So I have a cough that started on Thursday. No fever, no stuffiness, just scratchy throat and cough. It was a bit productive (light yellow), but not so much anymore. But tonight it feels a bit tight. I don't want to be a big baby, but I had a minor case of pneumonia 2 years ago and I thought that was just a cough, so I'm a bit paranoid.
I'm thinking of playing it by ear tomorrow - see how I wake up with it. Then hit carenow or something if it's tight - I'm pretty sure tightness in the chest is not a good sign re. sickness. Any feedback from the mamas who may have had something similar? Thanks!
Be proactive.... See a doc and clear bit up before it gets worse. It's much harder to clear once it's really set in.
I have a close friend who has the worst time this time if year and she's under a dr care., it seems like it progresses to worse yearly.
See a Dr and get well soon!!
As far as what Dawn said, what you are looking for is mucinex...... now... a bit of a warning....
Be sure to drink PLENTY of water with the mucinex.... it says that on the box.
The mucinex will also MAKE you cough more, since it is getting rid of the phlegm and mucus..... so there is a Mucinex DM (the DM is the dextromethorphan, which is a cough suppressant).... so it will seem like the medicine is "making you worse" .....
It does help, but it takes a while.
Of course, if you really are feeling worse, or start running a fever, go see the doctor. I've had pneumonia a few times, so I know you don't want to mess with that! (My trial with pneumonia started with mycoplasmal pneumonia, I took the medicine for the 10 days, and 3 days later ended up with bacterial pneumonia... that one REALLY threw me for a loop...)
Winter here in Texas this year is really being a bit strange... there may be more allergens out that you aren't used to, also.....
Plenty of fluids, Expectorant to help remove the phlegm that is developing, Hot tea.
3 C Epsom salt
2 C Sea Salt
1 C Baking Soda
20 drops Eucalyptus Oil
8 drops Spearmint oil
4 drops Peppermint oil
Mix well and add one cup salts to your bath water, which should be as hot as you can tolerate it. If nobody else in your house is ill, make sure you bundle up in the bathroom so you don't get chilled, otherwise temporarily make the house a bit warmer.
Feel better soon!
Hi P.. I'm sorry you are feeling bad. If I were you, I'd take an over-the-counter medicine that actually says that it loosens a cough. I forget what the medication is generically called, but you can look that up. Loosening up the phlegm in your chest can help with that tight feeling and can loosen the cough and make it more productive. That will help your lungs. Drink a lot of water to help the medicine work, too.
If this doesn't help or if you get a fever, get to the doctor to talk about the possibility of pneumonia. You are right to worry about that because lungs that have been compromised by pneumonia can be suseptible to it again.
Get well, mama!!!
Dawn
My best friend had the flu- started feeling sick the Monday after Thanksgiving- and went to the doctor that day. Fast forward to Friday, and she went to urgent care for a cough that wouldn't quit. They called an ambulance, and she went straight to ICU on a ventilator with pneumonia and sepsis. They told her husband that it was 50/50.
She's doing better now, off the ventilator but still in the ICU with lots of oxygen. I think this has cured me of taking my health lightly. She has no underlying health conditions, nothing that would indicate that things would go so far south so quickly.
Go to the doctor, okay?
my 4 yr old daughter had a cough for 3 weeks. She was tested for whooping cough and it came back negitive and she was checked out for croup. In the end they said it was just a bad cold. ( She didn't have the runny nose but at night she would spike a fever around 100) They said to just keep a humidifier going at night since that is when the cough was worse ( she would cough until she threw up and wouldn't wake up during it). They said to get plenty of fresh air during the day.
My 12 yr old is on week two of the same kind of cough but his is all day and night. Again they said its just a bad cold and to keep the humidifier going and let it run its course. Hopefully he gets better soon, right now his cough isn't lightening up any.
We were told that there is a strain of colds going around that the cough is lasting 4-6 weeks. They did x-rays on both kids to make sure it wasn't anything more going on.. didn't give us any perscription.. and it took what seemed like forever to get over ( still waiting for our son to get over it.. ) but our daughter did finally get better.
Use your judgement on if you need to go or not. You are the only one who truly knows if you should get it checked out or not. But I just wanted to let you know that there is a nasty cold that lingers on going around ( up here any ways). Hope you feel better soon!
It's most likely a virus and there is nothing that the doctor can do for you. Mucinex will help. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids. And use a vaporizer if you have one available. Take Vitamin C. I take EmerGenC which has C as well as other nutrients that always helps shorten colds for me.
I've had these symptoms numerous times and not needed a doctor. I have had pneumonia too and that was after I'd been sick for a couple of weeks. I went to the doctor because I was feeling weak and lethargic and had a low grade fever. I suggest with pneumonia you'd have more symptoms.
Lots of water and mucinex.
We rarely go to the Dr in this house. For starters, most colds and things are viruses. There is nothing the Doctor can do.
Sit in the tub with hot water running, and use a humidifier. Also, drink lots of fluids.
I get tightness in my chest all the time when I have a cold. It never turns into anything more serious. There is something going around in Chicago that is lingering, a good 3-4 weeks of a bad cough.
