Throat needs clearing - Your Community Health Forum - Brief Article

A READER from Irvine, Calif., constantly clears her throat. Doctor-recommended remedies for airborne allergies, acid reflux, and bacterial infection didn't work. She wrote in looking for possible natural solutions.

MARY SMITH from Lafayette, Colo., responded: Ask your physician to measure the level of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in your body. Also, some mind-body practitioners believe a congested throat may signal that you're not expressing your feelings. Maybe there is something you are trying to say that keeps getting stuck in your throat.

M.D. PRIETO from San Juan, Puerto Rico, responded: I believe it's very likely that a food allergy is behind your throat problems. Dairy foods, which encourage mucus production in many people, might be the cause.

BOBBI AQUA, L.AC., an acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist from East Hampton, N.Y., responded via email: If you have phlegm in your throat, you might have a condition that traditional Chinese medicine calls Plum Pit Qi (because it feels like you have a plum pit in your throat). A Chinese formula called ban xia hou po tang, which can be obtained from an acupuncturist, will dry up the phlegm. Acupuncture may also help.

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