Weeks of coughing - any ideas?

[TooMuchSnot]

I have had a cough for three months. I don't have a chest infection. I do have mild asthma but it is very well controlled. I have post-nasal drip. Basically I am now coughing purely to cough up my excess mucous. Nice ;). I hurt with the effort of coughing - my throat, my chest, my head, my tummy. I wake up at least two or three times a night coughing. I am knackered beyond belief.

I've used an OTC nasal spray and now a steroid nasal spray for the post nasal drip but after four weeks I am still hacking as if I am about to keel over. I have olbas oil on a cloth in bed at night. I have a variety of herby cough sweets to help loosen the mucous.

Can anybody suggest anything I can try before I go back to see the GP yet again? Or suggest anything that might be causing so much gunk production? I am gluten and lactose free already ...

Hello toomuchsnot, the stuff to loosen your mucus is called Fluimicil.
I don't know if it is available over the counter.
I get mine from a pharmacy in Hong Kong. NOT a dodgy internet company, but they do ship worldwide.
Failing that, you could try one garlic clove a day, raw..............
Try a seasalt nasal spray!

no soutions, but round these parts, that particularly crappy virus has been dubbed "the 100 day cough". It does get better, honest.

anyone witha cough for more than a month should have a chest xray- read it on the back of a bus this week!!!

when you say your asthma is well controlled - how do you decide it is well controlled?

I am wondering if it is a flare up of asthma, unless this has been ruled out by gp?

My poor mum has had an awful cough since November

It is exhausting her & really getting her down. Hopefully some warm sunshine soon will help.

Hope yours clears up and do report back if you find anything helpful in terms of treatment.

Untamed - my Mum who is in her 70s has had this too since before Christmas - she refuses to go to the doctors and is trying all kinds of herbal remedies which haven't really worked but hopefully the warmer weather will get her batter. Sorry OP - no advice at all but there is a bad cough bug going round.

Chinese remedy, peel and boil fresh ginger for at least 20 mins. Add honey to the water and drink. Often.

Are you sure not dust or pollen related?

But yes, go and have an x ray.

We have a similar virus doing the rounds here, leaves you exhausted and unable to function.

My poor daughter, her partner and the children just seem to be in a round of at least 2 of them being really poorly all the time.

I'm having the flu jab in the autumn.

Hope you feel better soon, OP, I second the salt nasal rinse and sinus massage

I have had chronic cough for almost 6 years. Hope you get rid of yours soon.

I've had a bad chesty cough for a number of weeks now, and I have asthma, so I know what you're going through.

What helped me was having a humidifier in the bedroom. We live in a barn conversion and its very dry and dusty, especially over winter, so I got humidifiers for DS and I a couple of years ago, and they seriously helped with our asthma. We haven't used them this year, until I got this horrid cough which I couldn't even lie down with. Put the humidifier on (after cleaning it at 3am cos we hadn't used it for a year!) and I got my first 2 hours sleep in over a week.

Touch wood, Two weeks on I think my cough is finally under control.

Still keeping it on though, as it lessens DHs snoring

Six years Gurl, blimey. I do suffer every winter and have done since childhood but it so much more constantly hacking this year and for so long. 100 day cough? Should be over soon then ...

I take daily antihistamines, prescribed. DH and I both have allergies so wooden floors and hoovered mattresses are the norm. I don't have a dust allergy but I feel it when there is too much. I haven't been allergy tested for a while but the treatment would be the same so no matter.

I have been to see the asthma nurse, peak flow fine considering done sod all proper exercise for so long now. I have mostly been managing pilates twice a week and one other session but not regular

I have the flu jab early every winter.

Haven't had an Xray this winter as actually severity of cough not worse than previous winters (have had loads of clear chest X-rays) but duration of severe cough longer. GP would send me for a chest X-ray if he thought I needed one, I am sure.

Not allowed any decent decongestants due to asthma, hence using steam and herby stuff. Will have a look at the saline nasal spray and consider the sinus massage.

I drank bucket loads of honey/lemon/ginger in January to absolutely no effect! I haven't had any ginger in my drink for a while (ran out and local supermarket was out, have now forgotten to replace) but do drink a lot of hot honey and lemon to ease the throat. But that's all it does. It doesn't lessen this ridiculous supply of snot.

Thanks all, anyway.

my own amateur diagnosis of what's going round here is 'walking pneumonia'; it may or may not be what you have, but a persistent cough is one of the main symptoms; if you have a lot of 'gunk' it sounds like you're really struggling; a doctor will probably prescribe anti-biotics, perhaps you need that right now? Try adding some inhalation grade thyme oil to your steaming water otherwise, and lots of vit c and some zinc.

You may have whooping cough. There is a lot of it going around at the moment-lots of adults are getting it even though they have been immunised-it doesn't always sound like the traditional whoop noise. My friend has it-caught from tiny baby-on public health advice I'm now taking antibiotics as I've spent a lot of time with the her and the baby-but most cases are going undiagnosed.

That's a bit frightening awaywego1. It makes me ever so nervous as my first had it as a very little baby and it can be incredibly serious in a little baby and we were in and out of hospital as she stopped breathing every 20 minutes, each time we had to check she started again or call the ambulance :(

My second is now a similar age and the fear has come back (flashbacks that make me shiver and panic) and I do get worried about going out... I've also found out that one group near me has several anti-vaxers in it and I haven't been back since...

Yes it's very serious in baby's-I've just spent all week with my friends baby in hospital-very scary in tiny babies, less serious in adults I guess and harder to detect.

OP - could you do with short course of steroids maybe?

Having been there, my thoughts go out to them - even having never met them!
(And seeing a baby with whooping cough makes me really struggle with the anti-vaxers but that's a completely different thread!)

OP - when I got whooping cough (from my baby) I don't think I was very phlegmy, but it did go on a long time. I also have asthma and it was different from an asthma cough but did stop me breathing. I was quite scared. Not sure that necessarily helps you know, but can agree that long term coughing is horrid.

Definitely chest xray and antibiotics. I am just at the tail end of my cough, ongoing since Jan. GP couldn't really hear much on my chest when I first went, but xray did show a shadow. Am nearly at the end of 2nd batch of ABs, been back to Dr today and I have to go back for a follow up xray in 3 weeks
I have never been to the doctor as much as I have this winter
Now all I need is for my torn muscle to heal...