I found this online.
Should we really do this?

Yuch.

Many viral syndromes start with a sore throat or cold symptoms, often
followed by a cough. It's not technically "flu," or influenza. True
influenza is caused by influenza viruses. Certain drugs will make it
less severe or may prevent your getting it. However, doctors see so
many viral infections that aren't influenza that true influenza may be
hard to spot.

Smokers have more trouble than non-smokers, since their lungs have lost
their natural cleaning capabilities. Normal lungs are lined with tiny
hair cells that sweep up the watery mucus layer inside your bronchial
tree. This is how lungs clean out the dirt, air pollution, dust, and
germs you breathe. One minute of cigarette smoke will paralyze your
lungs for 24 hours: all the dirt, smoke, and grime in the air stays in.

What to do when you're definitely sick?  The first thing is to beware
overuse of cough and cold remedies!  Most contain strong drying agents
which make your nose drip less, by drying it out. Unfortunately, that
dries your lungs out, too. You end up with dried phlegm plugging up
your chest. This tickles and irritates your bronchial tubes, making you
cough. It blocks off small sections of your lungs and your bronchial
tubes get infected with bacteria. This is called bronchitis.

Once you've got a chest full of dried phlegm, how do you get it out?
The key word here is "dry."  Ever notice how a steamy shower makes you
cough?  That's because water vapor moistens and loosens the dried
phlegm, which then starts to slide down the bronchial tubes. It tickles
a new area and makes you cough. However, you want the phlegm to go up
and out.

How do you get phlegm up?  Easy: steam up your lungs. 5 or 10 minutes
in a closed bathroom full of steam works fine. Then, lie face down on a
bed or couch with your head, shoulders, and back hanging downward over
the edge, and have somebody pound your back with cupped hands while
you're breathing as deep as you can and coughing hard. Do the chest
percussion twice a day if possible. This may help you get some phlegm
up and out, which is where you want it. Chest percussion should last
about 5 minutes. Have a cup nearby for the phlegm.

Always check the phlegm color. If it's clear, white, or pale, the
infection may still be viral, and antibiotics may not be necessary. If
it's yellow, green, brown, or bloody, or if you are having fevers,
chills, chest pains, or have other health problems, you might need
antibiotics. Contact your health care delivery person.

Very important: get plenty of fluids. If you're dry, the phlegm will be
thicker and harder to get up. Drink enough so that when you urinate, it
comes out clear. (Remember that B-vitamins will turn your urine
darker). Don't use alcohol as a primary fluid source: it dries you out.
Coffee and tea do the same thing, to a lesser extent, but the caffeine
can help wheezing.

A humidifier is very helpful, especially with a heating system that
dries out the air. Since you're often breathing through your mouth when
sleeping with a stuffy nose, your lungs get even drier. Use the
humidifier in your bedroom at night. If you're sensitive to molds, be
careful:  they grow better when it's damp. Turn the humidifier off
during the day and air out the room.

Watch for high fevers not responsive to aspirin, ibuprofen, or
acetominophen; shortness of breath; coughing up blood; or painful
breathing. If you get any of those symptoms, get in touch with your
health-care delivery person. Actually, "health-care delivery" isn't the
right term anymore. How often do you get health care delivered to you?
Not very often. You have to come get it!

Throat mucus can be a symptom of asthma.

I have had that mucus thing for many years, and was wondering about it.
Finally, after a few days of breathing smoke from nearby brushfires, I
developed "lung inflamation" a week later. I'm still (5 months later)
on inhaled bronchial dialators and steroids.

I think that being in my mid-50s, I'm a bit too old to become an
asthmatic (I've never smoked).  However, in reading about this, I've
learned that throat mucus can be a symptom of asthma.  So perhaps I've
been asthmatic all these years but didn't realize that is what the
throat mucus meant.

That's exactly what it feels like when I get asthmatic with a cold or
allergies.  Coughing is the typical presentation for asthma when it
presents in adults, not so much with wheezing like in kids.