Drinks containing caffeine, like black tea, coffee and soft drinks, accelerate mucus buildup. Swap these drinks for some caffeine-free alternatives (like decaf coffee and herbal teas) to reduce phlegm.
Stay hydrated and warm
Water and other liquids can loosen your congestion by helping your mucus move. Try sipping liquids, like juice, clear broths, and soup. Other good liquid choices include decaffeinated tea, warm fruit juice, and lemon water.
An infection can make mucus thicker and stickier. Infections also lead to inflammation in the mucous membranes that line the nose and the rest of your airway. This can cause certain airway glands to make more mucus. That mucus can get thick with bacteria and cells that arrive to fight the infection.
Milk consumption and phlegm production among people with the common cold in a clinical study showed no increased phlegm associated with drinking milk. Self-reported problems with mucus were the same between two study groups — one drinking milk and another drinking soy milk.
Drinking club soda or hot tea with lemon, or sucking on sugar-free sour lemon drops may help break up mucus. Increase your fluid intake to 8-12 cups per day to help loosen phlegm.
Drinking cold water does affect your body in ways you might not anticipate or want. An older and small study from 1978 , involving 15 people, found that drinking cold water made nasal mucous thicker and more difficult to pass through the respiratory tract.
Possible causes of excess mucus can be food allergies, an acid reflux from the stomach, or an infection. The consistency of mucus in the throat also varies depending on what is going on in your body. Common causes of too much mucus in the throat include a cold or flu, acute bronchitis, sinusitis or pneumonia.
Drinking hot water may help mucous move more quickly. This means that drinking hot water may encourage coughing and nose-blowing to be more productive.
Although dairy products, such as ice cream and yogurt, can thicken mucus for a person suffering from a head cold, eating cold dairy products, such as ice cream, may help ease irritation in a sore throat.
Grapefruit is wonderful for breaking down excessive mucus and luckily is in season right now. I also love lemon or lime juice in warm water to hydrate (which helps expel mucus) and support immune function.
Excess carbohydrates and refined sugar can also weaken good bacteria and, therefore, cause the body to produce mucus.
Phlegm textures
During an infection, immune cells, germs, and debris build up in the phlegm, making it thicker, stickier, and cloudier. Coughing and sneezing help the body clear out the excess phlegm, mucus, and other things that do not belong in the respiratory tract.
The acid in apples can clear out mucus in the mouth and throat, but, again, there are other foods that can do this better. “It's like thinning the oil in your car so it makes secretions easier to handle,” says Robert Sataloff, the chairman of Drexel University's otolaryngology department.
Breaks Up Mucus
Lemon water's strong shot of citric acid dissolves mucus and phlegm. Antioxidants and a strong shot of vitamin C help kill the virus, causing the mucus in the first place. Add a good squeeze of lemon to hot water and honey to reap the benefits.
Under the precepts of Chinese medicine, balance is key, and hot or warm water is considered essential to balance cold and humidity; in addition, it is believed to promote blood circulation and toxin release.
Have Some Honey — It's a Natural Cough Suppressant. If you enjoy the taste of honey, you're in luck. “Hot liquids with honey can soothe and treat cough for short-term periods,” says Dr. Russell. Use plain hot water or a favorite hot tea, and add honey and lemon to taste (the lemon is just for flavor).
We conclude that drinking hot fluids transiently increases nasal mucus velocity in part or totally through the nasal inhalation of water vapor.
The possible causes of chronic throat clearing are numerous and should be determined by a medical evaluation. These causes may include acid reflux irritation, post-nasal drip from allergies or sinusitis, the presence of vocal fold lesions, neurologic conditions such as tics, and side effects of certain medications.
If you have a cold, flu, or nasal allergies that cause your sinuses to clog up, drinking warm or hot water may help ease your symptoms so that breathing becomes easier. By contrast, drinking cold water may make you feel worse by thickening nasal mucus. When you want to promote digestion.
Mucus in the lungs is known as phlegm or sputum. It is a common symptom in chronic lung diseases such as COPD (including chronic bronchitis and emphysema), cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis, NTM lung disease or asthma.