To ask for help with this cough before I go insane.

[WaffleDogg20]

Came down with the flu Sunday night and really felt like death Monday morning. Could barely leave my bed most of the week because of the aches and pains and being unable to breathe. Iv been taking sudofed and alsorts. On Wednesday I started with a tickly dry cough and it’s just getting worse. I haven’t slept longer than an hour without waking up coughing and struggling to breathe because my throat is sore. My stomach muscles hurt :(.

my 8 year old came down on Wednesday with the flu too so we’ve been quarantined in my bedroom together just sleeping and resting while my husband has slept on the sofa all week.

iv tried everything, even co codimol as I heard codine was supposed to help. Iv taken robitussin, tried salt water, honey and lemon, throat sprays etc nothing is helping. I can be fine then one little set off and I can’t stop.

my noise is still dripping which isn’t helping. I’m feeling so so run down.

doesn’t help that the week before I had a stomach bug so I feel like it’s one thing after another atm!

i just want to sleep :(

Vicks Vapo-rub on the soles of your feet helps with a tickly cough. I have no idea how or why, but having tried it last time I was afflicted I'm sure it made a difference!

My nanny used to make me drink onion syrup if I caught a bad cough. It was vile but sadly it worked.

Tried the Vicks on the feet, been in bed since 5 and not helped :(

if anything it’s getting worse. Iv even tried piriton and anti acids today. I feel like I can’t breathe and my throat is so swollen.

im so mentally drained. I’m at on the edge of the bed with my head practically out the window. I just want to sleep. I feel so sorry for everyone in the house having to listen to me coughing.

Night nurse! Seems to soothe my throat and lull me to sleep like only a magic liquid could.

Alternatively sleeping upright.

I really feel for you. Coughs are awful and leave your head and abdomen in agony when they're really bad. Hope you feel better soon

Night Nurse. Not the off the shelf one, the one you ask the pharmacist for.

I had whooping cough recently and was demented with the nighttime coughing. Night Nurse knocked me out. Such a blessed relief.

Codeine as you already have done, as long as the cough isn't productive.

Steam your head over a pan of properly hot water (I boil it in the kettle but that's quite extreme) with a towel over your head to keep the steam in. You can add a couple of drops of essential oils if you want but that's mainly for the decongestant effect.

You want to coat the inside of your throat with something gloopy to stop it being as irritated. Assuming you don't have any cough mixture I'd probably try some liquid Gaviscon or similar if you've got it as I reckon that would have the right effect, or straight up honey instead of mixed with lemon.

Then go straight to bed before you've had a chance for the coating to wear off.

Accept that you're going to have to sleep sitting up. My preference for that is about 4 pillows so you can't slump.

Take water and preferably a flask of hot squash and whatever you coated your throat with to bed, but hopefully if you can get it calmed down it will get better. It's often cyclical at this point because the throat is inflamed. So you cough. Which inflamed the throat. And so on, indefinitely.

Try Bronchostop. Tastes like drinking neat oregano but it works

DD and I have had the same thing back to back over the last 2 weeks. Neither of us have been this unwell for years. Its been shocking. I thought I had bronchitis at one stage. Steam (as described above) and hot ribena have been kind of helpful. I'm allergic to a lot of standard medicines sadly but they don't seem to have helped DD much either. I have been able to take ibuprofen for the banging headache I've had due to the congestion but nothing is shifting the overall illness very quickly.

I sleep with my face hanging off the bed so the tickly snotty stuff drips out my nose and not down the back of my throat, as that's what causes the cough. It's disgusting. I feel your pain. Hope it gets better soon.

Things that have helped me in the past:

Night Nurse (as per pp, the one you ask the pharmacist for)

Night time Covonia

Anti histamine

Glass of milk to sip when the coughing starts

Propping self up on lots of pillows

And in extremis: Bailey's on ice.

I have to say that out of that lot, the Night Nurse was best.

Dark chocolate to coat your throat a little. I also believe there’s an ingredient that helps to sooth it. Plus..it’s chocolate! Sleeping propped up a bit always help me when I have a cough. Hope you and your daughter start to feel better soon

I've just finished a cough, funnily enough cheap cold and flu tablets worked well especially the night one. During the day I took co-codomal but I have some prescription strength ones.

I'm still coughing a bit though and drinking so much liquid.

Cider vinegar and honey. I swear by it.

I didn't realise there was an over the counter night nurse. The pharmacist one is quite expensive but so worth it. I think it was made by the angels 😇

Eating a marshmallow can help, the glycerine costs your throat. Beware of mixing to many remedies together can upset tummy and a cough and poops is no fun.