
In short, that feeling of mucus and phlegm in your throat is very common, and we’ve all experienced it at some point. Most of the time, it’s due to temporary things like colds, post-nasal drip, or temperature changes. You can usually ease these symptoms with the methods we’ve talked about: staying hydrated, nasal rinses, steam inhalations, and herbal teas.
But if your symptoms stick around for more than a few days, or if you also have a fever, trouble breathing, or are coughing up a lot of thick, green phlegm, especially if you see blood, it means your body is having a hard time fighting something off. In that case, it’s important to see your doctor so they can figure out the cause and if you need specific treatment. But by keeping these tips in mind, you’ll definitely create a very positive environment in your throat that will help you get rid of that excess mucus much more easily.