to want to drag my mother to the doctor?

[ElephantsAndMiasmas]

She is in her 60s, still works and pretty fit apart from a few back problems. A couple of years ago she had pneumonia and pleurisy, and was pretty poorly. Since Christmas she has been coughing really badly. She was off work for nearly a fortnight (unheard of) and is now back but still looking pretty peaky, and still coughing horribly, although less frequently than when she was in bed ill. It doesn't seem to have been getting much better though.

Have tried to persuade her to go to docs but she says:

"what can they do?"

and "what do you think could possibly be wrong with me?"

So - am I being a fusspot? Or should she see someone about this? Coughing been going on for around 4 weeks now.

well, I guess there might be some kind of residual chest infection that would respond to antibiotics, so they might be able to do something.

Do you think, SSM? I feel stupid for worrying, maybe I've just read too many Victorian novels where cough = instant death.

No you aren't being a fusspot. The cough should more or less have disappeared by now.

I had similar recently and it took 2 lots of antibiotics to clear it up. Sometimes you can get secondary bacterial infections after the initial viral infection. Your Mum is probably so low with it she needs you to take charge and arrange a doctors visit with her I reckon.

It took 2 lots of antibiotics to clear up my lungs after the flu, pneumonia and pleurisy so you aren't being a fusspot. But she might be scared of what it might be. If she's already had pneumonia and pleurisy then she knows what it is like and I wouldn't blame her for being apprehensive.

I've just been diagnosed with pnemonia and pleurisy today - I'm on my 3rd lot of antibiotics. She should go, you can end up with scar tissue in the lungs and become quite badly athsmatic when you weren't previously. I think I've spelt that wrong by the way.

But I dont care because I've got pneumonia, man! Feck! I couldn't believe it when they showed me the xray with this big white lung, yeuch, I feel weak just thinking about it.

Get her down there. She needs antibiotics if nothing else.

Thank you all so much for replying. Poor everyone who's been hacking their lungs up :(

Tatty - hope you feel better soon. I didn't know that about the scar tissue - how does that work?