Cough, Burning Throat, Rhinitis, Stuffy Nose, etc

(Eric Sporer) #1

I started keto back in October of 2018 for certain neurological/psychiatric issues that I have, and it’s been extremely satisfying thus far. Even so, after a couple weeks I soon started getting a burning feeling in my lower throat, below the larynx and just above the top of the sternum, which caused a dry cough. I upped my carb intake, and the sensation started to fade. Sometimes it would go away completely, but it would often come back.

The next stage brought me a stuffy nose which eventually started to burn. Occasionally it’s not really stuffy, just mildly runny, and I tend to get an inner earache alongside what seems to be a mild headache. At times I’ve woken up with a lump in my throat leading to mild hoarseness, not to mention the burning eyes. From what I gather, this definitely seems to be connected to the diet, especially since the nasal congestion and earache occur after eating. It all sounds like a cold, but silent reflux can cause rhinitis and earaches, and I feel fairly confident that this is what I’m suffering from.

I’m open to alternative suggestions as to the cause, but what I’m really interested in is if any of you have experienced this. If so, how did you solve the problem? I’ve seen some similar postings on here, but I’d like to get more clarity. Any help would be wonderful! Thanks in advance.

(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #2

Welcome. It would help to list what you’re eating on a typical day. Are you keeping a food journal? It’s possible you are sensitive to something you’re eating in larger quantities on keto than you do when you’re eating carbs instead. One member gets oral irritation from raw veggies, for example.

(Joni Ivy) #3

Hello! I am also curious to see what people have to say here. I am only 2 weeks into my Keto journey but I have noticed after certain meals and oily drinks I get a bit of a sore throat and excessive mucus production in my nose and the back of my throat. I have no known food allergies and I am not consuming anything now that I wasn’t before.

(Carl Keller) #4

Hi Eric. It sounds like a reaction to some specific type of food. A food journal or using an app like cronometer.com might help you figure what food it is you need to avoid. Personally, I used to have chronic sinus issues when I was eating a carb based diet and my symptons have dramatically improved by going LCHF.

@Slinginarrows and @MrEric87, the article below might help you narrow down your suspects:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321678.php

(Eric Sporer) #5

I eat a lot of seeds – chia, flax, pumpkin. Fish too is a staple, mostly sardines and salmon. I do think that dairy tends to have a negative effect, so I’ve been avoiding that. Admittedly, my symptoms do sounds like a food reaction, but they also sound remarkably like laryngopharyngeal reflux. On other sites I’ve seen people mention similar issues, but they never stick around long enough to say if their problems were resolved.

(Phil) #6

Not sure where I read it/saw it, but fwiw such reactions on ketogenic diet allegedly can be from unaddressed fungal exposure/infections. It was mentioned, that those need to be addressed first.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #7

I can no longer tell what’s the result of my allergies and asthma, and what might be food-related, but fortunately the symptoms are much less oppressive on keto.

(The amazing autoimmune 🦄) #8

I would start by limiting my food to beef, butter and salt. Then if symptoms go away every week I would add something in until I determined what is causing this. If you limit it to those 3 foods and you still have a problem then I would switch from beef to chicken to see if that helps. My guess is that with this switch in diet your body can now tell you what is really messing with it and causing inflammation etc. Good luck.

I too have noticed that people even if they resolve their problem don’t come back and report, it would be great if you would do so.

(Eric Sporer) #9

I actually had a mostly good day today. My diet consisted of primarily chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, sardines, broccoli, etc. My symptoms didn’t begin until after dinner, most notably when I went to the gym a couple hours later. I had a fairly large amount of chicken with dinner along with some mildly spicy guacamole. This time it’s not really the nasal issues that are afflicting me, but the burning in the throat. It definitely seems like reflux.

(Bunny) #10

Digestive bitters mixed with mineral or seltzer water before you eat? (mixed with the water and particulates like in the jar below)

Helps stimulate digestive enzymes and increase acid production to keep the esophageal sphincter valve closed, your not producing enough stomach acid so valve will remain open (reflux) if the stomach environment is too alkaline!

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How To Customize Your Homemade Digestive Bitters