What the hell is this throat/coughing bug that's going about?

[Beauregard]

My lungs and stomach hurt from days of coughing

[scarletbegonia]

Mine too and your name is most apt at the moment. I'm in bed with a lemsip already.

[PaxoIsEvil]

Apparently it's seasonal flu. I went down with it 19 days ago. I feel ok in myself now, but am still hacking up my lungs at regular intervals. Oh, and I've popped a rib with all my hacking. DS1 has just gone down with it :(

[activate]

I've had flu jab and have been coughing for 2 months now - but still clear / white crap coming up so no antibiotics warranted

is there a cure?

[omnietyinstables]

Its weird, both dcs have had it - dd very badly indeed with temps of 40 etc but dh and I have escaped - is it still flu if it can pick and choose like that?

[PaxoIsEvil]

My doc says no. She kept her distance, asked what colour the crap was that I was coughing up, and then banished me. She did recommend a linctus though to ease the cough (was coughing in spasms and wheezy). She used the hand gel antibacterial stuff before I'd even got up to leave. I thought that was very telling.

[headfairy]

both my dcs have it, no fever but two weeks of hacking coughs. I've had the humidifier in dd's room for so many nights now I think the plaster is all going to fall off the walls!

[PaxoIsEvil]

It's lying in wait, omniety. The bastard thing lets you think it's gone and then....it returns.

[BecauseItoldYouSo]

My DD had it got rid of it passed it to the whole family. We all suffered and got rid of it. Then DD got it again, got rid of it again and now we are in for ROUND 3!!!

Please go away and don't come back again, leave my poor DD alone she has had more than her share!!

[5ElvesMooningSanta]

DH and I had to get the GP to come out today as we have both been knocked sidewards with it. Day 8 now . I've got a chest infection but DH just has the flu. Both of us were vomitting phlegm this morning.

Luckily DC don't seem to have anything other than coughs.

[whomovedmychocolate]

Flu is quite picky actually because the basic strains have been around for years, except H1N1 obv. So some people do have natural immunity. Lucky buggers. Having said it doesn't always contract at first exposure so you can be walking around feeling smug for a week only to be hit with it later.

It's six weeks on average before the cough that comes with the flu completely clears.

I'm fed up of blowing green goo and red goo out of my nose every five minutes and so much of it as well, you'd think I was 90% snot

[PaxoIsEvil]

Oh joy. Only three more weeks to go then

[IlanaK]

Interesting. All three of my kids got a variation of this. Totally wiped out and fever for a few days. Loss of appetite. Lots of snot and cough. DH just got a cold and I got nothing. all our friends and their children have also had it. Most worse than us. I assumed it was not flu as I thought when you had real flu you would literally be unable to get put of bed.

[omnietyinstables]

6 weeks? Bloody hell, poor dd

[indiechick]

Six weeks? I'm on week four. Although thanks to a vomiting and diarrhoea bug on top of the coughing at the weekend I've now quit smoking (literally could not get out of bed for 24 hours so no chance to get outside for a fag), do we think that will help or hinder? I also have to de-snot every morning on waking, it's clear but there's so much of it and I'm deaf as well due to muchus. Is there much point even going to the docs?

[LadyGlencoraPalliser]

I have it too, had it over a week now. So does DD3. I just wish it would go away - five more weeks you say.

[Beauregard]

Mine started with me losing my voice and feeling a bit icky then this cough started fri and hasnt budged since.dd2 has had the cough for 2 weeks and dp and dd1 have it mildly.None of us had a fever though.
Everyone seems to have it or has had it,and i can even hear our neighbours coughing.

[omnietyinstables]

I was going to ask that indiechick - about the doctors I mean, how do you know with the coughing when it might have set into the lungs properly iyswim.

And does this mean that dd is/has been really infectious?

[Ingles2]

we've got it too..
ds1 has been unwell for a good week. ds2 has been hacking away for about 3 / 4 days
I couldn't move over the weekend and today I've no voice, and a nose that's running like a tap!
We feel TERRIBLE!

[PaxoIsEvil]

If it makes the afflicted feel any better, I only felt really rough for the first few days. Then I was just knackered and sore from all the coughing (the headache was vile, as was the sore throat/sinus pain). As of day 14 I've felt better in myself, just the odd gobful of phlegm (sorry).

[PaxoIsEvil]

My doc told me that as long as I wasn't coughing up green stuff, antibiotics wouldn't work. She seemed quite keen to see the back of me tbh. Hang on, I'll get the linctus.

[PaxoIsEvil]

Ok, it's called pholcodine linctus, and I had to ask the pharmacist for it. Tastes vile, but did allow me to sleep.

[Beauregard]

Was that prescribed Paxo?

[FiveColdRingsForSolo]

Ds has it again

[Jellykat]

Oh this is good to read, i've had this for 2 weeks now, and occasionally cough so violently, i wee myself (never had that trouble before!).

Went to docs who said lungs were clear (good!) but asked about Asthma.. I've never had Asthma, but my dad died of it- So i got freaked out!.In the end doc decided it was viral,.. Glad there are other wheezers out there!

[Beauregard]

ah just seen you had to ask for it
Will go ask myself in the morning