To ask for your sympathy and recommended chest infection home remedies?

[JammyGem]

Been coughing my guts up for the last 4 days and doesn't seem to be getting any better. NHS have recommended rest, plenty of fluids, and painkillers, but it's not doing much.

Really bad productive cough that's keeping me awake, not slept in 2 days. Acid reflux is pretty bad too, and both a headache and fever that I've not been able to shake. I've coughed so much that I'm now starting to cough up blood from where I must've damaged something. I've tried hot baths, hot drinks, bathng in ginger (!) but nothing seems to ease it. DH is sympathetic but I'm terribkle at being ill so he's starting to get a litle fed up. At least JammyCat is being nice though although also trying to suffocate me by sleeping across my throat and chest

AIBU to ask for any of your tried and tested home remedies?

Do you need antibiotics?
I'm not a fan of over using them but from recent experience of my first chest infection (disgustingly productive cough, fever, rapid heartbeat, headache from coughing so much and finally laryngitis from so much bloody coughing) the only thing that shifted it was a lovely course of amoxicillin.

In the meantime, some lovely sweets to suck? I favoured butter mints

Anything with a codeine in it works best for me.....it acts as a cough suppressant. Day nurse/night nurse work well, otherwise soluble co-codamol. Cough remedies are a waste of time......plaster yourself in Vick and an electric vaporiser is a good investment or a humidifier to keep the air moist. If you have a high temperature, then you may have an infection so I'd try and see your GP.

I was also going to recommend using a painkiller that has codeine such as co-codamol, as codeine is a cough suppressant.

Sleeping propped up on pillows always helps me get more sleep, as I cough more when lying down. Steaming using the bowl and hot water method works well for me too to help clear out as much mucus as possible before I go to bed, reducing my coughing a bit. I add eucalyptus oil to the water as it seems to help loosen up things better.

Vicks all the way. It's magic.

This is really grim, but it has helped me a few times:

Run your shower hot as you can and get the bathroom steamy. Get in the shower and let the hot water fall on your chest then back.

Bend over and cough up as much crap as you can (i know it's gross) until you feel it's clear as possible.

After the shower plaster Vicks on your chest and back.

Take some Night Nurse liquid. You'll sleep the best you have for a while.

I'm asthmatic and get lots of chest infections and this really does help.
Hope you feel better soon.