DH horrendous cough

[justbananas42]

DH is on day 4 of isolation and his cough is really terrible. It’s practically non stop and he’s wretching occasionally as well. He also feels very under the weather, like he has a case of flu or something. He’s 44 years old and double jabbed with Astra Zeneca. I’m worried

111 are useless in my opinion. No offence to the doctors but they are overworked & usually seemed pissed off they have to call you. My GP is brilliant. Far better to contact them if you can!

I agree. Speak to your GP.
111 is an outsourced service.
Private companies run both the 111 phone lines and the out of hours walk in centres.

Glad to read your update and hope once the antibiotics and the steroids kick in your DH will start to feel better. The antibiotics will hopefully sort out the temperature and the coughing and the steroids should open up the airways making breathing easier. Try and get two doses of both in DH today and I really hope he has better nights sleep from now on.

Take care and look after yourself and your little one.

Phew thank goodness.

Glad to read your update and glad he has steroids etc. Hope you are feeling a bit less worried and manage to get some rest

Glad to read your update too. My DH was prescribed steroids and antibiotics too and they made a difference within 24 hours.
Good luck x

Forgot to say, he's fully recovered now.

I needed a second set of different antibiotics so do go back if these antibiotics aren't working in 2-3 days. But hopefully they will work. Don't forget to eat and keep hydrated yourself.

How's DH @justbananas42?

And how are YOU doing now, have you caught up on any rest/sleep?

Hope he's on the mend?

Hi everyone, thanks for asking about how we're getting on.

DH has taken two doses of the medicine now (today will be his third). It's a seven day course.

He says he feels a LOT brighter in himself (this is evident for me to see too) and has more of an appetite so is eating better. His temperature seems to be consistently back in the normal range (37C) even though he's stopped the Nurofen, and his oximeter reading yesterday was 94-95, so a slight improvement on the 92-93 readings he was getting.

However, he still has this very annoying, persistent cough and is waking up coughing during the night, as well as having frequent coughing fits during the day. It means that overnight, neither of us are getting much sleep.

All positive OP. Hopefully the cough will die down. Don't let him rush back to normal life afterwards. It takes a while to get over an infection. He'll be very tired. And take care of yourself too.

That's promising.
Have you got a dehumidifier in the bedroom? Or damp towels on the radiator.

That's great news. If my recovery is anything to go by, he may have the cough for a while. My doctor said it may last 3+ weeks and there is not much you can do about it.

Great news Glad he is improving. The cough may linger for a few weeks, but temp and oxygen sats definitely in a better place!

I really struggled with a lingering cough after pneumonia. I got a nasal spray that helped as some of the cough was nasal drip
As many warm drinks as he can manage, I basically drank warm stuff constantly
Fisherman's friends/any form of throat lozenge (I like the blackcurrant ones) and keep going with those or any kind of sweet you suck so throat doesn't get dry
Steamy baths and showers and make sure the air isn't too dry from heating

DH is due to take his last dose of meds today and has a follow-up phone call with the doctor tomorrow.

I’m still concerned as although he does seem a lot brighter in himself and is eating better, he’s still quite tired - he often needs to take a nap in the afternoon and goes to bed quite early for example, which he wouldn’t normally do. Is this to be expected or is it a cause for concern?

His temperature is consistently back to normal levels now (and he’s stopped taking Nurofen) but he still sleeps in a thick dressing gown (whilst I’m fine in a thin nightie) and is hot to the touch at night.

Most worrying is his oximeter readings - they are mostly at around 95-96, but he does still get the occasional 93 with a flicker down to 92. I’ve double checked the oximeter by testing myself and I’m consistently at 98-99.

His cough is still quite bad as well, although it’s better than it was and is not often waking him in the night like it was before, so he’s sleeping better thankfully.

It’s been three weeks now since he first started showing symptoms. I don’t know what to make of it all really.

Glad to see your update. Lingering cough and fatigue is what my friend had, she also slept 2 hours in the afternoon and went to bed early. She had another 4 weeks off work after her isolation finished. She managed a 30 minute dog walk each day, but that was all she could do. Good to see your GP is going to call tomorrow, they may extend the medication.

Thanks Mindy. DH is managing a decent walk each day so that is something.

Glad he has improved, OP, but definitely mention the oximeter readings to the doctor tomorrow.

I'm not medical so don't know if it's to be expected or not. I do know after I had covid, I had a bad cough for 2 months (not waking me at night but considerable in the day) and was very very tired - needing naps etc.

I was told it would take up to a month to feel better after my infection. I just placed myself. Cough takes ages to go. Hope you are getting some rest too OP.

*paced

I haven’t had COVID but I have had pneumonia. It took a fair few weeks after finishing antibiotics to stop feeling breathless, which the doctor said was down to inflammation in the lungs. These things can take a while to settle. Speak to your doctor but try not to worry, it’s great that he’s improving.

Hello, just wondering how your husband is now? I'm in the same boat now and it's so horrible feeling helpless for him.