Post Nasal Drip: Causes, Natural Relief and Night Cough

Post Nasal Drip: What Causes It, How to Stop It, and Why It Makes You Cough at Night

Written and medically reviewed by Veronique Claes d’Erckenteel, D.C., chiropractor since 1991 · Last reviewed: 19 October 2026

Post nasal drip is mucus from the back of your nose running down your throat. A little is normal: your nose makes mucus all day and you swallow it without noticing. When you suddenly feel more of it, with constant throat clearing, a tickle or a cough that’s worse at night, it’s often the first sign of inflammation in the lining of your nose. To stop post nasal drip, rinse your nose with salt water, run a humidifier, drink enough and sleep with your head raised. Then look for the true origin: an allergy, a cold, reflux or dry air. If it keeps getting worse or lasts more than three weeks, see an ENT specialist or an allergist.

Most people only notice post nasal drip when it changes. Suddenly there’s that feeling of something stuck at the back of the throat, the urge to clear your throat every few minutes, a scratchy voice in the morning, or a cough that leaves you alone all day and starts the moment you lie down.

The drip itself isn’t the problem; it’s a messenger. Your nose is making more mucus, or thicker mucus, because something is irritating or inflaming it. Treat the drip and you feel better for a few hours. Find what’s behind it, and you can calm it for good. This guide is part of our cough series; for every type of cough, start with how to stop coughing.

The short version

Post nasal drip is mucus running from the back of your nose down your throat.
More than normal is often the start of inflammation in the nose. Find the true origin.
Most common causes: allergies, colds, dry air, irritants and reflux.
It’s a top reason for a cough at night: lying down, the mucus runs straight into your throat.
Natural relief: salt water rinses, a humidifier, steam, water, a raised head and two simple throat tricks.
Getting worse or lasting more than 3 weeks? See an ENT specialist or an allergist.

What Is Post Nasal Drip?
Post Nasal Drip Symptoms
What Causes Post Nasal Drip?
More Drip Than Normal? Find the True Origin
How Post Nasal Drip Causes Your Night Cough
How to Stop Post Nasal Drip Naturally
Neti Pot, Nasal Rinse and Saline Spray
A Humidifier for Post Nasal Drip
Two Tricks for Mucus Stuck in Your Throat
Home Remedies for Post Nasal Drip
Post Nasal Drip and Reflux
How Long Does Post Nasal Drip Last?
When to See a Specialist
Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Post Nasal Drip?

The lining of your nose and sinuses makes mucus all day long. It’s a protective layer: it traps dust, pollen and germs, keeps the airways moist, and is slowly moved towards the back of your throat, where you swallow it without noticing.

Post nasal drip is when you start to notice it. Either your nose is making more mucus than usual, or the mucus has become thicker and stickier, so it no longer slides down easily. It collects at the back of the throat, you feel it dripping, and your body tries to clear it by swallowing, clearing your throat or coughing.

Post Nasal Drip Symptoms

The feeling of mucus dripping down or something stuck at the back of the throat
Constant throat clearing and swallowing
A tickly or dry cough, usually worse at night and first thing in the morning
A scratchy, sore throat and throat pain, especially in the morning
A hoarse or croaky voice
Bad breath
Waking up with a mucusy throat, or feeling sick from swallowed mucus

You can have post nasal drip without a runny nose. In that case the mucus simply goes backwards instead of forwards, and many people don’t connect their throat symptoms with their nose at all.

What Causes Post Nasal Drip?

Allergies: the most common cause of ongoing post nasal drip. Pollen, dust mites, pet hair and mould inflame the lining of the nose and make it pour out thin, watery mucus.
Colds, flu and sinus infections: the lining swells and makes thicker mucus for a week or two. See head cold remedies and sinus infection remedies.
Dry air: heating dries the mucus out so it turns thick and sticky.
Irritants: smoke, perfume, strong cleaning products, air pollution.
Weather changes and cold air.
Spicy food: it makes the nose run for a while, which is harmless.
Reflux: stomach acid reaching the throat can feel exactly like post nasal drip (see below).
Pregnancy: hormones make the lining of the nose swell.
A deviated septum or nasal polyps, which block the normal flow of mucus.
Certain medications: ask your doctor or pharmacist if it started after a new one.

More Drip Than Normal? Find the True Origin

Post nasal drip might be the start of an inflammation. When you suddenly have more post nasal drip than normal, don’t just treat the drip: check out what the true origin is. The lining of your nose is telling you it’s irritated, and the question is by what.

These are the things I always check first:

Allergies. Does it get worse around cats or dogs, in bed (dust mites), in a damp room (mould), or after certain foods? Does it come back in the same season every year? Keep a simple diary for two weeks: where you were, what you ate, whether pets were close, how much you dripped.
A cold you’re fighting. Post nasal drip is often the first sign of a cold, before the rest shows up.
Your bedroom. Dry air, dusty pillows, pets on the bed and a window open on a high pollen night all feed it.
Your stomach. Heartburn, a sour taste or symptoms after late meals point to reflux.
Your current stress load. A high stress load affects your immune system and makes the lining of the nose more reactive.

Only once you understand where the inflammation comes from can you treat it accordingly. If it might be an allergy and it’s getting worse, go to a specialist: an allergist can test what you actually react to, and an ENT specialist (ear, nose and throat) can look inside your nose and sinuses. Knowing the cause saves you months of guessing.

A healthy lifestyle helps calm an inflamed system from the inside: plenty of water, vegetables and good proteins, less sugar, refined carbs and alcohol, daily movement and enough sleep. Alcohol in particular makes the lining of the nose swell.

How Post Nasal Drip Causes Your Night Cough

Post nasal drip is one of the most common reasons people cough at night. During the day, while you’re standing and sitting, much of the mucus rolls down and out of your nose. When you lie down, it goes the other way: it runs from the back of your nose straight down into your throat, lands on the sensitive area around your voice box, and your body coughs to protect your airways.

The link is strong. A nationwide study of 136,506 children found that those with rhinitis, an inflamed lining of the nose, were around three times more likely to have a dry cough at night, and the researchers concluded that the upper airways should be examined in every child with a night cough (Higuchi et al., Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, 2012). So if your cough starts as soon as your head touches the pillow, look at your nose first.

How to stop coughing at night from post nasal drip:

Rinse your nose with salt water before bed.
Take a warm shower or sit in a steamy bathroom to loosen the mucus.
Sleep with your head and upper body raised, or on your side.
Run a cool mist humidifier in the bedroom.
Take a spoonful of honey right before bed (over 12 months only). See honey for cough.
Keep a glass of water by the bed and use the throat tricks below when the tickle comes.

Our full guide on how to stop a cough at night covers every cause.

How to Stop Post Nasal Drip Naturally

To stop post nasal drip, you want to do two things: clear and thin the mucus that’s there now, and calm the inflammation that’s producing it.

Rinse your nose with salt water once or twice a day. The fastest way to stop post nasal drip right away.
Keep the air moist with a humidifier, especially at night.
Drink enough water so the mucus stays thin and slides down easily.
Breathe in steam from a hot shower or a bowl of hot water, with a few drops of eucalyptus if you like.
Raise your head at night.
Avoid your triggers: smoke, perfume, pets in the bedroom, dusty bedding.
Cut back on alcohol and late meals, which make the nose swell and reflux more likely.
Find and treat the origin (see above).

Neti Pot, Nasal Rinse and Saline Spray

Rinsing your nose with salt water is the best natural treatment for post nasal drip. It washes out mucus, pollen and dust before they reach your throat, and it calms the lining of the nose. A Cochrane review found that saline irrigation reduced symptoms in people with allergic rhinitis (Head et al., Cochrane, 2018), and saline solutions are among the natural remedies with evidence for post-viral cough too (Ciprandi and Tosca, 2021).

Neti pot or rinse bottle: the most thorough. Lean over the sink, tilt your head sideways and pour the salt water into the upper nostril so it runs out of the other one. Then the other side.
Saline spray: gentler and easy to carry. Good during the day, for children, and for people who don’t like a full rinse.
Saline drops: for babies and small children, followed by a gentle nasal aspirator.

Homemade rinse: dissolve ½ teaspoon of non-iodised salt and a pinch of baking soda in 250 ml (1 cup) of lukewarm water.

Important: only ever use distilled, sterile, or boiled and cooled water for a neti pot, never water straight from the tap. Tap water can very rarely carry an amoeba that’s dangerous in the nose. Wash and dry the neti pot after every use.

A Humidifier for Post Nasal Drip

Dry air thickens mucus, which is exactly what makes post nasal drip feel sticky and stuck. A cool mist humidifier in the bedroom keeps the mucus thin so it slides down without you noticing. Aim for a room humidity of about 40 to 50%. Clean the humidifier every day and change the water, because a dirty humidifier spreads mould and makes allergies worse. More on choosing one in our dry cough humidifier guide.

Two Tricks for Mucus Stuck in Your Throat

When mucus sits at the back of your throat, try these two tricks instead of clearing your throat over and over, which only irritates it further.

The throat lubrication trick. Breathing through your nose with your mouth closed, suck the back of your tongue up and back towards the inside of your nose. You may hear a soft click. Let the moisture that gathers there run down the back of your throat, then swallow. It moistens thick mucus so it slides down instead of sticking.

Hum and gargle with your mouth closed. Close your mouth and make a low gargling or humming sound deep in your throat, as if gargling without water, for 10 to 20 seconds. The vibration loosens sticky mucus so you can swallow it.

More ways to clear mucus are in our guide on how to get rid of phlegm.

Home Remedies for Post Nasal Drip

These are traditional remedies, passed down in families, that soothe the throat and help the mucus move:

A salt water gargle: half a teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water, gargle and spit, two or three times a day. It soothes throat pain from post nasal drip.
Ginger tea: simmer a few slices of fresh ginger for 10 minutes, add lemon and honey once it has cooled a little.
Chicken soup or warm broth: warm, hydrating, and the steam helps a blocked nose.
Warm water with lemon and honey through the day.
Honey with a pinch of cayenne or black pepper, a traditional warming remedy for a mucusy throat.
Garlic in your cooking, a traditional winter remedy.
Apple cider vinegar: a tablespoon in a glass of warm water with honey is a traditional drink. Use a straw and rinse your mouth after, to protect your teeth.
Eucalyptus oil in the diffuser at night to open the nose (from age 3; for children aged 2 to 3, use a kids’ blend; no oils under 2).
Vitamin C: oranges and mandarins in autumn and winter, and extra vitamin C when you feel a cold coming on.

For more, see our cough remedies at home and tea for cough.

A word on medicines: decongestant nasal sprays can make the swelling worse when used for more than three days, so never use them longer than the label says. If you think you need allergy medicine regularly, that’s a sign to get tested properly rather than guess.

Post Nasal Drip and Reflux

Sometimes what feels like post nasal drip isn’t coming from the nose at all. When stomach acid creeps up to the throat, often silently and without heartburn, it irritates the throat and makes it produce mucus of its own. You get the same throat clearing, the same lump in the throat and the same cough.

Signs it might be reflux: it’s worse after meals or when you lie down, you have a sour or bitter taste, a hoarse voice in the morning, or your nose actually feels clear. Try eating your last meal two to three hours before bed, smaller meals, less coffee, alcohol and spicy food, and sleeping with the head end of your bed raised. If that helps, read our guide to GERD cough remedies, and see a gastroenterologist if it continues.

How Long Does Post Nasal Drip Last?

With a cold: usually one to two weeks, sometimes a cough lingers up to three weeks.
With allergies: as long as you’re exposed to what you react to, which is why finding the trigger matters.
With a sinus infection: often longer, with thick yellow or green mucus and pressure in the face.
Longer than three weeks, or coming back again and again: time to find the cause with a specialist.

When to See a Specialist

Natural remedies work best when you know what you’re treating. Diagnosis first, then treatment:

Get help straight away for trouble breathing, a high fever with severe face pain or swelling around the eyes, a stiff neck, or coughing up blood. In an emergency, call 112 (Europe) or 911 (US).
An ENT specialist (ear, nose and throat) when post nasal drip keeps getting worse, lasts more than three weeks, comes from one side only, comes with blood, a blocked nose that never clears, or frequent sinus infections.
An allergist when it comes with sneezing, itchy eyes or nose, in the same season every year, or around pets or dust.
A gastroenterologist when it comes with heartburn, a sour taste, or is worse after meals.
A pulmonologist (lung specialist) when the cough comes with wheezing or breathlessness.
A pediatrician for children with a night cough that keeps coming back.

Read more in when a cough needs a doctor.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is post nasal drip?

Post nasal drip is mucus from the back of your nose and sinuses running down your throat. A little is normal and unnoticed. You feel it when your nose makes more mucus or thicker mucus, usually because of an allergy, a cold, dry air or irritants.

What causes post nasal drip?

Allergies are the most common cause, followed by colds, flu and sinus infections, dry air, smoke and other irritants, weather changes, reflux, pregnancy and a deviated septum.

How can you stop post nasal drip?

Rinse your nose with salt water once or twice a day, run a humidifier, drink plenty of water, breathe in steam and sleep with your head raised. To stop it for good, find and treat what’s inflaming your nose, such as an allergy.

How do I stop coughing from post nasal drip?

Rinse your nose before bed, sleep raised or on your side, run a humidifier, take honey before bed and use the throat lubrication trick or a closed mouth hum instead of coughing or clearing your throat.

Why does post nasal drip cause a cough at night?

During the day much of the mucus runs out of your nose. When you lie down it runs straight down the back of your throat onto the voice box, which triggers the cough reflex.

Does a neti pot help post nasal drip?

Yes, a neti pot or rinse bottle washes out mucus and allergens and calms the lining of the nose. Always use distilled, sterile, or boiled and cooled water, never tap water.

Can you have post nasal drip without a runny nose?

Yes. The mucus can run backwards only, so you feel it in the throat but not the nose. Reflux can also feel just like post nasal drip with a clear nose.

How long does post nasal drip last?

With a cold, one to two weeks. With allergies, as long as you’re exposed to the trigger. If it lasts more than three weeks or keeps getting worse, see an ENT specialist or an allergist.

Home Remedies for Post Nasal Drip relieve