Cough lasting 3 weeks

[Justkeepswiimming]

My daughter and I came down with a cough during the Easter holidays. Only other real symptom was hideous headaches. It felt a bit like a hangover from a virus I'd had earlier in March which I never really seemed to shake.

My cough went away after a few days but my daughter has had a persistent hacking cough. It seems to get better for a few days but then come back again.

A couple of days ago my cough seemed to come back, along with aching muscles, neck ache tiredness etc. Again hers seemed to ease off about the same time, but this evening is back with a vengeance. She is and has been otherwise fine. Her dad tested her for covid last week as his dad was going in for an op. And I tested myself yesterday as a couple of people I knew had it and I had an old box knocking round. It came back negative. What the hell is it? She particularly is fine and normal other than the cough. Which is just so hacking and has been keeping her awake. Cough medicine isn't having any effect.

That is the nickname for whooping cough.
Has your DH said whether he thinks it is whooping cough and not just a cough lasting for a long time?
I'm convinced I've had whooping cough but GP didn't mention it to me! Would be interested to know why if you can get some insights!

Nope, the vaccine for whooping cough wears off quite quickly. It’s just ti protect teeny tiny babies, hence giving it to pregnant mums to cover the baby before they get the jab. I think by adulthood you’ve lost all your immunity, and it’s going round again.

@Tigersonvaseline well we've tested and they were negative. I think we've had it for weeks though so possibly to late to pick up? I never had any cough with covid and my daughter had no symptoms at all. I only knew she had it because I did and I tested her before she was due to go to her Dad's. This feels different to anything I've had before, hence the post, but also different to when I had Covid, which manifested in extreme tiredness and a day of fever.

After about a week, you or your child:

• will get coughing bouts that last for a few minutes and are worse at night
• may make a "whoop" sound – a gasp for breath between coughs (young babies and some adults may not "whoop")
• may have difficulty breathing after a coughing bout and may turn blue or grey (young infants)
• may bring up a thick mucus, which can make you vomit
• may become very red in the face (more common in adults)

The cough may last for several weeks or months. (NHS)

The 100 day cough seems to be a thing - I've heard multiple people talk about having it.

My daughter had this just before Easter - aged 19. She was wiped out for two weeks and coughing continuously. Four weeks on and she’s still coughing a bit especially at night time.

Yes, both me snd DS are on week 7 of coughing. Really fed up with it now. DS had antibiotics and they didn't make a jot of difference

My daughter (21) has this at the moment. A cough like she has never had before, constantly bringing up phlegm and coughing until she is sick. Started with a sore throat, generally run down and feeling ill, then a few days in the cough started, along with about 5 days of a fever - constantly changing clothes / PJs, bed soaked by the morning - and a splitting headache. She has been to the dr twice and he gave her some antibiotics on Tuesday, which do seem to be helping. The fever has gone anyway. But it’s not quite a flu, she is up and about and can function during the day.

do they test for whooping cough?

Why Covid?

Its most likely whooping cough

Whopping cough you can't catch your breath.

No, WC vaccines wears off. There are lots of news story about it but for some reason they’re calling it the 100 day cough rather than whopping cough.

It's quite normal for a cough to last for up to 6-7 weeks. Unless the cough is persistant, ie everytime she breathes in or tries to speak etc, Id just let it run it's course

I never get anything - never had covid, nor any of the flu/ bad colds that do the rounds every few years.

I have had the cough, now on week 4. It’s definitely whooping cough, I even made a few whoops during bad coughing fits. I don’t know why the medics are calling it ‘100 day cough’? I suspect it may be that there has been enough damage done to the publics faith in vaccines, even though it is known that the whooping cough vaccine doesn’t last a lifetime.

It’s also interesting that in my five decades, this is the first time I can recall such a widespread of whooping cough, definitely my first time.

The people I know who had it in February are just coming out of it in recent weeks.

It aggravated DS's asthma and he ended up on steroids (for the first time) following a 999 call.

I had tried to get him to the GP surgery prior to it escalating to that extent, but it was going around the GP practice to and they were sending out messages saying that there are no appointments because the staff are ill.

I've had this god awful cough now since the start of this month - it started off as really bad, extremely painful tonsillitis with fever's for nearly a week, could barely swallow, all that fun stuff and the coughing made that even worse. That finally cleared up after antibiotics (took nearly 2 weeks to, though), but I still have this relentless cough.

Often I'm up all night, when it seems to be much worse then during the day, nearly vomited on quite a number of ocassions because of the intensity of the coughing, sometimes I wake up at night feeling like I can't breathe and am suddenly coughing intensly, feeling like I'm drowning in mucous in my chest (cough seems to keep changing between dry and productive/wet).

Since it first started with the sore throat, I've had what I suspect is very bad laryngitis as a result of all the coughing/inflammation/irritation - I've basically had hardly any voice for nearly a whole month now and doesn't seem to be getting any better, even though I'm coughing a little less during the day - I'm like a toy with a broken squeaker! is that something people have been struggling with too?

Yes I've had it for about three weeks now, though better than I was. I had to postpone a visit to my elderly mother so I didn't pass it onto her. Still coughing (a productive) cough now which sometimes doubles me up, but gargling with warm salt water helps so I can sleep plus taking Superdrug own brand cough linctus for mucus coughs (green box) and sucking Boots catarrh pastilles with eucalyptus oil, menthol and pumpkin pine oil. Good luck! 🌹

I’ve had this viral cough thing for just over 3 weeks. Saw gp last week as I am asthmatic. He said chest clear and recommended nasal spray and warm drinks, especially herbal teas with honey

It’s the media who seem to be calling it 100 day cough.

Hi there, try to peel and cut one large onion, in small pieces, and put under your feet and wear socks to hold.
Do this when you going to sleep,take of in the morning and you will be fine.
I always use this method and it work, do this for 3 nights.
I used on my children too, I know , the smell of onion in bed🤣 but has no side effect.
Remember, white onion.
With God blessing

I had it over Christmas and New Year and it was hideous. Unfortunately I have now caught something even more hideous and have a rotten cold, sinus problems, saw throat, hacking cough that's sometime dry and sometimes productive, earache and conjunctivitis! Apparently it's viral so I've got to wait it out 😡

Onions in socks.

Yeah, I'll try that one the next night it feels like I'm drowning in my own mucus, coughing until I can't breathe, then coughed until I puke and I've honked on my inhaler 15 times before getting nebulised in A&E.

Jesus wept.

OK - this answers a lot of questions. I always thought whooping cough was a thing of the past (mid last century) but looks like I've had the (miserable) symptoms in the last three weeks or so and incidences are rising in the UK and other places. It certainly made me quite anxious.

My SIL also said her family of origin are also suffering. I don't think I'm infectious now but will definitely be wearing a mask when I have my groceries delivered tomorrow for both the driver's sake and mine. 🌹