Posting here for help ...can't cough up what I want to /need to ....

[bizzey]

How can I loosen the stuff I want to cough up !

I can feel and hear the phlegm...but it is stuck .

Poor ribs and muscles are in agony with the coughing
Just want it to clear .

I am doing hot juices and stuff..

What do I get next from chemist ?

You need a cough syrup with an expectorant in it, it will thin out the phlegm and make it easier to cough out. Ask for something containing guaifenesin. Also try a bowl of hot water with a dab of Vicks in it - hold your head over the steam and put a towel over your head to hold the steam in. And lastly, drink a lot of fluids!

Steamy room, sit with the bath taps and shower running and breathe it in for as long as you can. That will help. But also maybe see a fr as it could become and infection if you cant clear it

Thanks ..I am going to try the bowl .
No Vicks ...but just water.

Stupidity I always thought was for head/sinus cold ...never for chest !

Oh poor you! I have a lung condition that means I have to clear phlegm out daily so am well practised on techniques!

Coughing will only move mucus that is in the main trunk of the bronchi, unfortunately it just doesn't do much if the mucus is in the smaller branches in the lungs - it's just exhausting and painful and my respiratory physio advises that it's kept to a minimum for that reason. So: 0

Firstly, drink lots. Being really well hydrated will thin the plegm and make it easier to shift.

If you happen to have a blue inhaler for any reason (asthmatic for eg), take a couple of puffs of it to open your airways as much as possible.

If you are well enough, I would get out for a short but brisk walk. 10-15 minutes is fine, just get your chest moving.

Steam inhalation as suggested above can be very helpful - you will be drawing moisture into your lungs, again, to thin the mucus. You can do the bowl of boiling water and towel over head trick or you could have a hot bath with the door & window shut to get a really steamy room.

Argh MN ate half my post!

All the above should get you in a good place to move the phlegm.

I would recommend trying the "Active Cycle of Breathing" technique - there are NHS videos on youtube demonstrating it but fundamentally you want to either sit up nice and tall or lie completely flat, no pillows and then do the following:
Big, deep, slow inhalation through the nose, your belly should move before your chest, then hold it for a count of 3, then sigh it out through the mouth.
Repeat 3 times and then breathe normally for a few breaths to avoid lightheadedness.
Repeat the whole cycle a few times and hopefully you will hear the crackly noises in your chest get louder with the exhalations - that is the mucus moving into the larger airways.

When you feel the need to cough, try huff coughing. That is, deep breath in, hold for 3, forceful HUFF out as if fogging a mirror. Will make a big HUH noise but not a cough noise as the glottis stays open.
Do this over the sink and hopefully you'll clear a load out. Have a good rinse after!

Good luck

Thanks everyone.
I am going to walk to chemist and get medicine.

I have now got to the stage where I don't want to cough because I think I have pulled a muscle and now it hurts !!

I have got blue inhalers (asthmatic DC) and that has helped a bit .

Thank you again .

I have been there. I went to get a cough mixture which would help the congestion (I found Carvonia worked particularly well) but my chemist knows I cannot use any cough mixture with all my health problems so I had to suffer (but not in silence!). However, in the end I did go to another chemist and get some stuff that shifted it.

I know it wasnt the right thing to do as I have high blood pressure etc etc but I could not handle all the congestion and I did feel much better when it went!

Hyssop will also loosen phlegm if you are into herbal medicine