Q&A about colds and flu with Dr Chris Steele - ANSWERS BACK

[RachelMumsnet]

For the second of our health related Q&As this week, Dr Chris Steele is returning to Mumsnet during the big freeze to answer your questions about colds and flu. He qualified as a doctor in 1968 and has worked as a GP in South Manchester since 1970. He has been the resident doctor on ITVs This Morning for the last 23 years. If you or your family are suffering from colds or flu this winter, send in your questions to Dr Steele by end of day on Monday 13th February and we'll be linking to Dr Steele's answers on Thursday 23rd February.
The people at Kaloba Syrup say:
According to a recent survey, UK children are missing 16.4 million school days each year due to time off suffering colds and coughs. Children catch as many as eight colds per year, but often deciding how best to treat them can be tricky for parents with many remedies unsuitable for children under 12 years. NEW Kaloba® Syrup (Pelargonium sidoides EPs®7630) is a licensed herbal medicine for coughs and colds, that is suitable for children aged 6+, and is even suitable for children with asthma. Kaloba® has been scientifically proven to shorten the duration of upper respiratory tract infections, such as acute bronchitis and the common cold, and reduce the severity of the symptoms. Kaloba® is antibacterial, antiviral, and has secretomotory activity (it is able to clear mucus from the respiratory tract). For more information visit www.kaloba.co.uk or find us on Facebook - www.facebook.com/thecoldcrusader

This Q&A was sponsored by Kaloba®

My DS has had back to back colds since November what can I do to stop this? He's 2.9yrs

what do you think about the first defence type products that are supposed to stop a cold in its tracks?

Ds had flu and a high temperature - despite me telling them he was worsening and several GPs listening to his chest and doing usual ears etc they insisted it was viral. When I evntually took him straight to hospital and asked for a chest x ray he was found to have a severe infection in his lungs. How could they not tell?

At what point should you go to the doctor if you have a nasty cough?

As someone who has always had nasty prolonged coughs, these days I only tend to go to the doctor if there is a reason to go for the cough (eg catarrh is green or brown) - having a nasty cough isn't reason to go on its own as chances are they will say 'it's viral' and all you get is extra bugs from everybody else down at the surgery.

Around Christmas this year it took 6 weeks for my cough to go (sort of cough that stops you in your tracks for the most part, can't catch your breath, to the point of almost being sick most times). Having had a couple of weeks of not coughing, it is now back again with a vengeance and dh wants me to go to the doctor's as he reckons that coughing really hard can damage your lungs even if there isn't anything bacterial and that they will be able to give you something to help subdue it or to check it hasn't turned into bronchitis or pneumonia.

So who is is right - should I stay away from the doctor or should I heed my dh's advice and go, even if I don't think that I have anything that needs antibiotics (and I'm already downing honey, hot drinks, cough mixture etc to help soothe it) ?

And what are the chances of having whooping cough? I understand that people are realising that it has been hugely under-reported recently as people thought it had been more or less wiped out with vaccination but actually it hasn't. What are the chances that when I have had a really bad cough but been told there's no congestion on my lungs that I have had whooping cough - and how many times can you get it?

Thank you!

I came to ask MNters about getting rid of a cold and saw this thread with the lovely Dr Chris so who better to ask .

I am up far too early as I am so bunged up I am being very noisy when breathing and don't want to disturb DH. My throat is like razor blades, my head aches, I haven't slept in 10 nights (probably the reason why I have a cold) and need to get rid as it is my birthday tomorrow and I want to enjoy it.
I have tried Lemsips and vicks on my chest. I am fed up. I also have asthma and have had the flu jab.

I also feel ike I am made of ice at times.

Predictably here to ask...

Why does DD age 5 get so many colds. She only has to go outside in weather like this and bang! She eats beautifully - lots of fresh veg and fruit and gets lots of rest. They really knock her for 6 and she just doesn't shake them off like most. What can we actually do to help this?
DH the same - is it heredetary? (sp)

I am like an ox but find if I have a heavy night or tired I feel a cold coming on I shake it after about 48 hours. I rarely eat any fruit.

I had a flu jab in Oct as I have Chronic Kidney Disease (MCGN). In Nov I had a terrible throat infection and have had one thing after another since - I had cold not long after the throat infection, then a sickness bug in Dec, and at start of Jan I got an awful URTI which has really wiped me out - almost as bad as flu, except I've had the jab so it wasn't that. The worst thing about this URTI was the phlegm in my nose/sinuses/chest, and the coughing, which kept me awake, gave me awful coughing fits and made me retch almost to the point of vomiting many times. I still have a cough and phlegmy chest/nose now, six weeks later, especially in the morning. The stuff in my nose is a very attractive green colour and to top it off, I think I'm now starting with DS's cold as I have a funny throat and am sneezing.

Is this normal for a bad URTI or should I be fully recovered by now? How can I help myself recover?

Also, I know GPs don't like to dole out antib's like sweets, but was it correct that I wasn't given any?

Thanks.

Oh GeorgeEliot I read that as Sambuca!

If your baby and your husband have a cold how can you avoid getting it?

Another one sorry, have just seen SoftKitty's question about the flu jab and it reminded me of something else I have wondered...

I meant to have a fly jab in the autumn (DH gets one due to long term chronic illness, and having had full-on knock you out for 6 weeks flu, I am not keen to get it again) but put it off as I had a bit of a cough - and then more of a cough and so it went on and on. I've always of the understanding that you should not have a flu jab if you have a cold but wait until you are better (and the one time I had a flu jab with a cold whilst at school I did get a nasty bug afterwards that whilst it wasn't flu was a very nasty cough and cold).

But - am I just extrapolating from one bad experience - and should I be OK to have a flu jab, regardless of whether or not I have any seasonal lurgy or should I wait until I am fully better (which with 2 young kids in different schools who bring home new bugs all the time seems to be a bit optimistic!)

And is it worth getting a flu jab done now - even though it is near the end of the flu season - and will it have a knock on effect on getting it done next year if I am organised (and healthy!) and get it done at the start of the jab season next year (ie do I have to wait a year until I can get the next one)? And should I be getting my dc (6 and 3) to have a flu jab too?

Thank you!

My three year old son has a cold, and because I am also breastfeeding my other son who is three months old I keep reading about the famous antibodies I am passing to him which will help prevent him getting sick too. So my question is, can I help my three year old get over a cold quicker by giving him a cup of expressed breastmilk? Would it give him added protection against colds if he drank it before getting sick? and if so, how much would he have to drink and how often?

Got the flu atm, and worrying about complications since its just me and my son.

What symptoms should i worry about that could indicate something serious. Can't really ask my gp since its almost imppossible to get a close appointment.

Thanks in advance.

I could ask loads of questions but will try to restrain myself to a couple

Firstly, if you have a tendency to get secondary infections (bronchitis/pneumonia), is there anything you can do to reduce the chances of getting them once you have caught a cold? I seem to have a weakness for these and have had one or the other so many times, I'd love to know if I can reduce the odds of one next time.

Secondly, is there anything that actually works to get rid of a cough more quickly? And if not, why do coughs seem to be so hard to treat? Over-the-counter cough medicine seems to do very little to help. I have been coughing for over 3 weeks now (cold followed by infection) & still can't shake it off and my ribs are very sore

This Q&A is now closed. We're sending the questions over to Dr Steele this morning and will be linking to his answers on Thursday 23rd Feb from this thread.

The answers are now back from Dr Steele and you can see the full Q&A here:

Q&A about colds and flu with Dr Chris Steele

Sorry, but to people who asked about breastfeeding and medications, the answer he has given is v odd:

"My advice to any woman who is pregnant or breast-feeding is avoiding all medication. Ideally, you should avoid any drug going to your body, including cigarette smoke and alcohol, if your baby is important to you."

It might be helpful for people looking for evidence-based info from a Pharmacist to look at the Breastfeeding Network's drugs and breastfeeding pages and specifically their factsheet on this specific topic.

Indeed, Pesto. Not only it isn't factually correct, it also seems to say all those women who do take medication during their pregnancy don't care about their babies

Yes, I wonder if that would include women with threatened pre-term labour who consent to steroid injections, women with serious infections who take antibiotics, ladies with flu and a high temperature who take something to bring that down, people who have local anaesthetic for essential dental work, or even an episiotomy during labour etc etc etc.

Here is the helpful BfN leaflet on alcohol, smoking and medicines and breastfeeding. It would be awful to think that someone might misunderstand Dr Steele's advice to mean that, for example, if they smoke they mustn't breastfeed or that they must having fillings done with no anaesthetic .

Maybe the doctor was spinning the 'no medication during pregnancy and breastfeeding' theory to emphasize the wonders of the herbal syrup he was paid to promote

Seriously, this is not on, MN. Can you please delete that sentence before it makes pg women panic because they took paracetamol for a headache?

Although the label says you shouldn't take it when pregnant or breastfeeding. Still, what an odd thing for a doctor to say.

As an aside, it was I who asked and the reason I felt so rubbish was a secondary infection from a cold that resulted in an exacerbation of asthma. So, far from not taking medicines, I was on antibiotics, paracetamol, asthma meds and steroids for lungs and nose. He could not have known from my question, but the point Pesto makes is an important one.

Thanks for pointing this out to us. We went back to Dr Steele to question his response to offtheisles's question. He has come back with this response.

I wanted to apologise if my reply to your question may have offended or upset any of you and I am extremely sorry as it was not intended to be interpreted that way. Obviously, every baby is vitally important to every Mum and Dad, and I certainly did not intend to infer that if you were to take any medication whilst breast feeding, you were not considering the importance of your babies health.

My advice was to recommend that when pregnant or breast feeding, it is best to try to avoid medications, but as every pregnancy is individual it may be difficult to avoid in certain circumstances. But if you are concerned ask your GP, midwife or your local pharmacist, and follow their advice. They know your medical history and what medications you need to take during pregnancy and breast feeding.

We've added Dr Steele's new response to the Q&A and you can read the full Q&A here

Q&A about cold and flu

It was good of him to clarify what he meant, thanks Rachel and Dr Steele .