I have a severe cough and a feeling of lump stuck in the throat. Kindly help.

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

The most common reason for having this irritation in the throat with a feeling of a lump or something obstructing while swallowing saliva can be a feature of chronic silent GERD with LPR (gastroesophageal reflux with laryngopharyngeal reflux). Even though you might be asymptomatic or never had gastric issues in between, the throat's inflammation often exists in the hidden form. It can resurface when adequate care is not taken. Why does hidden acid reflux become so problematic? As you know, the stomach usually has cells that release hydrochloric acid and thus keep the gastric environment acidic. Your entire mucosal lining from the mouth, throat, and food pipe (esophagus) is not meant to handle anything acidic. Of the three structures, the throat is the most sensitive due to its rich nerve supply. Suppose in a given situation, your mouth, throat, or food pipe chronically comes in contact with acidic contents. In that case, an inflammation starts, which the body initially takes care of, but once this compensation wears out, you start developing symptoms that you have mentioned. Please try to follow the advice mentioned below: 1. Maintain a strict diet, eating on time. 2. Avoid spicy oily and cold food/drinks. 3. Keep a gap of two hours between meals and going to bed. 4. Do not overeat, rather keep your stomach half empty and have regular intermittent light food like fresh-cut fruits in between major meals. 5. Saltwater gargling eight to ten times a day for 15 days. 6. Avoid alcohol and smoking as it can potentiate reflux. 7. Try to maintain a left lateral position while sleeping to reduce the chance of reflux. Treatment plan: Take tablet Pan D 40 mg (Pantoprazole and Domperidone) once in the morning before breakfast for one month, syrup Mucaine gel (or its equivalent) one teaspoon three times a day 20 minutes before meals for one month. Make sure you follow the precautionary measures as much as possible as mere medications will not fetch long term relief. Please understand that this typically takes four to six weeks for things to normalize and for symptoms to subside and chiefly depends on how much you have followed the precautions mentioned above as 80 percent of the treatment lies there. You need to worry about absolutely nothing as this is a treatable entity, and things will be fine. I hope this helps.