A runny throat can cause discomfort, so you may feel like you need to keep clearing your throat. Sore throat, hoarseness, and coughing can also accompany this condition. Even if it's harmless, you should know the cause behind this condition and how to treat it so that it doesn't happen again.
Mucus is normally produced by various parts of the body. In the throat, mucus functions to keep this area moist and trap foreign objects and organisms, such as dirt, dust, parasites, viruses, and bacteria, so they don't go deeper into the respiratory tract.
But in some conditions, the production of mucus in the throat can be too much. In addition, mucus from the nose can also come down and accumulate in the throat. This condition is called postnasal drip.
Various Causes of a Slimy Throat
The body produces about 1-1.5 liters of mucus every day. However, this number can increase when you experience the following conditions:
- Allergies, such as allergies to dust or pollen.
- Infection and inflammation of the sinuses (sinusitis).
- Pregnancy.
- Colds and flu.
- Changes in weather, becoming colder or drier.
- Eating certain foods that are too spicy.
- Exposure to fumes or fumes from chemicals, perfumes, cleaning products, vehicles, and cigarettes.
- The impact of the use of certain drugs, such as blood pressure control drugs.
Easy Ways to Relieve a Slimy Throat at Home
There are various easy ways that you can do to treat a runny throat, namely:
1. Drink lots of water and nutritious warm soup
If left unchecked, the mucus in the throat will thicken and make you feel even more uncomfortable. Therefore, the mucus needs to be diluted. One way is to drink more water. It also helps keep the throat moist, making it more comfortable.
In addition to drinking water, soup or warm tea can also be an alternative. Not only thinning mucus, the warm steam from this dish can also provide a sense of comfort and help relieve a stuffy throat and nose.
2. Take a bath with warm water
Similar to consuming warm soup, taking a warm bath can also help provide a sense of comfort by inhaling the steam from the warm water.
3. Spray or gargle with salt water
You can spray sterile salt water (saline) into one nostril and out of the other nostril. This method is quite effective in helping to overcome a runny throat due to chronic sinusitis and allergies. If saline water is hard to find, you can use a nasal spray that can have a similar effect.
In addition to squirting water into your nose, you can gargle with salt water. It's easy, just dissolve 1 tablespoon of salt in a glass of warm water, then rinse your mouth with this water. This method can also help clear mucus buildup in the back of the throat and relieve it.
4. Keep the humidity and cleanliness of the home environment
The temperature of the house air should be kept moist, considering that dry air is one of the triggers for a slimy throat. Not only that, you also need to keep your house clean to get rid of bacteria, viruses, dirt, dust, parasites, and even fungi that may be the cause of this condition.
5. Consumption of drugs that can thin the mucus
If this complaint continues to bother you, you can visit a doctor to be examined and given drugs that can facilitate the discharge of mucus from the throat. Your doctor may prescribe mucolytic, expectorant, or antihistamine drugs to relieve this symptom.
Some of the ways above you can do as an initial treatment to treat a slimy throat at home. However, if the mucus throat does not heal and improves, you are advised to consult an ENT specialist for further treatment.