Phlegm (also known as Mucus) can be annoying, and it can seem to come up at the worst times. It is okay when you cough this substance up at home where you have a tissue handy, or you can spit it out into the toilet, but when you are in public you wish it would go away forever.
Phlegm is actually the sign of stinging throat. If you have the presence of phlegm then you have had something in your body that has been causing troubles with your upper respiratory system and your body is trying to fight that problem off.
What Is Phlegm
Phlegm is the combination of mucous that is produced by your body, the dead bacteria that your body needs to expel, white blood cells that are dead, and other cells, and tissue fragments that have been damaged in the battle over your respiratory system. Phlegm is your lungs way of taking out the trash.
Ways to Eliminate Phlegm or Reduce Phlegm Production
There is no way to stop yourself from ever having phlegm to expel, and you do not really want to do that. There are ways to reduce the instances when you have this problem. You can try some or all of the following tricks:
- Quit smoking – Smoking aggravates the lungs and the bronchial tubes and causes the person to produce a lot more phlegm than non-smokers do. The longer you smoke the better the chances are of you killing all of the cilia that line your lungs. When the cilia are reduced it becomes harder for you to cough up that phlegm, and then the phlegm you cough up starts to appear to be brown or grayish in color. At this point your body is sending you every signal it can that the cigarettes are killing you.
- Treat sinus infections so that the secretions that should be removed from your body by other waste removal means, are not blocked from being removed. When they build up then your body has to try and force them out.
- Take an expectorant to cause the phlegm to come up and be gotten out. Never take a suppressant to stop you from removing the phlegm from your body. Suppressants will worsen the amount you have in your body and cause it to take longer for you to expel all of the mucous. The expectorant on the other hand loosens the mucous and allows your body to have an easier time of expelling it.
- Drink plenty of fluids to help to loosen up any hardened phlegm in your system Fluids help to wash any of the phlegm that is sticking in your throat on out so they do not cause additional buildup. Warm fluids are especially beneficial in helping to remove this from your body.
You should always seek medical advice when the phlegm you are expelling is a different color than normal. Dark colors can be signs of serious complications or other conditions that need medical attention to be resolved.
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