Would you go to A&E for a cough?

[LeopardPrint21]

Had a cough for 7 months. Have had some tests done for gastro as the GP initially thought acid reflux, have literally today been referred for chest x-ray and lung tests.

It has gotten to the point where I cannot stop coughing. Literally having fits of coughing every few minutes and this lasts from the minute I wake up until the minute I go to sleep and sometimes throughout the night too. I also feel unwell with it and I’ve felt unwell since the cough started at the beginning of the year. I feel like I can’t cough up whatever is there but I also can’t swallow it back down so it just feels stuck in my throat and all the constant coughing is leaving me feeling like I can’t breathe properly.

I have been in tears all day because I genuinely can’t go on like this, I dread every second of the day because of how bad it is. I am at my breaking point with it.

Would you go to the hospital for a cough that is constantly there and you’re never getting a let up from it along with everything else I’ve written?

As I said, I don't fully trust GP's. Too many of them miss things like cancer.

If you are struggling to breathe then you should go to a&e.
Going won't bump you up the queue for the planned tests but they can check your sats and see what they can help you with.

I'd call 111 and see what they suggest.

I had a persiatant cough and breathing issues- and kept coming down with chest infections and flu went on years and I was constantly back and forth at gp- despite one of my kids having asthma and me saying it was in family wider than that and suffering from hay fever - took me being driven by neigbour really concerned down mid attack to get diagonsed with asthma. All that consatant illness went with inhailors.

Codeine helps to suppress a cough in the short term. Could be post nasal drip? Have you tried allergy tablets and regular saline nasal rinses in the short term for a week or two to see if it helps? I struggle with this every summer and this is what the ent suggested to me. It does help but I rinse my sinuses every time I visit the bathroom and made sure I take my allergy pills regularly through the day according to the dosage.

Isn't it a good thing the GP has already made onward referrals then? 🙄

Consistently having difficulty breathing IS an emergency.

Go to A&E op. You have nothing to lose. And if you're coughing as much as you say you are, you'll probably be seen a bit quicker - it helps to be visibly/audibly unwell.

What you have is not a normal cough and shouldn't be treated as such.

If she was that sick she would not have to be waiting for tests. If everyone turned up at A&E with a cough the system would collapse. It is for accidents and emergencies!

OP I’m not sure you’ll see this as replies are coming in fast. My symptoms were nothing like yours; and I doubt they relate at all but…

After 4 years of symptoms that my GP ignored, I went in one day and they said it was just anxiety again and sent me home. I called 111 as soon as out of hours started that day, at 6pm.. and just said I wanted a second opinion. They told me… this is serious go to A&E. I didn’t want to go in the night, so dropped the kids to school the next day and took myself in. Finally someone listened to me; listened to my chest; did an xray.. Immediately they knew something was wrong and referred me as an emergency to where I needed to be seen. Two weeks later I had a diagnosis, now I’m 6 weeks post op and on the road to recovery.

Sometimes, you just need someone to actually listen, and care. Unfortunately GPs are so overwhelmed, I don’t think they have the capacity to handle certain situations.

My advice would be to call 111 tonight and ask for a second opinion, or call your GP back and quote “Jess’s Rule.” I think you need to be seen ASAP.

I would see if steaming my head helped, as I find that can be really useful for coughs.

I have cough variant asthma and I have to try really really hard to breathe very shallowly and not try and gasp for breath. If I can do that then I find it calms down quicker. It's really hard though.

I would definitely try and go back to the GP and ask them about whether any of the following would be appropriate:

Inhaler in case it's cough presenting asthma
Some sort of cough suppressant if not?
Would any sort of nebuliser help?
What are your oxygen sats, are they okay?

Ultimately if you're coughing so much you can't breathe it can be asthmatic so the other option may be to call 111 as they can book appointments at our local minor injuries.

No I wouldn’t. They can’t do anything.

You don't actually know that; no one on here does.

I would also argue that A&E is at breaking point because the health service has been severely underfunded for decades; not because sick people actually want to use it.

Have you checked the local A & E status at present? Our county hospital is the only A & E and they're asking people not to attend unless it is a life threatening emergency at present.

I'm not honestly sure how they will help in truth but if you need to go, check first.

That sounds really rough and I'm sorry you're feeling so miserable. But I'm with those who wouldn't go to A&E, unless there's information missing from your post like you genuinely can't breathe and need respiratory support.

If this has been going on for 7 months, how many times have you actually seen your GP about it? You said you've been referred for tests today, but was this the first time you've been to the doctor? A&E isn't really the place for something that's gone on for a few months unless something has suddenly changed and it's become a genuine emergency.

Remember, too, that A&E departments are absolutely grim - a colleague of mine was sent to A&E by his GP earlier this week and he said it was like a war zone, people with injuries bleeding all over the floor, someone lying on the floor having a fit, not enough seating...your local A&E might not be that bad, but none of them are great at the moment so I really would avoid unless you feel that you must have medical attention ASAP (and if that was the case, why wait 7 months?).

Coughs don't last for 7 months. Of course people shouldn't turn up to A&E with a typical cough that will probably last for a few days or a few weeks.

7 months is a different story.

I would call 111 and ask their advice rather than a load of ransoms on Mumsnet.

Constant coughing which is leaving you without breath is an emergency, I would argue.

It sounds awful!

But it sounds like you need proper tests - I’m not sure what A&E can do for you??

Obviously if you think it’s an emergency then go asap but if not then ring 111 or go to a walk in centre.
They might send you to A&E still

Last time I was in A&E I was there with suspected sepsis and was there for over 12 hours on a hard seat vomiting into a bowl.
It was horrendous and I would only go to A&E if there were absolutely no alternatives.

If you do go, make sure you take a phone battery pack, drinks, money etc as you could be there for a long time.

What tests did the GP do?
Did they take your temperature and blood pressure etc at least?

Sounds exhausting. Are you able to sleep at night without it waking you?

I’m sorry that it was put down to anxiety. That’s awful!!

I initially said to ring 111 and try the walk in clinic first, as A&E is an awful place to go when you’re feeling unwell but this poster had similar and went to A&E so perhaps take their advice instead.

You say you "feel" as if you can't breathe properly. If you mean you actually can't breathe properly, then I think that's a valid reason to go.

Consistently having difficulty breathing IS an emergency.

It really is.

I was surrounded by people telling me I was fine just another cold - it got normal that I was struggling to cross a room mid attack. Took an outsider a neighbour on a day I was well enough to do school run insisting I saw HCP and not backing down - got to GP staright on a nebuiliser and them debating whether to call an ambulance - the neubliser and steriod tablets were enough in the end.

Honestly ring 111 see what they say - there may be a minor injury unit that can see - or they may say A&E - even if A&E can't bump tests up they may be able to give some short term relief.

You could try a pharmacy and ask the pharmacist for advice and meds.

There are home remedies like hot water/ honey and lemon which might be soothing, or cough 'sweets' that can take the edge of it.

Or go back to the GP and explain how bad it is and they may be able to prescribe something stronger - perhaps you need some kind of inhaler as it could be asthma?

If you are struggling to breathe, yes, I would. Honestly, I can’t believe you’ve gone 7 months like this. This needed an x-ray and probably a CT scan about 6 months ago. My dad had coughing like this for about a year. Diagnosed with lung cancer (as a non-smoker) and he died at 54 only 3 weeks later.

Could you have asthma?

Has this ever been mentioned or have you had a peak flow test?

111 might refer you to a walk-in or similar surgery for advice.

The problem is referral for X-ray and lung tests will take a while.

Did the GP do blood tests to rule out TB? They need to rule out bronchitis, bronchiectasis and new onset asthma asap.

In your situation I would make a next day appt for private lung specialist, bearing in mind X-rays and blood tests will be pricey.

Not exactly reassuring for OP!