“There is always a mouthful of phlegm in my throat, which I can’t cough up and swallow”, which is very uncomfortable. So what’s going on with this “phlegm”?
There is always a mouthful of phlegm in the throat. In one case, the inflammatory stimulation caused by chronic pharyngitis causes the secretion to increase, forming phlegm and coughing out; in another case, chronic pharyngitis causes the pharyngeal mucosa to swell and irritate. There is a foreign body in the throat, and there is usually a feeling of old phlegm. When acute exacerbation of chronic pharyngitis is complicated by bacterial infection, antibiotics may be required for anti-inflammatory treatment.
(from “Nanjing Morning News”)