Drink lemon tea with honey. You can either buy lemon tea, or make yourself some warm lemon water by mixing 2 teaspoons of lemon juice with a cup of warm water. The acidity of the lemon juice breaks up the mucus. Adding a tablespoon of honey to the mixture soothes your throat.

Eat spicy foods. Ever tried a bit of wasabi, only to have your nose start running uncontrollably? Spicy foods, such as horseradish or pepper, act as a decongestant and should help loosen up some of that noxious phlegm.

Drink warm liquids. Whether it’s tea, chicken soup, or something in between, warm liquids will help nourish you while breaking up some of the mucus stuck in your throat.

Gargle salt water. Mix 1/2 teaspoon of salt with a cup of warm water and gargle the mixture with your head tilted back.

Eat toast. Toast is a good food to break phlegm and carry it down to your stomach. Toast scrapes the throat softly, removing some of the phlegm as it is ingested.

Drink plenty of water. If your body is producing a lot of phlegm, it may be because it is trying to ward off sickness, which means your immune system is working on overdrive. Give your body the water it needs to do its job.

Stop smoking. While you have an excess amount of mucus, try not to smoke. Smoking dries out the vocal chords, and your body creates more phlegm in an attempt to the replenish the moisture that was lost.

• In studies around the world, there has been a high correlation between smoking and phlegm production. ^[1] If you are a smoker, consider using nicotene patches for a bit while your phlegm dies down.

Avoid dairy. Milk or other dairy may not cause the body to produce more mucus^[2], but in some people the fat content of milk causes the mucus to become thicker.^[3]

Avoid exposure to fumes and hazardous chemicals. Paint fumes, cleaners, and other chemicals hurt the body’s respiratory function.

Take a hot shower or inhale steam. The heat from the water causes the phlegm to loosen.

• Use a vaporizer if you have one. Try to strike a good balance of moisture in your room. You want to soothe your throat, but you don’t want your room turning into a tropical jungle.

Hum to yourself when you can. It is hypothesized that the humming vibrations help break up the phlegm in your throat.

Remember to ‘spit, not swallow’. Always keep a tissue on hand in case you need to expel the phlegm discreetly; try not to swallow any coughed up phlegm.