Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesDiagnosisTreatment
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
Asthma can cause excess mucus buildup in the lungs, leading to chest congestion. It usually worsens when you have a respiratory infection or when your allergies are acting up, but you can also feel more congested when your asthma worsens or when you need adjustments in yourasthma treatment.
Chest congestion from asthma can cause symptoms like coughing, the need to clear your throat, and nasal stuffiness. Thankfully, many effective treatments are available.
Verywell / Gary Ferster
Asthmatic Chest Congestion Symptoms
Chest congestion can be an uncomfortable and especially persistent effect of asthma. You may cough upphlegmor feel like you need to do so, but can’t (or at least not without significant effort). Your breathing might be loud, with the sound of noisy mucus that seems to be coming from your nose, throat, and/or chest.
Chest congestion can also cause some uncomfortable issues including:
When you have asthma, you may also have nasal congestion orpostnasal drip along with chest congestion.
Associated Symptoms
Chest congestion with asthma can be the result of allergies. When this is the case, a cough, stuffy nose, runny nose, sneezing, rash, and/or red, itchy, watery eyes may also be present.
You may experience all of these symptoms, usually along with a fever, if you have a respiratory infection.
When to See a Healthcare Provider
Because chest congestion in asthma can signal an infection or that asthma or allergies are not being well controlled, treatment (or an adjustment in your current asthma regimen) may be needed to relieve the underlying problem.
Chest congestion can be a nagging effect of asthma. However, if you experience congestion that does not seem to be improving, consult a healthcare provider.
Several aspects of asthma contribute to chest congestion. With asthma, the lining of the lungs is altered, with a tendency toward inflammation and mucus production.
Mucus in the respiratory system may be referred to as phlegm. And, while this sticky substance helps trap unwelcome air particles and destroy infectious organisms,excess phlegmleads to congestion wherever it builds up, be that the lungs, throat, or nasal passages.
In addition, mucus may be hard to clear when you have asthma, which leads to accumulation.
Mucus builds up due to severalasthma-related factors:
When bronchi are tight and inflamed, the mucus in your lungs tends to accumulate because it can’t clear the tight passageways out—as it normally would.
Contributing Conditions
Infections and allergicrhinitisresult in more inflammation and mucus production throughout the respiratory system than usual. This leads to chest, throat, and/or nasal congestion and may trigger an asthma attack. Poorly controlled nasal allergies are, in fact, a common exacerbator of asthma. Up to 80% of people with asthma also haveallergies or allergic rhinitis.
When you have an infection, edema (fluid) can develop in the lungs due to excess inflammation—so much so that it can be seen on diagnostic imaging tests. That fluid can cause you to feel congested.
Asthma-associated mucus buildup in the lungs increases your risk ofpneumonia.Infectious organisms (like viruses and bacteria) get trapped in the lungs, where they can multiply and cause illness.
When you have chest congestion with asthma, your healthcare provider will consider whether allergies or an infection may be present.
Diagnosis will involve a medical evaluation that includes a physical examination and possibly a chest imaging test and/or asputum culture.
You will also be asked about possible increased exposure to yourasthma triggersand any worsening of yourother asthma symptoms, such as cough, wheezing, and chest tightness.
Diagnostic TestsA sputum culture may help identify an infectious organism requiring specific treatment (e.g., antibiotics or antiviral therapy).A chest X-ray orcomputerized tomography (CT) scancan identify areas of fluid or lung infection (e.g., pneumonia or alung abscess). Infections can cause severe chest congestion that makes it difficult to breathe.
Diagnostic Tests
A sputum culture may help identify an infectious organism requiring specific treatment (e.g., antibiotics or antiviral therapy).A chest X-ray orcomputerized tomography (CT) scancan identify areas of fluid or lung infection (e.g., pneumonia or alung abscess). Infections can cause severe chest congestion that makes it difficult to breathe.
A sputum culture may help identify an infectious organism requiring specific treatment (e.g., antibiotics or antiviral therapy).
A chest X-ray orcomputerized tomography (CT) scancan identify areas of fluid or lung infection (e.g., pneumonia or alung abscess). Infections can cause severe chest congestion that makes it difficult to breathe.
Just as with your overall asthma management, treating chest congestion in asthma is centered on avoiding your asthma triggers and using yourmaintenance controller asthma medications.
Controller treatment options may include nasal corticosteroids and long-acting bronchodilator inhalers. For example, fluticasone propionate is a corticosteroid; Advair (fluticasone/salmeterol) andSymbicort (budesonide/formoterol)both combine a corticosteroid with a bronchodilator.
When congestion is a major issue in your asthma, you might be prescribed a nebulizer treatment.This is a method of using a mist-producing device that delivers the asthma medication more slowly over a longer period of time than an inhaler.
However, because a nebulizer needs access to an electrical outlet and the session takes longer than using a standard inhaler, it usually requires you to stay in one place until the treatment is done, which can be inconvenient.
Your healthcare provider might also recommend that you useN-acetylcysteine, an over-the-counter supplement, which helps thin mucus. It is considered safe and has been used in the treatment of chest congestion in asthma.
Medications for Congestion
Mucolyticshelp decrease the amount of mucus in the respiratory passages. These medications are not generally prescribed long-term and they aren’t indicated for asthma, given their potential for causing bronchospasm. In some situations, your healthcare provider may recommend a mucolytic for a short time when you are dealing with chest congestion until the cause is better controlled.
Allergy Treatments
Your healthcare provider might also prescribe leukotriene modifiers or antihistamines for you if you have a lot of allergy symptoms.
If persistent allergies are worsening your asthma and causing chronic congestion,immunotherapy(allergy shots) is a long-term option as well.
Antibiotics
If you have an infection, your healthcare provider might prescribe antibiotics or antiviral therapy to help clear your infection and its associated symptoms, including chest congestion.
You might feel better before your antibiotic course is finished, but it’s important that you take the whole prescription so your infection will be completely treated.
Lifestyle Modifications
For chronic congestion, at-home strategies like using aNeti potcan help temporarily clear the mucus buildup in your nasal passages and sinuses so you can breathe more easily. Neti pots do not work for asthma exacerbations if there is no upper airway component.
Having a dehumidifier, especially when it’s very damp or muggy, can provide short-term relief as well.
Specialist-Driven Therapies
Your healthcare provider may also suggest pulmonary rehabilitation, which can include breathing exercises to help you breathe more deeply. This helps optimize airway opening so you can clear out mucus more effectively.
High-frequency chest oscillationis a procedure that involves using a vest to deliver vibration to the chest from the outside. This technique helps loosen the phlegm and mucus so you can cough it up.
Summary
Chest congestion from asthma can cause symptoms like coughing, throat clearing, and fatigue. There are many effective medications to alleviate asthma symptoms. Depending on the cause of congestion, alternative treatment strategies may include allergy medications, antibiotics, or pulmonary rehabilitation.
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11 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Nemours KidsHealth.Asthma Flare-Ups.NHS.Symptoms - Asthma.Allergy & Asthma Network.What is Allergic Asthma?American Academy of Family Physicians.When a “chest cold” is something more.Frey A, Lunding LP, Ehlers JC, Weckmann M, Zissler UM, Wegmann M.More Than Just a Barrier: The Immune Functions of the Airway Epithelium in Asthma Pathogenesis.Front Immunol. 2020;11:761. Published 2020 Apr 28. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2020.00761Egan M, Bunyavanich S.Allergic rhinitis: the “ghost diagnosis” in patients with asthma.Asthma Research and Practice. 2015;1(1). doi:10.1186/s40733-015-0008-0Zaidi SR, Blakey JD.Why are people with asthma susceptible to pneumonia? A review of factors related to upper airway bacteria.Respirology. 2019;24(5):423-430. doi:10.1111/resp.13528Talwar D, Bendre S.Health-Related Effects of Home Nebulization With Glycopyrronium on Difficult-to-Treat Asthma: Post-Hoc Analyses of an Observational Study.Interact J Med Res. 2020;9(2):e17863. doi:10.2196/17863Ehre C, Rushton ZL, Wang B, et al.An Improved Inhaled Mucolytic to Treat Airway Muco-obstructive Diseases.Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2019;199(2):171-180. doi:10.1164/rccm.201802-0245OCLinssen RSN, Ma J, Bem RA, Rubin BK.Rational use of mucoactive medications to treat pediatric airway disease.Paediatr Respir Rev. 2020 Jun 16. doi: 10.1016/j.prrv.2020.06.007Bugayong N, Hill V, Heath A, Feighery A.High Frequency Chest Wall Oscillation May Decrease Moderate Exacerbations in Subjects With Bronchiectasis, COPD, Asthma, or Overlap.Respiratory Care. 2024;69(Suppl 10). Accessed January 16, 2025. https://rc.rcjournal.com/content/69/Suppl_10/4137848
11 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Nemours KidsHealth.Asthma Flare-Ups.NHS.Symptoms - Asthma.Allergy & Asthma Network.What is Allergic Asthma?American Academy of Family Physicians.When a “chest cold” is something more.Frey A, Lunding LP, Ehlers JC, Weckmann M, Zissler UM, Wegmann M.More Than Just a Barrier: The Immune Functions of the Airway Epithelium in Asthma Pathogenesis.Front Immunol. 2020;11:761. Published 2020 Apr 28. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2020.00761Egan M, Bunyavanich S.Allergic rhinitis: the “ghost diagnosis” in patients with asthma.Asthma Research and Practice. 2015;1(1). doi:10.1186/s40733-015-0008-0Zaidi SR, Blakey JD.Why are people with asthma susceptible to pneumonia? A review of factors related to upper airway bacteria.Respirology. 2019;24(5):423-430. doi:10.1111/resp.13528Talwar D, Bendre S.Health-Related Effects of Home Nebulization With Glycopyrronium on Difficult-to-Treat Asthma: Post-Hoc Analyses of an Observational Study.Interact J Med Res. 2020;9(2):e17863. doi:10.2196/17863Ehre C, Rushton ZL, Wang B, et al.An Improved Inhaled Mucolytic to Treat Airway Muco-obstructive Diseases.Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2019;199(2):171-180. doi:10.1164/rccm.201802-0245OCLinssen RSN, Ma J, Bem RA, Rubin BK.Rational use of mucoactive medications to treat pediatric airway disease.Paediatr Respir Rev. 2020 Jun 16. doi: 10.1016/j.prrv.2020.06.007Bugayong N, Hill V, Heath A, Feighery A.High Frequency Chest Wall Oscillation May Decrease Moderate Exacerbations in Subjects With Bronchiectasis, COPD, Asthma, or Overlap.Respiratory Care. 2024;69(Suppl 10). Accessed January 16, 2025. https://rc.rcjournal.com/content/69/Suppl_10/4137848
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Nemours KidsHealth.Asthma Flare-Ups.NHS.Symptoms - Asthma.Allergy & Asthma Network.What is Allergic Asthma?American Academy of Family Physicians.When a “chest cold” is something more.Frey A, Lunding LP, Ehlers JC, Weckmann M, Zissler UM, Wegmann M.More Than Just a Barrier: The Immune Functions of the Airway Epithelium in Asthma Pathogenesis.Front Immunol. 2020;11:761. Published 2020 Apr 28. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2020.00761Egan M, Bunyavanich S.Allergic rhinitis: the “ghost diagnosis” in patients with asthma.Asthma Research and Practice. 2015;1(1). doi:10.1186/s40733-015-0008-0Zaidi SR, Blakey JD.Why are people with asthma susceptible to pneumonia? A review of factors related to upper airway bacteria.Respirology. 2019;24(5):423-430. doi:10.1111/resp.13528Talwar D, Bendre S.Health-Related Effects of Home Nebulization With Glycopyrronium on Difficult-to-Treat Asthma: Post-Hoc Analyses of an Observational Study.Interact J Med Res. 2020;9(2):e17863. doi:10.2196/17863Ehre C, Rushton ZL, Wang B, et al.An Improved Inhaled Mucolytic to Treat Airway Muco-obstructive Diseases.Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2019;199(2):171-180. doi:10.1164/rccm.201802-0245OCLinssen RSN, Ma J, Bem RA, Rubin BK.Rational use of mucoactive medications to treat pediatric airway disease.Paediatr Respir Rev. 2020 Jun 16. doi: 10.1016/j.prrv.2020.06.007Bugayong N, Hill V, Heath A, Feighery A.High Frequency Chest Wall Oscillation May Decrease Moderate Exacerbations in Subjects With Bronchiectasis, COPD, Asthma, or Overlap.Respiratory Care. 2024;69(Suppl 10). Accessed January 16, 2025. https://rc.rcjournal.com/content/69/Suppl_10/4137848
Nemours KidsHealth.Asthma Flare-Ups.
NHS.Symptoms - Asthma.
Allergy & Asthma Network.What is Allergic Asthma?
American Academy of Family Physicians.When a “chest cold” is something more.
Frey A, Lunding LP, Ehlers JC, Weckmann M, Zissler UM, Wegmann M.More Than Just a Barrier: The Immune Functions of the Airway Epithelium in Asthma Pathogenesis.Front Immunol. 2020;11:761. Published 2020 Apr 28. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2020.00761
Egan M, Bunyavanich S.Allergic rhinitis: the “ghost diagnosis” in patients with asthma.Asthma Research and Practice. 2015;1(1). doi:10.1186/s40733-015-0008-0
Zaidi SR, Blakey JD.Why are people with asthma susceptible to pneumonia? A review of factors related to upper airway bacteria.Respirology. 2019;24(5):423-430. doi:10.1111/resp.13528
Talwar D, Bendre S.Health-Related Effects of Home Nebulization With Glycopyrronium on Difficult-to-Treat Asthma: Post-Hoc Analyses of an Observational Study.Interact J Med Res. 2020;9(2):e17863. doi:10.2196/17863
Ehre C, Rushton ZL, Wang B, et al.An Improved Inhaled Mucolytic to Treat Airway Muco-obstructive Diseases.Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2019;199(2):171-180. doi:10.1164/rccm.201802-0245OC
Linssen RSN, Ma J, Bem RA, Rubin BK.Rational use of mucoactive medications to treat pediatric airway disease.Paediatr Respir Rev. 2020 Jun 16. doi: 10.1016/j.prrv.2020.06.007
Bugayong N, Hill V, Heath A, Feighery A.High Frequency Chest Wall Oscillation May Decrease Moderate Exacerbations in Subjects With Bronchiectasis, COPD, Asthma, or Overlap.Respiratory Care. 2024;69(Suppl 10). Accessed January 16, 2025. https://rc.rcjournal.com/content/69/Suppl_10/4137848
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