Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cough

How can I kill a cough that lingers for a month?

joshrholloway — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:50:12 -0800

Why do I always have a cough that lingers for about a month after I've had a cold, and how can I get rid of it? For as long as I can remember, after I've had a cold, I still have a hacking cough for about a month afterward, which tends to finally go away abruptly. The cough is the only symptom that lingers after everything else goes away, and I feel fine otherwise. I've had asthma since I was a kid, which I'm assuming is the cause of (or at least a large contributor to) this problem.

This is a dry cough. I don't ever cough up any phlegm or anything like that. If it gets really bad, I can use my rescue inhaler and it will help me for a few minutes. Cough drops also help, but not a lot. The weird thing is that I never have any other real problems with my asthma besides this.

I've talked to multiple doctors about this and they have all kind of shrugged it off and implied that it's just something I have to deal with. While I can deal with it, it's just annoying to have to explain to people that this terrible hacking cough is just my asthma acting up and that I'm not contagious.

So has anyone else ever dealt with anything like this? Do you have any recommendations on how to kill this stupid cough without waiting a month?

Can I take this expired cough syrup? Just for tonight?

tastybrains — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 21:25:25 -0800

Terrible cough, too late to leave the house in search of remedies -- can I take this expired (expired April 2009) prescription Tussionex cough syrup or is there a better solution in my house? It's after midnight and the shiny new cough I developed today has gone from irritating and annoying (earlier this afternoon) to the kind of hacking cough that hurts my whole body. It's too late to go to the drugstore, and I can't even lay down for 5 minutes comfortably.

I have most of the bottle of Tussionex from when I had a horrible chest cold around my sister's wedding last April ... so it's about 18 months old. Do you think the medication itself is still safe to take?

Other things I have tried so far....

- Hot toddies this afternoon.
- Decaf tea with lemon & honey (and now I'm out of lemon).
- Neti pot (since there is also some sinus crap going on).
- Ran hot water into a plugged sink with a towel over my head and the sink and breathed the steam for 10 minutes.
- Mucinex (guaifenesin).
- Cough drops.
- Willing myself to stop coughing.

Most thing (except the last) have been soothing but I'm still coughing like crazy and can't rest. What to do?

Tomorrow I plan to go to the pharmacy to see if I can get something better, though I think the best I'll do is get some "original" NyQuil so I can be knocked unconscious at night.

Whence nosemeat?

Ambrosia Voyeur — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 19:31:00 -0800

I don't think this is, strictly speaking, supposed to happen: meat often comes out of my head when I'm sick. Why? What does it portend? [Warning: so gross.] Sinus tissue, very similar in texture to what you might inadvertently bite off your cheek, detaches in my sinuses and I cough it out. In single, big ol' pieces you would not believe. They're mucousy and sometimes bloody, but not themselves mucous, meat rather. I'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian, I know the difference.

This seems to occur with fever. I almost never have nasal congestion, and am prone to dry sinuses when I travel, including bloody noses. This time, it seems like I have a pretty run-of-the-mill cold, not something I should be panicking over, except this nasal meat-gifting is happening. Only twice. Maybe once daily when I'm feverish.

I know, so gross. I've spared you a photo, though.

Do I have some nose-disease you know of? Does this happen sometimes to people you know? Is it okay? It it my brains? What?

What to do about a chronic dry cough?

schroedinger — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:43:20 -0800

I've had a chronic dry cough for going on two weeks now and two doctor's visits later it's not clearing up. Can anyone give ideas on what could possibly be causing this? About two weeks ago I came back from a weekend trip with a mild respiratory infection--a hacking cough with lots of mucus. No other symptoms, no fatigue or fever, no runny nose, nothing. A few days later, the mucus cleared up with no incident, but the cough has continued and even worsened. It's now a chronic dry cough that keeps me up at night and has given me fits so bad I've vomited a couple of times at the end of them.

I tried Robutussin, sleep aids, gargling with salt water, and tons of Throat Coat tea with honey and lemon. Earlier this week I saw two different doctors. The first I saw on Tuesday, he said it was a cold virus and prescribed Hycodan and antibiotics (?). The Hycodan allowed me to sleep deeply in between fits, but I woke up dizzy and with an awful hangover once the dizziness wore off. I haven't taken the antibiotics because the doctor called it a virus and I think he was giving them to me to shut me up.

On Wednesday, I saw the second one and she diagnosed bronchitis. She prescribed an inhaler (Ventolin) to control the fits and Promethazine-DM cough syrup (without codeine). Wednesday night it worked great. Thursday, it worked less great. Friday, I slept well in between fits but had just as many coughing fits as ever, and it took longer for them to stop. Today, the coughing fits are the most frequent they've ever been and are not responding to either medication. Additionally, I now have the sensation of something trickling down the back of my throat that's making me feel like I'm on the verge of choking.

The medications are getting less effective, the cough is not getting better. I'm planning on calling the second doctor but I don't know how soon they'll be able to see me. I don't have insurance so the emergency room is not an option.

I have never had allergies or anything like that. I still don't have any other symptoms. I work in a warehouse so my job is pretty dusty, I'm thinking that may not be helping things but I wore a dust mask today and it didn't seem to help.

Does anyone have any ideas on what could be going on?

hhhhaaaark

Anonymous — Sat, 09 May 2009 09:58:57 -0800

I have a gross question about having a productive cough. I've never asked a doctor, since I don't believe it's important, but I've wondered all my life, and now that I have another one, it's come up again. (Literally.) When you're coughing up matter, sometimes it comes out in thick, tough fragments, as if you're coughing up skin -- which of course you aren't, but a sore throat makes it feel that way. What is that? Why?

I can't stop coughing!

prunes — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:41:43 -0800

Chronic cough has bothered me for two years. Five doctors have been unable to help me. I am at my wit's end. Help! As I write this I am suffering from a coughing bout that has kept me up two hours past my bed time.

I developed chronic cough sometime around when I started working in the summer of 2007. I am a healthy white male in his twenties. I feel like I have always tended to cough a little, but it was around that time that things got really bad. Over the course of these two years I have been to five doctors: my childhood pediatrician, two internists, an asthma/allergy specialist, and a pulmonary specialist.

I saw the pediatrician around a year and a half ago. She did not know what I had. She gave me antibiotics (clarithromycin perhaps), nasonex, and advair. These did not seem to help.

My allergist did two lung tests which he thought confirmed I did not have asthma. I was also subjected to a battery of 20+ allergens. I was allergic to 75% or so. But this was during the winter and during that time I was still suffering from my cough, and because of this the doctor did not think it was allergy induced. As a diagnosis by exclusion he thought perhaps I had acid reflux and recommended nexium. This I took on and off but got the flu during that time and so was very bad about taking my meds. I was highly skeptical of his diagnosis, although I admit that after very spicy foods I do cough (but to be fair I also notice my sinuses running heavily). But I also notice that I cough after eating especially bland foods sometimes. It's really hit or miss though.

Things started getting REALLY bad about four months ago. This motivated me to get a physical. I passed this physical with flying colors. I was tested for TB at that time. My doctor also did blood work to test for walking pneumonia, which I had in high school. The test came back negative and noted that I had the antigens. No surprise there. The doctor suggested I take a CAT scan and reiterated it might be possible that I could have acid reflux. The CAT scan came back negative. A "cookie swallow" was suggested for in the future. He noted that when he listened to my lungs as I sang AAAAAA, one chamber sounded as though I was saying EEEEEE, which he thought could be indicative.

The pulmonary specialist agreed that he did not think I had acid reflux. He observed that my throat was highly irritated and that I seemed to have nasal trip, most likely due to allergies. He thought that because I have been coughing for so long that my cough reflex was worn to the point where anything and everything made me cough. He recommended a full assault. He prescribed me prednisolone, clarinex, singulair, and codeine cough syrup, and recommended nasal irrigation.

This regimen brought my cough to a more manageable level but I still experience bad symptoms. Things will especially flair up when I am trying to go to bed and when I am working out. For the latter the pulmonary doctor prescribed an albuterol inhaler; it flat out does not work. And I can be sitting in my chair beside my bed not coughing but after I do my routine and get into bed I will start feeling like my lungs are wheezing and begin coughing. Anxiety plays a role I think.

I am getting to my wit's end. I feel like my doctor's are blowing me off, but I know of course that they have other patients with life threatening illnesses and that a case of chronic cough, which is so difficult to diagnose, ranks low on their list of priorities. Suggestions?

Stupid bronchitis, what is it NOW?

Eudaimonia — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:13:58 -0800

I'm spitting up black stuff, but not in pain. Gross details inside. I've had a sinus infection/bronchitis for the past few weeks. I finally got myself to the doctor about 8 days ago, and they put me on antibiotics, which I finished two days ago. I feel a LOT better. yay. But I'm still coughing up phlegm, which is to be expected, I think. Its clear now (vs. being green before. Ew, I know), BUT its got these strands of dark grey/blackish stuff in it. This happened once or twice before the meds and I assumed it was my lungs clearing out tar from the handful of times I've smoked (which I only did once or twice while I was sick and stopped after I realized I was actually, really sick) But its still happening now and there's more greyish stuff this time (though it really only happens in the morning and at night, and not really during the day if I have to spit anything up.)

I really don't think its dried blood or anything - its more grey than black, and I'm not in pain at all. My coughing isn't out of control, either.

So, my questions - You are not my doctor, but should I be worried? My doc's office is closed today (yaaay Boston Marathon) so I'll call tomorrow, but is this the sort of thing that I should go to an ER for (I know I shouldn't care about cost but I really don't want to go if I don't have to - I just don't have that kind of money)

Also, what do you think it could be?

Thanks, all.

Cover your face when you walk by, Drench your visions in darkness

orville sash — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:16:45 -0800

My cough is insane. I've never heard its equal... what do I do? Whenever I get sick, I get a cough that is absolutely insane. It sounds like a doberman, it's loud, and deep and guttural. It also always gets much, much worse at night. Normally, I just deal with it - I go sleep on the couch for a week, it goes away, my girlfriend's happy again, no harm no foul.

I'm right in the thick of it right now, and we're going to Vienna tomorrow for a week, so I have no time to see a doctor. we will be staying on a friend's couch and I am terribly afraid that I am going to not only drive her insane but drive my hosts insane as well.

Why is my cough always so out of control? What's the best suppressant to bring with me to Vienna?

Whooping Cough or Tall Tale?

CitrusFreak12 — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:31:37 -0800

Could my roommate really have whooping cough? Because I'm skeptical. I'm in college, and as soon as everyone returned from home for the spring semester, colds started spreading, as they tend to do. A cold started going around the suite in my dorm, luckily bypassing me.

Two of my suitemates have since had near-constant coughing. Both of them are the only two in the suite who smoke cigarettes, and it sounds to me like typical coughing fits exasperated by smoking so much.

One of the roommates went home over the weekend and upon returning told us he had been to the doctor and his doctor told him he had whooping cough. He went on to say how he was apparently "the first one in our generation to get it." I am not entirely sure what he means by that, but color me surprised; there's not much of a whoop to it, it's more of a shallow smoker's cough.

This roommate has a history of... story telling. He's fond of stretching the truth and of telling tall tales. Sometimes I’d just call it outright lying. Like during freshman year, when a rapper who was performing at our school apparently invited him into his limousine and he drank champagne with him. Or the time he drunkenly stumbled onto the lawn of the university’s president and had cigars with him. Or the time when he got into a friend’s car and "ten cop cars pulled up", and the friend whose car it was looks puzzled and says it was only one. You get the idea; the guy is constantly stumbling onto amazing and fantastic situations which few people can verify.

So needless to say I’m skeptical, and I want to know how likely is it that he has this? He’s not on any antibiotics, just CVS-brand robitussin. Another friend told me that he said this is because the doctor told him there was no need for antibiotics because he was already recovering.

IANAD, but the whole thing strikes me as fishy. Is it possible to have and recover from whooping cough without antibiotics? Wouldn’t the health department get involved? Isn’t whooping cough highly contagious? I feel like if he really had this then my university would be sending out notices and emails and making him stay in from class or something.

Please stick to the likelihood of my roommate having or not having this disease, instead of whether or not I should confront him about it or how to deal with it. I’ll handle that part myself, but right now I just want to know if this is Just Another Story or a reason to be concerned about my health.

Hard to Swallow

Juliet Banana — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:55:57 -0800

Dearest Non-Doctors; Is there any chance of my incredibly painful sore throat and swollen lymph nodes going away on it's own? I had your average sniffling, sickness, and fever cold for about a week and it started calming down. As soon as I started feeling better, however, my throat closed up to the point where it it is really painful to swallow. Teeth-gritting, meal-skipping, bringing-tears-to-my-eyes painful. I've been spitting into the trashcan rather than swallow my own spit, and rinsing my mouth with water when I'm thirsty rather than actually drinking. It's pretty horrible.

My throat isn't scratchy and I haven't been coughing. It isn't bronchitis. It's just tender and swollen. The lymph nodes on the left side of my neck (the same side as my left hand) are swollen and hard to the point that I can see them in the mirror and feel them with my hand. The right are not. All the pain while swallowing is in the left side.

My questions: Is there anything that will help me feel better? So far Chloraseptic, cough drops, and hot tea have helped a little. Codeine cough syrup helped quite a bit, but I'm pretty sure that's due to the fact that narcotics help you feel less pain than any sort of healing going on.

Second question: Is there any chance this will go away without antibiotics?

I hate these threads as much as anyone else. IF IT HURTS THAT BADLY, SUCK IT UP AND PAY THE MONEY AND GO TO A DOCTOR. I shall save you the no-health-insurance-and-poverty sob story. Rest assured, I am going to set a deadline, and if I see no improvement at all by then, I'll go ahead and see a doctor. I want to know if I have a chance of getting better on my own before getting gouged on "rest and water and vitamin C."

Be gone virus!

nougat — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:57:11 -0800

How can I get rid of this cold/virus/URI for good? I had the same thing at the end of September into October and it has returned on 11/14 with a vengeance. When I had this in Sept it started off as a sore throat/post nasal drip. My doctor said it was an allergy related illness...but it lasted for 3 weeks and progressed to cough and phlegmy cough.... then disappeared.

Now it's back and this time started with a cough with general malaise and sluggishness and then progressed to post-nasal drip and sore throat (to the point of losing my voice) and now cough/runny nose/slightly stuffy nose.

I work in an office environment. I am fastidious about washing my hands during the day and not touching my eyes, mouth etc after touching someone elses personal items (desk supplies etc). I do not have a comprimised immune system but I keep catching this whatever it is.

How can I beef up my immune system and take precautions to not get this multiple times in one season? Any tips for getting rid of it now? I've stayed home from work all this week and stayed in bed and I still feel crappy.

What is the best readily available cough suppressant I can buy?

jdruk — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 06:41:07 -0800

What is the best readily available cough suppressant I can buy? I'm recovering from the flu (with a bad residual cough) - and I have to moderate a conference for 8+ hours tomorrow!

So... panic mode:

What is the best cough suppressant I can easily get my hands on???

In this situation, I don't care about long-term therapeutic benefits - I just want something that will let me not cough for 8 hours while I try to talk.

Any ideas?

Hack, hack, help, help.

jennyjenny — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 13:24:37 -0800

Chronic productive cough for ten weeks, no health insurance until May 1. I will take any advice you got. I started coughing with a cold that I got at the end of January. The cold went away and I kept coughing. It's never a dry cough, there's always stuff coming up. It's a little bit more pronounced after I eat, but not much. It's not more severe at night or when I lay down or after exercise, but if I get really tired it's worse. It's worse if the air is cold or dry.

I am really, really tired of coughing.

I went to one nurse practitioner who said it might be reactive airway, but that was when I was still a little sick, so I thought it might go away with the illness. She recommended guafenesin, I tried it to no effect.

I went to an MD that said I had some postnasal drip and recommended Clairitin. I've been taking that. It's ever-so-slightly better, but I'm still coughing a lot.

I can't go back to an MD until May 1. In the meantime, I will try any remedy you can think of, I just started a new job and I really don't want everyone listening to this totally gross cough all day.

Black Lung Plague. I'm sick of being sick.

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:45:51 -0800

Black Lung Plague. I'm sick of being sick. What the *hell* is this crap? Does this sound familiar? And yes, I did go to the doctor. And the ER - plenty of times now. I know none of you are my doctor. My doctor is (at least to me) a good doctor, and he's been fighting this what-have-you that's in my body. I'm certainly tired of it, that's for sure.

I had Bronchitis back in December for about what seemed like a whole month. I had antibiotics just in case, I've been double fisting Mucinex, and I'm still getting my ass kicked here. I just spent a week out of work because it's hard to breathe, and I have solid coughing fits that are non-productive. I'm plain fucking miserable, and I've had enough of this shit.

I thought I was getting a lot better since December's Bronchitis trip, and for a while I was doing great. I figured I had cleared up. However, about a week and a half ago, I woke up freezing and in major body pain with a high fever. I went to see the doc, he tested me for whatever flu is going around, and I was negative for the test. I went home, slept for about a whole day with a fever of about 102.5 or so on average. This was Saturday.

Sunday, I had my wife take me to the ER. I saw a doc who told me that my fever wasn't terrible, and he gave me a shot of Dexamethasone. I was pretty out of it due to the body pain and fever, so I went home to sleep. The ER doc prescribed the Z-Pac with special instructions to take two a day for three days instead of the normal course. He warned me that this was just a precaution, and that this was probably not going to do anything because it didn't seem bacterial.

A day passed, and I went back to see my doctor. I was having major unproductive coughs and fever. X-rayed and checked for Pneumonia, I was diagnosed with something called Reactive Airway Disease, which he said would go away. I got another shot of Dexamethasone in the other cheek followed by a script for a high dose of Prednisone to clear out my lungs. It's one of those tapering doses (3 pills 1X a day X 3 days, then 2, then 1, etc). I'm also on Cipro 2X a day, my Toprol for blood pressure, Advair (I'm asthmatic), and albuterol when I need it.

My fucking lungs feel like they're made of cellophane when I breathe deeplpy - or attempt to breathe deeply, rather. I can hear them crackling and popping when I inhale sharply. When I exhale, I have major unproductive coughs most of the time followed by big time pain in my chest and arms - if you can imagine feeling like something is squeezing my blood vessels when I hack and choke, it would sum it up pretty well. This sucks. I've been sick for about a month or so, and I've had a shit ton of antibiotics, steroids, and other crap. It hurts my chest muscles and stomach to cough. A lot. I got a steam vaporizer last night with some of that camphor stuff for the water, and it seemed to relieve a little bit of the symptomatic stuff. In general, I am tired when I walk up stairs and do just about anything, and everything makes me hack and choke. When my coughs are productive, it's a wonderfully nasty ass mix of what looks like small-curd cottage cheese that is green, brown, dark colors, and gross.

Is there something I should be asking my doctor to do? I've talked to him about every other day, and he's said "you're a tough one!" I just don't get it. I want to feel better. This is depressing the shit out of me.

Again, none of you are my doctors, I know. Any suggestions, though? Post here - I'll be reading them all.

Coughing after a shower?

puffmoike — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 06:45:31 -0800

Why do I always cough after a shower? And pretty much only after a shower? After almost every shower I find myself coughing. And it's not just a little tickle; I often have great, hawking, wake-up-the-housemates coughing fits that can last for a minute or so. And that's the last time I'll think about it until my next shower.

I like my water pretty tepid, and the bathroom is fairly large, so the steam concentration is pretty low.

I'm a 35yo old male. 173cm and 76kg (~5'9" and 167lbs). I have never smoked. I hardly drink. I have a pretty good (largely vegetarian) diet. I ride a bicycle nearly every day (don't own a car) so my aerobic fitness is decent without being spectacular. I am otherwise seemingly a picture of health.

I suppose I should see a doctor, but as this has happened for as long as I can remember (>10 years) at this stage—perhaps naively—I'm simply intrigued, rather than concerned.

Roommate won't stop coughing, I can't sleep.

theiconoclast31 — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 06:46:11 -0800

Roommate keeps coughing. I can't sleep. I don't want to be a jerkface. What do I do? I live in a triple, we're all freshman at a university. My roomie (1) keeps coughing loudly, and it's driving me crazy. Sometimes, it's late and I can't sleep because of his coughing, and other times, it wakes me up hours before I need to go to class. I live in a triple, my other roomie (2) doesn't seem to care. He sleeps like a log, sometimes while listening to his iPod.

At the beginning of the year, we signed a housing agreement contract that listed any "rules" we would have to follow. I laughed it off, didn't write much, never knew that cough sleep would be an issue.

My logic is this: We can only sleep in one place (the room), but he can study/browse facebook in the library or the computer lab, at least when it's 12AM-9AM, and I'm trying to sleep. Do I approach roomie (1) alone? Do I gather a roomie meeting with both of them? Am I making a big deal out of nothing?

Can I stop this type of coughing?

Many bubbles — Sat, 19 May 2007 15:10:18 -0800

Can you stop being affected by the contagiousness of yawns and coughs? Especially coughs? I don't really care about the yawning thing, but that's the kind of contagiousness I mean. (And apparently "sympathetic" means something else here.)

But whenever someone in my hearing range coughs or clears their throat, I feel like doing the same. It gets really annoying when I'm around someone who's doing it every thirty seconds. I can suppress the impulse, but I still feel it.

Why do orange chicken vapors make me cough?

lostburner — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 07:34:44 -0800

This question is about chinese fast-food orange chicken (the deep-fried amorphous nuggets with a thick tangy glaze). When I take a deep smell from a hot bowl of this chicken, or hold it in my mouth and breathe around it, some sort of irritating vapor makes me cough (or stings my nose). Just one cough – enough to keep it from getting into my lungs. Once the chicken cools down (to mouth temperature, even) it doesn't happen. It reminds me of the reaction I've had sniffing acid in lab – could it be lots of volatile vinegar? I've experienced this with fast-food chicken in more than one college food court.

Fix my chronic cough! Dr's can't!

Thrillhouse — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 05:47:19 -0800

I have had, for as long as I can remember (maybe 15 years) a chronic cough that, at times, makes me insane. I have seen two ENT Dr's about it and have gotten nowhere. I've gone to allergists and nutrutionists to no avail. I'm waiting for my primary to schedule an appt with a super-special 'cough specialist' but I figured I'd throw it out to you good folks.

There is no one thing in particular that triggers it and I can't remember how it started. From what I can tell, when I go out in the cold it seems to get worse, when I eat Oreo's it seems to get worse, when I get stressed or anxious it seems to get worse. All other times, its just there.

It feels a little like post-nasal drip the just won't go away. I can always feel something in the middle/back of my throat. The crazy part is that is if I squeeze the lowest accessable part of my throat (at that U-shaped chest bone) it effectively 'scratches' the itch and makes it go away for a few seconds.

I've tried reflux meds and they did nothing. I've tried cough supressents and allergy meds too. One doctor suggested that it was psychological which, I'm told, is their way of saying they can't figure it out. I've been scoped several times and dr's can't find anything wrong with the inside of my throat.

What do you guys think? This is driving me crazy and I fear that it will last forever.

Help for seasonal allergies (dry cough, itchy throat)?

zembla3 — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 09:10:18 -0800

I have seasonal allergies and have recently been plagued by an itchy throat and dry cough. I usually notice symptoms when there is an abrupt temperature drop overnight, causing me to wake up coughing. Which over-the-counter medicines or home remedies generally work the best for this problem? Claritin doesn't seem to do anything.

Why does my cough get worse at night?

BuddhaInABucket — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 18:48:26 -0800

Why do I only cough at night? I'm living in Incheon, which is a city west of Seoul. I've heard that most people, when coming here for the first time, catch a cold ("The Cold", I've heard it called), and that the air pollution causes coughing.

I'm pretty sure I cought The Cold, because the first two weeks I was here I was sick. But then after I got over it, I started with a really bad cough. I'll cough a couple of times throughout the day, but then at night, when I'm trying to sleep, it really gets going. It gets so bad that I can't sleep for hours.

I went to a doctor and in true Korean fashion, was given nine hundred different pills to take, including antibiotics. The cough has improved somewhat, but I'm still suffering at nights.

Why does my cough get worse at night?

How fast can tuberculosis symptoms appear?

saucy — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 04:22:14 -0800

How fast can tuberculosis symptoms appear? I went to a party for a friend last night at her parents house. It was only after we left that she mentioned her dad was recovering from tb and was in the hospital with it two weeks ago. Her sister tested positive for it as well.

I was only there for two or three hours, but this morning I woke up coughing, achy chest, and with a scratchy throat. Coincidence?

Could symptoms show up that quickly or am I just paranoid? Getting married in two weeks, so stress levels are high already and of course, worst-case-senarios are playing through my head.

Anyone have experience with this?

How can I end my chronic illness?

b_thinky — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 23:53:52 -0800

How can I end my chronic illness? In October while travelling in SE Asia, I contracted dengue fever. Basically, it's a mosquito-borne virus that makes you very sick for 1-3 weeks typically. Problem is, ever since then I'm always sick with flu-like symptons. I get tired very easily, come down with headaches and often have sore throat, congestion, cough and my athsma kicks up like crazy. And I'm usually a healthy person!

Another problem is my physical condition. I have not gained any weight, but I've done almost zero exercise since becoming sick. My body will feel like working out, but when I get the time to do so I will get one of the above symptoms.

My doctor hasn't been able to do much except give me meds for the symptoms; i.e. a special inhaler or a stronger cough medicine. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do - maybe some home remidies, a vitamin or a new god I can pray to?

Out, demons! (Spitting tips requested.)

rio — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 13:21:21 -0800

To all men and women who spit: help! Warning, this is a bit unappetizing... I have lately been waking up with what feels like a huge lump of phlegm in the back of my throat, and I can't manage to get it out. It persists throughout most of the day, receding a little bit by the time I fall asleep, only to return again the next morning. I'm not sick, not stuffed up (although I do have a bit of sneezing in the morning due to minor allergies). I try to do that clearing-the-throat-and-spitting thing that I see and hear men do all the time, but I just can't seem to do it myself. When I try, either I gag, or it just won't budge. I tried taking a bunch of expectorant to see if that would loosen it up, but it didn't work. So, I was wondering: have you experienced such yuckyness and if so, what caused it? And more importantly, how can I successfully get it out? Spitting tips requested!

Should I worry about these symptoms?

headspace — Sat, 09 Oct 2004 17:16:42 -0800

You Are Not A Doctor: Three weeks ago, I got a nasty head cold that never quite went away. It's now settled into my chest, and I have a chronic, slightly productive cough. Ordinarily, I would just wait it out, but I'm exhausted, can't really get a full breath, and the stuff I'm coughing up tastes like bleach. I swear, I haven't been inhaling or gargling bleach. I do have an appointment to see my doctor on Wednesday (the earliest I could get in,) but I was wondering if anyone else had had these symptoms and could tell me what caused them, so I can quit Googling medical conditions and diagnosing myself with lung abscesses and tuberculosis.