THROAT CLEARING

What causes me to need to clear my throat?

Irritation of the vocal folds and surrounding area can cause the urge to clear your throat. This may be caused by acid reflux, allergies, or environmental factors. Sometimes it is brought on by a cold or sore throat, but doesn’t go away with the infection. Talk with your doctor about how to treat the underlying cause, if there is one. Throat clearing can become a vicious cycle. You feel irritation, so you clear your throat, causing more irritation, causing you to clear your throat even more, causing even more irritation.

What can I do to decrease throat clearing?

Ask a friend, spouse, or family member to tell you every time you clear your throat – you may not be aware you are even doing it.

Replace the throat clear with something else. When you feel the need to clear your throat, replace it with another behavior.

• Take a sip of water. Some people find very cold water the most helpful. • If you don’t have water, swallow hard. • Give a “silent” throat clear, by exhaling hard on a “hhh” sound. • Breathe in deeply through your nose, and exhale on a “shhh” sound. Do this several times until

the need to clear your throat passes.

Keep yourself well hydrated.

• Suck on glycerine based hard candies (NOT menthol cough drops) • Eat “wet snacks” such as grapes, cucumbers, melon, apple slices • Drink plenty of water • Use a humidifier at night