To go to the GP for a cold?

[Coughitycough6]

just not sure what to do and I feel absolutely rubbish which isn’t helping either!

basically I’ve got a really nasty cold- im actually over the blocked nose and typical cold symptoms but instead of going away it went for my throat and I’ve completely lost my voice. I went to the pharmacist who said it was laryngitis and to rest my voice, but over the last few days it seems to have gone to my chest now too. Im not coughing anything up, it just feels so tight and dry and I can’t finish a sentence without having to cough. I’m not breathless but everytime I take a decent breath in it makes me all tight and sends me coughing again so it feels like I can’t get a proper breath because of that

I’ve got asthma and have been using my inhalers a lot more than normal- it’s helping the chest tightness temporarily but obviously everything else with my throat and voice I’ll just need to let it heal itself

im just a bit unsure what to do because in my asthma plan I was told to go to the doctors if I ever get any chesty symptoms after a cold, but last time this happened (around 6 months ago) it was a locum GP who basically gave me an annoyed lecture about wasting their time for a cold and said I need to give it 6 weeks to heal? At that point I had given it 4 weeks and was getting worse, I was up all night coughing up brown sludge and couldn’t finish a sentence without coughing and once she actually listened to my chest she gave me steroids which helped, but it definitely confused me and got me a bit worried about wasting their time for a cold even though I thought it was meant to go for that?!

anyway, sorry for ranting, just feel a bit crap and unsure what to do. I’m not coughing up the brown sludge like before, and I don’t think im as wheezy as before, but everytime I breath or talk it feels like my chest is tight and I keep having to dry cough (just not sure if that’s purely the cold irritating my throat or my asthma flaring)

just don’t want to be that person going to the gp for a cold and to get a lecture again! If anyone has any advice or knowledge I’d be really grateful x

I mean, I dont know how anyone can have asthma and know without question if they need help or not.

It being unpleasant, and needing to keep a higher dosage of inhalers, doesn’t require a visit that's just part of being ill with asthma. If they arent working at all, you need to visit. If it goes on for a few weeks with no improvement, then think about it - although if it also isnt getting worse you don't necessarily have to.

Have they not told you what to do for your personal situation when ill with inhalers? I can double everything. And then use the emergency dosage for ventolin, with 10 doses 6 times a day, and then reduce this over the next couple of days. If this doesnt stabilise it then get help.

You don’t go to see a clinician for a cold however you do for a chest infection or exacerbation of asthma, which it sounds like you have.

Thanks for all the advice. Think it’s just hard sometimes when you’re not sure and you don’t want to be a time waster but at the same time you feel crap!

I called at 8.30 literally on the dot and am in position 140 so not sure I’ll manage to get an appointment but if not I’ll hopefully at least get some advice

I actually can talk a bit more today but I can only speak at a ridiculously high pitch and my voice sounds like Mickey Mouse- if I try and speak normally I can’t physically get a breath out, it’s horrible

Good luck with the queue! Just remember, you're not calling because of a cold... you're calling because you're an asthmatic who can't breathe properly, even after using all your prescribed medication.

If you’re not able to get an appt go to urgent care. They are centres with GPs who see patients who turn up and wait in order of priority. So if you don’t get one, search for urgent cares near you, and get seen. Your lungs need listening to! Good luck xxx

At my GP they always see asthmatics with chest tightness/ coughs/ possible chest infections same day.

Call 111.

There is a difference between a chest infection and a cold. And with asthma to complicate.

Only you know how bad your condition is.
GP’s often cannot do anything for a cold. But often they can for a chest infection.
It depends if the cause if viral or bacterial. Antibiotics only help with a bacterial infection. Not viral. That has to clear up on its own.
But they should assess the impact of your asthma. So book.

But it's not a cold anymore if its moved to your chest and causing a breathing issue. And you should get it checked out for peace of mind.

I had a very sore throat last week. No other symptoms. It went away for 2 days and came back with a vengeance. Sore troath, swollen glands (neck and under arm), fever (hot and cold). I did everything I could to not go to the GP.

In Ireland, we have "walk in clinics". It's still a gp you see but you can literally walk in off the road, wait 15/20 mins and be seen. I did that versus trying to battle for an appointment with my own GP.

He told me I was right on the cusp of possible glandular or rhuematic fever and came in right on time for steroids and antibiotics. A day later would've been a different story. I am responding to treatment so far.

Point being, you've done everything you can to get better. You've an under lying condition. And f the locum who roasted you. I'd not have not put up with that myself. It's my body, my pain, and I pay the person.

Can you fill in an online consult? My GP triages them really quickly, sometimes they've called me back 1-2 hours later.

Ring 111 for advice.

I was confused on the voting but please see a GP!

This is exactly what I was like without asthma. Hope you get an appointment 🤞🏻

Hope you’ve been seen by a health professional now !
You may not be given antibiotics but you might be given oral steroids.
I have asthma too and allergies, ended up on a short course of steroids with similar symptoms

We ended up in A&E recently with what looked like a cold and it turned out to be something called parainfluenza. The symptoms are just like a cold, but it was the worst cold I have ever seen in my life and caused my DS to hallucinate.

If you've got that, then you have my sympathy. It was an absolute thumper.

Take care there. Xx

IMO you do need to see a GP.

I have never had asthma, and rarely need to see the GP, but a couple of years ago I had a horrible cold-like bug I just couldn’t shake off. So eventually (after urging from a dd) I did see the GP, who did check me over, but as I had fully expected, he said ‘probably a virus’ and that was it.

That same evening I was hit like an express train with shallow, painful breathing, and a few hours later was blue-lighted to hospital with pneumonia, plus a bit later, pleurisy on top.
3 weeks of hospital, 5 of ABs.

It was a real shock to me how suddenly pneumonia could hit a normally pretty healthy person.

If your asthma team have advised a course of action in this situation then follow it (and cite it if you fill in a form).

The grumpy locum plainly wasn’t having her time wasted if she prescribed steroids. Focus on the advice of your regular team.

Can you go to a minor illness unit? I think ours is brilliant and way better than waiting for the GP. They’ll refer you on if they think relevant to do so.

I get very similar illness from an ordinary cold and my asthma kicks in but I wouldn’t bother going to the GP unless I were having real difficulty breathing. I did once go when I was still unable to finish a full sentence without wheezing 3 weeks after the cold finished and I was given the magic drug of oral steroids but my GP agreed I had really been out of the ordinary ill.

So, no, I wouldn’t go with just the after effects you describe. But I’m tough and prefer to look after my lung health by being excessively fit.

As someone with a autoimmune disorder * not asthma, I struggled to shake off exactly the same as you have been suffering with and they were absolutely ok and understanding about seeing me by, that point I had it for about 3/4 weeks and gave me a 5 day course of antibiotics, it wasnt quite enough to clear it and continued to get worse again, so now on a 7 day course. I am on immune supplements and guessing you maybe on and off them with your asthma, I have now been referred to asthma clinic as always wheezy and blocked, I also wander if hayfever may be a factor for people with autoimmune, I take antihistamines most days through spring and summer. dont wait and make a appointment, I dont think you are wasting time and are in a vunrable category, I think the Locum last time was unnecessary unsympathetic considering you were so unwell and struggling to breath easily! Hope you feel better soon .

There is a horrible virus going round though @Coughitycough6 I had it in February and after 3 days in bed, was still exhausted for at least two weeks after.

It was for others a “common cold” but for me a bad illness. But there’s nothing much to be done unless your breathing is really compromised. Oral Steroids are the magic bullet ( I’ve had prednisone ) but I gather they shouldn’t be used too often.

This is why I wish we could retain some of the public responsibility for not coughing and sneezing in public that we had during the acute bit of the COVID epidemic. I was much healthier during that time! Because everyone was more thoughtful about spreading viral infections. For some of us the common cold can be temporarily debilitating.

But I do find taking the time to be super-fit means I am more resilient in terms of my lung health. My asthma nurse says my peak flow is about twice what she’d expect of someone my age with asthma. It does make a difference long term.

Asthma kills 3 people daily in the UK. Silly dr for making you feel unreasonable. Look after yourself xx

You need to see a GP. My son has asthma and when I can see it deteriorating like
this I get it checked out. We need to
get out of this feeling guilty mindset - we all pay for the NHS through our tax/NI so its not free and it’s there to use when you need it. Yes people do need to use common sense but you are clearly quite unwell and need advice.

I have mild asthma and have been a bit more wheezy and significantly more snotty since the start of the hay fever season. As well as my antihistamine and maintenance inhaler (Spiromax) I've been using my blue Ventolin more often. I haven't felt ill enough to ask for an appointment, but if it gets that way, I will. Asthma is on a spectrum, from mild like mine to terrifyingly aggressive (the parent I inherited it from) and those of us lucky enough to be mildly asthmatic aren't guaranteed to stay that way. If your breathing is affected, you need to see someone. Don't worry about the snarky GP. If she gave you steroids, it wasn't for nothing. Getting sorted at primary care level is more efficient and less stressful for you than being whipped into A&E at 2am on a weekend and it's better for the NHS as a whole. I hope you feel better soon.