Excessive mucous production

[Superzob]

I usually respond to other people's posts, and have only ever started a new post once before, but I'm hoping that someone out there may have an answer to this particular issue.

About 3 years ago, I was diagnosed with late onset asthma and moderate/severe fixed small airways obstruction, after 6 years of incessant winter colds and a little chest tightness. Symbicort seems to have sorted those problems, but I tend to get excessive mucous production, though it's quite thin. My consultant, a nice but quite abrupt guy, ignored this for 3 years (on the basis that my chest is clear), but this year put me on montelucast (which seems to do nothing other than make me tired), and referred me for physiotherapy to remove deep-seated mucous, which does nothing at all because the mucous seems to be quite high up in the throat. I'm trying N-Acetyl cysteine, but both that and carbocysteine are designed to thin mucous, which is not really the problem, so I'm not sure whether it's having much effect.

If anyone out there has a solution, I would welcome your comments

Many thanks

[SheilaC]

Are you drinking lots of water? That helps.

[Hidden]

Hi, can you try fexofenadine? I take it 3 times daily as I have hypersecretion of mucus as well as sneezing, watery eyes etc & it’s the best of the ones I have tried. I have previously been on Montelukast as well as carbocysteine with no real effect.

Worth a try surely.

good luck!

[Helen0304]

Hi.

You sound like me. I have late onset asthma. I reacted to montelukast and had to stop taking it. I had physio which helped me with my breathing technique during an attack but didn't help with my constant mucus problem.

I used to have 2 or 3 chest infections every year but since being on fostair I haven't had one for 2 years.

I find the only thing that controls my mucus is loratadine. I can't get it on prescription any more since the government cut backs but I buy it in bulk off Amazon and take it every day from about Feb to October as I react to many different pollens.

Hope you sort it soon as it is quite debilitating when it is constant.

[Superzob in reply to Helen0304]

Thanks, nellysasthma, that is very helpful. It is interesting that you have substituted loratidine for montelucast as I believe they are both antihistamines, and might therefore have a similar effect. Unfortunately, I find that most antihistamines make me tired and foggy, but I may give montelucast another go, now that supplies seem to have recovered (I didn't want to start and then find I couldn't get repeats, resulting in a "rebound" effect).

The other possibility is cinnarizine, which is an antihistamine used for travel sickness. I can definitely tolerate that and it makes my mouth dry, which suggests an antimuscarinic effect. Also, I found my winter "colds" dried up when I continued to use Beconase through the winter as well as for summer hayfever - there definitely seems to be a link between asthma symptoms and antihistamines, it's just a case of finding the right one!

Thanks again.

[Helen0304]

You are right, it is a case of finding the right one and they definitely have to be taken pretty much all the time to work properly. I may well try taking Loratadine in the winter then to see if that helps with my constant winter colds. Hope you find something soon!

[Matman]

A Long Term unresolved infection is another possibly that might underpin your problem.

As you’re no doubt aware, virus infections rather than bacteria tend to be the main problem for Asthmatics, and can’t be tackled by antibiotics. (Around 70% of exacerbations are caused by them). However, persistent low level infection may also be due to bacteria which can be dealt with by ABs.

Asthma is increasingly seen as a disease not only of the lungs but of the entire airway system, extending into the Nasal Passages. Therefore any unresolved stubborn infection in any part of the airways may lead to persistent mucus problems.

A typical one week course of antibiotics may not be sufficient to budge certain bacterial infections, so a longer course - about 4 weeks - may help in such circumstances. I found a couple of weeks of clarythromycin (spelling??) worked well for me.

If your mucus is coloured rather than clear, then a chat with your GP, plus a mucus test along with a blood test for C-reactive protein and other infection markers, may help.

I’m on Montelukast and think it’s a good drug (it’s not an antihistamine). You take it at bedtime to avoid sleepiness right? (That’s when your supposed to take it).

Also found that increased activity really helped my Asthma (I walk about 5 Miles at least 3 Times a Week, more often 5 or 6 Times).

[Gazza01]

If it's quite high up it could be post nasal drip. Coming from above rather than below your throat. If so you could try a good nose wash with saline solution. Plus a decent antihistamine. Talk to your GP first. Mine told me to take quite a high dose of loratadine tabs. They may give you a nasal spray but do your homework as many are rubbish and do nothing.