What Causes Breathing Problem And Productive Cough With Greyish Black Spots?

Posted on Sat, 14 May 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 15 May 2016 Answered on

Thu, 23 Jun 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : In the last couple of months i have noticed more nasal congestion than usual and i find myself stuggling tl breath through my nose, ive never smoked and i feel the urge to cough due to the feeling of mucus in my throat when i do cough i cough up a thick clear mucous sonetimes the mucus has greyish black spots and i assume its due to seasonal allergies but it is becoming very annoying i find myself constantly using nasal spray and vaproizers to breath ive gone to the dr for steriodal shots to reduce inflammation my concern is the greyish black specks in thw mucus is there a particular specialist i should be seeing for this?

Answered by Dr. Nishad BN (9 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Allergic rhinitis is a possibility.

Detailed Answer:
Hi

Thank you for asking HCM.

I have gone through your query. Your problem can be due to allergic rhinitis. Local examination with ENT specialist will be helpful to rule out this. Greyish specs can be from post nasal drip. Possibility of sinusitis also should be ruled out. ENT examination is helpful for this.
In case of allergic rhinitis taking corticosteroid nasal sprays like fluticasone and combination of anti histamines like levocetirizine and mast cell stabilzers like monteleukast for 2 to 4 weeks according to severity will be helpful. If you have gastritis and gastro esophageal reflux then that also can stimulate this. In such case taking proton pump inhibitors like esomeprazole is also advised.

A consultation with ENT specialist is well appreciated. Blood routine test any eosinophil count also helps to identify whether it is from allergy.

Let me know if anything not clear.
I am happy to help you.
Thanks.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar