Feels like Something Is Stuck in the Back of My Throat

Updated on November 23, 2016
F.B. asks from Kew Gardens, NY
18 answers

Mamas and papas-

This has been going on for about three days now. Annoying but tolerable during the day, absolutely disruptive at night. At night i face fits of cough congestion brought on by coughing and my chest and back hurt from the exertion and lack of sleep.

I've tried robutussion pm, chlorasceptic spray and hot tea with honey.

I expect this will pass in time. Meanwhile any suggestions? What I am taking doesn't seem to be doing the trick. Also I hate taking things which are shotgun when a sniper might do it.

Thanks for your suggestions.
F. B.

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D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I hope you've gone to the doctor. That doesn't sound right. The last time something like that happened to me? I had a sinus and tonsil infection.

I hope you are feeling better

6 moms found this helpful
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D..

answers from Miami on

B., get to the doctor and get some REAL cough medicine. Don't go through what I I did! I coughed so much that I tore cartilege inbetween my ribs. It took months to heal. I cried out in pain when I moved for weeks. SO very miserable. All because I didn't manage the cough.

I just can't emphasize this enough...

3 moms found this helpful

More Answers

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

Yeah, I had this once.
I have a thyroid condition and I was worried it was growing.
I was sure I could feel something in my throat right around that area that I couldn't swallow.
So I went to my ENT and he put a scope down my nose (numbed up the back of my throat) and took a look.
Turns out my thyroid was fine.
However I had an irritated esophagus down near my stomach from acid reflux and that was resulting in a feeling like there was something in my throat that I just couldn't swallow.
A couple of weeks on Prilosec cleared it right up and I've never had that issue again.

When you have a cold, all the snot going down your throat can make your stomach kind of sour.
A temporary acid problem would be understandable.

5 moms found this helpful

S.G.

answers from Los Angeles on

I have had tonsil stones many times, which is something stuck in the throat.

4 moms found this helpful

M.D.

answers from Washington DC on

Thanks for the question "B.".

Just as a reminder per Mamapedia Guidelines:

Medical questions may be asked, HOWEVER, please know that the first and best source for the answers to all such questions will alway be an appropriate certified professional. Please always consult such a professional in these matters first and foremost. Simply put, Mamapedia does not offer medical advice to our members. Any medical advice you receive on the site is taken at your own risk.

-Moderator

4 moms found this helpful

W.W.

answers from Washington DC on

you most likely have tonsillitis. Go to the doctor and get checked out. Most likely will be put on a round of antibiotics and a steroid to reduce the swelling.

Good luck! Hope you are better by Thanksgiving!

4 moms found this helpful
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H.S.

answers from Greenville on

I'm with Suz. It's probably doctor time. I had the flu last week (which I knew the doctor couldn't treat), but then it morphed into a chest cough. After 1 night of half sleeping sitting upright on the couch with a cough drop in my mouth, I went to urgent care Saturday. Along with an antibiotic and steroid, she also gave me cough syrup with Codeine. I'm already feeling much better, and I'm sleeping great! I'm so glad I didn't wait any longer to be seen. Also, if it feels like you have something stuck in your throat, it is likely tonsillitis. It can cause you to get these hard rock-like growths on your tonsils. Feel better!

4 moms found this helpful
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S.S.

answers from Atlanta on

Doctor, urgent care, etc. TODAY.

4 moms found this helpful
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M.S.

answers from Washington DC on

Could possibly be acid reflux. Especially since it is worse at night. Coughing makes the reflux worse and reflux makes my congestion worse. And sometimes it does feel so irritated that it feels as though something is in your throat.

4 moms found this helpful

D.B.

answers from Boston on

Agree - doctor or a walk-in clinic. I'm not one who usually says "drop everything and run to the doctor for everything" but I don't love the sound of this. Someone needs to look at your throat and see if there's any kind of obstruction starting, and if you have this much pain, someone needs to listen to your lungs too. Not sleeping and with 2 kids? Have someone else drive you too, and watch the kids for you. You may even need a chest x-ray. You cannot go around with all that back pain either - you have a little one to lift up all the time.

4 moms found this helpful

T.D.

answers from Springfield on

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 2 tbsp raw honey, mixed with 8oz. HOT water. sip as much as you can while its hot. and while still warm.
(the claim is that it can cure strep, and i will sip this mix every time i get a slight throat issue, vinegar kills, honey sooths and the heat melts mucus while steam opens up your lungs. works for me.. may not work for you but its worth a shot)

4 moms found this helpful
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M.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Sounds like phlegm/postnasal drip from a cold. Under normal circumstances, I personally usually wait a week before I go to a doctor, because a virus will start to go away in a week. I figure that after a week, maybe I'll need an antibiotic. However, this isn't a normal week because of the holiday Thursday, and most doctors' offices are also closed Friday. So, I'd see if I could get in before Thursday if I were you.

As for medicine, a little info about cough medicines. There are 2 types - expectorants and suppressants.
Expectorants (guaifenesin is the major one) help to liquify the mucus and get it out. They work best with an active cough because together those things break up the mucus and help get rid of it.
Suppressants (usually dextromethorphan) don't help with the mucus at all. They are simply to make you more comfortable by suppressing your urge to cough and they can actually make expectorants less effective.

So, what I do with a cough is take a pure expectorant during the day (eg, Mucinex) to try to get rid of the mucus. Then take a cough suppressant (delsym) at night to try to get some sleep. I avoid things with multiple ingredients like robitussin PM, because sometimes the combinations of ingredients don't really make sense. I prefer medicines with single ingredients instead so I can minimize the medicines in my system and only take exactly what I need.

I hope you feel better soon!

(normal disclaimer that this is my own perspective and what I do for myself, I'm not an MD)

4 moms found this helpful
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J.C.

answers from New York on

If you're coughing at night and it's keeping you up, you need to see the doctor. You don't want something simple to turn into Pneumonia. And besides, a quick trip to the doc means you can get some cough syrup with codeine. Taken at bedtime will make you sleep so much more soundly. Zzzzzzzz! Ahhhhhhhh.

Feel better!!

3 moms found this helpful
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M.G.

answers from Portland on

If this was me, this is what I would try until I could get in to be checked out - I would try a decongestant - if I'd had any congestion at all. My son used to get a cough at night only, terrible, from post nasal drip going down the back of his throat at night, and it was just enough to make him cough. He could drink water, but he'd lie back and start coughing again within a short while. The decongestant dried up the post nasal drip.

But I agree with Wild Woman too. When I've had a cough like that, and it feels as if something is in my throat, it has usually been an infection of sorts - my husband can check for me - see if my throat looks swollen at all or white dots, etc. Mind you, it's usually sore.

I would make an appointment to go in. Best to you

3 moms found this helpful

S.T.

answers from Washington DC on

three days of suffering with no sleep and no relief is past time for OTC and home remedies. yes, it will pass in time, but you've got littles to take care of.
go to the doctor and get this behind you.
khairete
S.

2 moms found this helpful
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C.C.

answers from New York on

DOCTOR! Urgent care if necessary! TODAY!

This is not the week for Mrs. B. to be sick. Thanksgiving is such a busy time.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.K.

answers from Wausau on

I was like that with the crazy strong cough and getting increasingly bad for two weeks. Yes, 14 full days before I finally saw a doctor.

The coughing/bronchitis was caused by a bacterial sinus infection. The throat feeling in my case was caused by irritation from the coughing. An untreated sinus infection was how I ended up with pneumonia a few years ago. Fortunately, this time I got it handled before it got that bad.

I got an antibiotic (first time in years) and an inhaler. It is now 10 days since my doctor visit. I'm doing much better, but still get tired easily and tend to cough a lot mid-day/evening. I rarely wake up coughing at night now though, so that's great.

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E.S.

answers from Jacksonville on

Neti pot or sinus rinse (same thing as a neti pot but with a squeeze bottle). It will flush out your sinus cavity and rinse away any phlem in the back of your throat.

Updated

Neti pot or sinus rinse (same thing as a neti pot but with a squeeze bottle). It will flush out your sinus cavity and rinse away any phlem in the back of your throat.

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