Why does my husband constantly clear his throat?

Q: My husband is 65 and constantly clears his throat, even in the middle of the night. He also snores a lot.  Could you help in any way? He is not overweight but is diabetic and has high blood pressure.

Firstly, the snoring means it is highly likely your husband has sleep apnoea. This may be contributing to the throat clearing but the most likely cause of this is one of the medications he is taking for high blood pressure. I suspect he is either on Perindopril or Ramipril. If this is the case, he needs to change to a drug known as an angiotensin receptor blocker e.g. Telmisartan. This should mean his constant need to clear his throat should settle down. If not, he needs to see an ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeon.

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your personal health requirements or existing medical conditions. That means it’s not personalised health advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a health-related decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get professional medical advice.