Hay fever, diarrhea, gas, body ache - what's going on?

July 26, 2008 8:29 PM

Hay fever, diarrhea, gas, body ache - what's going on?

I get these bouts of acute allergic rhinitis every now and then. I deal with it in a bunch of ways - but this time its weird.

I've been sneezing and coughing for two days now - and I'm exhausted.

Strangely I'm bloated as hell - and burping constantly.
I also have an attack of diarrhea and my body aches.

No fever, nothing else.

Do you guys know any over-the-counter drugs? Any alternative solutions?
Any suggestions hive mind? Thanks!

posted by anonymous to health & fitness (7 comments total)

This sounds like a case when you really ought to see a doctor instead of asking anonymous Internauts. If you don't have a primary care physician who can see you on the weekend, visit an emergency room. Insist on going over all your symptoms with the physician. It might be a combination of allergies and mild food poisoning that will get better by itself, but why take a chance?
posted by brianogilvie at 8:43 PM on July 26, 2008

I second the above answer; see a doctor. The hivemind is great in a lot of cases, but not this one of them.
posted by Cranialtorque at 9:07 PM on July 26, 2008

Giardia?

Really, we can guess all day long, but half an hour in the waiting room of a walk-in clinic, plus some time cooling your heels on some lab tests, will at least tell you if it is an emergency or if it is a non-threatening puzzle.

Go to the doctor, or at least see if your local clinic has one of those "phone a nurse" services where they do basic info and triage over the phone.
posted by Forktine at 10:23 PM on July 26, 2008

I hate to take a tire out of the "see the doctor" bandwagon, but I don't think this poster should be hung out to dry for coming here to figure out possibilities about their condition. I've seen a lot of doctors over the years for various minor ailments and the competency I've seen with diagnoses and choice of prescriptions has been mixed. Because of that I think it's foolish to not do some self education and narrow down what might be happening so that some warning flags will go off if you do inadvertently get a dumbass doctor. It's foolish to not assume responsibility for knowing what's going on with your own body.

The real problem I see here, however, is the poster doesn't give any kind of background about what they do, their age, lifestyle habits, gender, diet, living conditions, and since it's anonymous we can't even look at a profile or communicate back with them. So, yeah, this is pretty much a writeoff and I have to agree this is where a doctor comes in.

My potshot guess is it's just a "virus" combined with poor diet. Regarding that virus, there does seem to be some weird virus (coronavirus maybe, who knows) going around this summer; a lot of people I know had it, including myself. I recognize flu and common cold like night and day and this one is like some weird hybrid of both; it didn't follow the progression of anything I've had in the past. But I got by fine with tons of water, DXM, and decongestant. But still, yeah, see the doctor.
posted by crapmatic at 11:25 PM on July 26, 2008

i am NOT A DOCTOR but i had something like this happen a few years ago, and it's amazing how much an intestinal blockage can involve systems you never thought were related. gas and diarrhea build up behind the blockage and sometimes get through. you're getting acid reflux up your larynx, into the back of your throat and nose, giving you a sore throat, cough, and sniffles. said cough and sniffles are keeping you from sleeping well, tiring you out and making you feel achey.

i went into my doctor's office expecting to get a course of antibiotics, instead he recommended an enema. i was incredibly skeptical, but also feeling pretty awful, so i went along with it, and to my surprise, everything cleared up within a day.

on the other hand, maybe you just have a stomach bug, or if you have mucus draining down the back of your throat into your stomach, that's causing some queasiness. go to a doctor. just because i found a solution doesn't mean it's the right one for you.
posted by thinkingwoman at 12:00 AM on July 27, 2008

Second thinkingwoman--my IBS has over the last couple years moved from chronic diarrhea to chronic constipation, and some of the initial symptoms of the constipation included bouts of apparent diarrhea combined with the bloating and gas. It's a balancing act for me, but I take Miralax several days a week to manage it; when I don't, it's a lot like you describe. But with the achiness a bug is also likely. I had a recent bout of something respiratory that came on suddenly and within five days I was unable to walk around without getting dizzy and out of breath and I had to take a day off work. I spiked a fever a couple times over that week but didn't have one most of the time, but when I went to the doctor I had some sort of upper respiratory infection and a possible ear infection (either I resist getting sick and don't get the bug like everyone else, or it settles right in everywhere) and needed antibiotics and several prescriptions for chest and sinus congestion.
posted by Cricket at 12:52 AM on July 27, 2008

i am NOT A DOCTOR but i had something like this happen a few years ago, and it's amazing how much an intestinal blockage can involve systems you never thought were related. gas and diarrhea build up behind the blockage and sometimes get through. you're getting acid reflux up your larynx, into the back of your throat and nose, giving you a sore throat, cough, and sniffles. said cough and sniffles are keeping you from sleeping well, tiring you out and making you feel achey.


Bingo. I used to have chronic sinus problems until we discovered that they were actually due to reflux. I never had heartburn once. I did have bloaty stomach. Your stomach problems might be causing your sinus problems.

Unless you're really dehydrated (you're keeping down food and water, right?), I don't see the need to go to the ER.
posted by sondrialiac at 10:40 AM on July 27, 2008