Post Nasal Drip Causes

POST NASAL DRIP CAUSES

Post Nasal Drip Explanation
Post Nasal Drip is best understood as a flow of mucus from the nasal and sinus areas. This mucus then travels down the oro pharynx, where it can collect at the back of the throat and tongue. Most often it is caused or exacerbated by some form of chronic irritation or sickness or allergy. The situation can be made worse by dry mouth, mouth breathing, or medications.

Picture of the sinuses of the skull Mucus is made by cells of the nasal lining and sinus lining. Sinuses are air filled spaces situated in our skull. The main sinuses are :

Frontal sinus in the forehead
Ethmoid sinus between our eyes
Maxillary sinus in our cheek bones
Sphenoid sinus at the back of the nose

The purpose of the mucus is to trap introduced particles and irritants and pass them harmlessly from the body. Unfortunately, this process can sometimes go haywire and we can produce too much mucus. This causes an overflow or "post nasal drip". Listed below are the post nasal drip triggers.

Post Nasal Drip Triggers ?

Inhaled Irritants; This is the most common cause of post nasal drip. As explained previously the function of mucous is to trap dust and other irritant particles in the mucous created in the upper sinuses and therefore stop them spreading into our main breathing area. When there is a lot of dust or if the body is sensitive to these particles, this can cause an allergic reaction or rhinitis. This is a swelling of the nasal and sinus linings, and is extremely common especially in today's world of smog and dust.
Dairy Products; Such foods as dairy, milk, cheese, yoghurt, and soy products, can cause mucous to thicken dramatically. This can then inhibit proper drainage.
Allergies to foods; Allergies to such things as wheat, eggs, milk or nuts. These will once again thicken mucous, and inhibit proper drainage.
Illnesses; Such as flu, colds, bronchitis, ear infections and tonsillitis are the main culprits in post nasal drip and excess mucous. If you are an asthma sufferer, not only can the excess mucous trigger asthma attacks but it can make breathing through the nasal passages difficult causing the asthmatic to breath through the mouth instead. This is very bad for asthma sufferers, as mouth breathing means that you have not warmed or humidified the air taken into the lungs, and this in turn can also trigger an asthma attack. Also an asthma attack can be triggered because mouth breathing means you have not filtered the air of impurities, as this is the function of the nasal and sinus cavities.