Post Nasal Drip
Post nasal drip is a sensation of mucous build up in the throat.
Sometimes you may even feel a dripping sensation from the back
of your nose. The cause is over-production of mucous by glands
in the nose and in the throat.
At a healthy level those glands produce around two quarts of
mucous each day. Most, if not all, of that is swallowed without
knowing it. The mucous, however, serves a healthy purpose at
this level, cleaning and moistening nasal passages, trapping
foreign matter that has been inhaled, moistening and humidifying
the air you breathe, and even fighting infection.
At an unhealthy level, mucous becomes either excessively thick
or excessively thin, possibly due to irritation, infection, or
allergic reaction. Those who have difficulty swallowing normally
may especially need to be cautious, because build-up may fester
and cause infection.
There are some things we cannot control. For example, more than
90% of irritants and bacteria which cause infection enter the
body through the nose. Much of it will remain in the nasal
passages and seek to live and grow there.
The body will react to the infection by sending its defense
system of white blood cells to the nasal passages to trigger
more mucous production in order to