Could this be allergies/intolerance - or asthma/hayfever?

[TaffyandTeenyTaffy]

I have had an ongoing hacking cough, since just before Easter, and have had a few quite nasty asthma attacks in that time. My throat gets tight and constricts and I am unable to breathe. The cough is sometimes productive - usually clear phlegm - and sometimes causes me to vomit. At times I have also had a really sore throat and earache and my mouth/lips feel all tingly. I've been putting it down to my asthma/hayfever, but now the other hayfever symptoms have passed this cough has remained.

I have now started coughing up bright red blood in the phlegm. Dr has given me some anti-biotics to see if that clears it up and I have to go back in a week.

I had a very similar thing in 2007 (same approximate time of year) when I was hospitalised with a severe asthma attack, was coughing up lots of blood and was later unable to keep any food down. This went on for several months and I had lots of tests (chest x-rays, bronchoscopy etc) but they never found the cause. I eliminated wheat and dairy from my diet (and re-introduced meat after being veggie most of my life!) and it eventually improved - but the drs would never do allergy tests and refused to accept that there was any connection. Over time I have re-introduced wheat and dairy and tolerated this without adverse effects.

Just wondered whether anyone with experience of living with allergies/intolerances had any thoughts about this?

Thanks

I used to get a hacking cough when I was younger - cleared up with ABs then reoccured again and again - gave up milk and it stopped. I can have cheese and yoghurt - but if I have milk I immediately (within about 10 mins) get a very distinctive cough back - sometimes I don't notice until DH asks me what I've eaten....

Thanks mistlethrush, thats interesting - I hardly drink any milk apart from the odd "social" cappuccino at work. I had one yesterday and a friend suggested the milk could be making the cough worse, which is what prompted me to post.

When you say you don't drink any milk - do you have black tea and coffee or do you not drink them? Cereal in the morning? I will cough as a result of eating a scone - it takes that low an amount to set me off.

I would usually drink black coffee or water and rarely eat cereal, although we were away at the weekend so I had cereal for breakfast a couple of days then and the cappuccino yesterday, so thats quite a lot for me - I do have milk if its in other things, (like the scone). Might be worth trying to cut it out/down again and see if that helps.

If you really do it strictly, its amazing what you find it in when you look down for whey powder....