Husband just said he's worried about me

[Munchlet]

So my husband who doesn't worry about anything just said that he's worried about why I've still got a bad cough a couple of weeks on and I'm not shaking it off.

As you can imagine this has reduced me to tears because normally he's the one saying "you're fine there's nothing wrong with you".

I just started crying and he said "oh for god's sake I don't think there's anything seriously wrong with you but you have a bad cough and you need it sorting".

So I don't know what to do, the weirdest thing is it all feels like it's on one side of my throat, the doctors said my chest is clear apart from a wheeze which I think is coming from my nose/throat and when I lay down at night I can hear popping/crackling sounds from my nose on the same side. I know it's that side because if I cover that nostril and breath through the other one it's clear.

But literally if I take a deep breath I get some tightness on one side of my throat and it makes me cough, sometimes I bring up a bit of phlegm and it might be slightly discoloured but the majority of the time it's clear.

I'm thinking sinus infection, I can feel one side of my nose feels bunged up and when I feel a post nasal drip it all seems to be running down the side of my throat which is irritated. I'm doing lots of saline washes and I'm using beconase as suggested by the doctor.

The other side of my nose feels absolutely fine, no pnd or anything, does anyone else think this sounds like sinus and can sinus problems give you a bad cough?

[tmckenzie-orr]

I forgot do you smoke? if no maybe you could have allergys to something? have u tried a humidifer a good electric one for around £50-70 i have just brought a new one and it works wonders wish i got one ages ago , should try gargle some cider vinegar water n salt and push tounge out as far as can while gargle i find that helps clear the back of my throat if its coming from that region

[Munchlet]

Hi no I don't smoke and never have. I do have allergies, I have hayfever and I can't go near kittens as their fur brings me up in hives and starts me coughing and wheezing, I also think I'm probably allergic to dust mites as my nose seems to block up the minute I go to bed, well the side I'm having problems with does but it has been like that for ages. I've been to the doctor about my allergies several times and they referred me to ENT who did scope and prescribed Otrivine.

So I think I've had a virus which has probably been aggravated by my hayfever/allergies and now I'm left with this horrible PND on one side and cough.

The thing is I've read that sinus infections don't always respond to antibiotics and it can take several weeks for your body to get rid of sinusitis. I don't feel ill in myself other than my anxiety kicking in making me feel sick etc. I'd rather get rid of it myself if I can than resort to antibiotics.

I just want to be normal again :weep:

[tmckenzie-orr]

seriously try the humidier a good one it will help so much especially if ur cough is worse in the morning

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi Munchlet,

I know I've mentioned I have asthma to you before. Don't worry, I'm not suggesting you have that. I went through some stages when I was younger where ever time I had a cold it would go onto my chest and turn into an infection in a week. Each time I ended up on antibiotics and it got to a point where they weren't working very well for me. All that happened them was my GP's would prescribe a course of steriods to beat the infection and these always worked a treat. They don't like prescibing steroids until they have tried a course or two of antibiotics but I got to a point where I would go to steroids quicker due to my case history.

Spin on a few years and that all changed and I didn't colds that always became chest infections, I didn't have a need for more courses of antibiotics and my need for steroid treatments ended.

So, I know you are worried about antiobiotics not being successful but please remember that they are not the only treatment and if they give those steroid treatments to children, like I was back then, they are safe for you too.

I don't think you or your husband should be worried. Yes, it should have gone by now but sometimes they take time and you are under the care of your GP. These infections are so common, they seem them multiple times a day so they know exactly how to treat them.

You also have to consider how sometimes treating an infection reduces it but doesn't kill it and it slowly starts to multiple again. This can mean a GP giving another course and often a slightly longer course because the previous one didn't do enough. This can mean an infection or ill period spans weeks into a month or more. I had this very problem with an infected wisdom tooth a few years back. My mum has has this a few times and she is in her seventies and still recovered perfectly.

[Pipkin]

I agree with Terry, sometimes it can take a long time to shake off a cough. I had one for a few weeks and for someone I work with, it took 3 months but there was nothing else wrong.

Pip

[Munchlet]

Thank you guys that has made me feel better.

I've just been and bought some Apple Cider Vinegar and some Xylitol. I've been reading quite a lot on line about Xylitol and how it's really good for treating ear infections/sinus infections and generally URI's and it's good to use in a saline wash as it penetrates mucus and removes any bacteria so figured it might help.

I am feeling like the back of my nose on the side where I feel the cough is originating from feels quite inflamed today so I definitely think there is something going on with my sinuses on that side and I guess if I'm having a lot of PND from it then that could be what is irritating my throat and causing the cough.

I'm going to do a few saline washes today with the zylitol and try gargling with some Apple Cider Vingear as I read that is good as well, hopefully the antibacterial properties might help but if it doesn't feel like it's improving over the next couple of days I think I might go back to GP as nothing was said about my sinuses other than to use Beconase for my hayfever and I know the mucus is coming from my nose and not my chest.

Thanks again I just hate having things wrong with me, it's bad enough having HA but when you actually anything wrong it just takes it to a whole new level!

[MyNameIsTerry]

Has swgrl put you on those Netipod things? Like a little teapot your pour down your nose? I'm guessing thats the saline wash.

Does the ACV need diluting? I know that stuff can be bad for your teeth so you normally drink it through a straw.

If you have a dog, just keep the Xylitol away from them, it's poisonous to them.

I always used to use warm salt water for my throat and found it beneficial. I used aspirin sometimes too. Old fashioned remedies can be very good and doctors & nurses are always complimentary of salt water for healing.

Something I'm about to try for my asthma is inhaling salt crystals. I have a lot of issues with mucus in my throat and have had for probably 15+ years. After speaking to Carnation about this recently I found its not a normal problem from asthma as I had always assumed and could be PND. Inhaled salt through a pipe can work on both so I thought it might be worth a try.

[tmckenzie-orr]

make sure u fill 1 cup full of warm water, 1 tea spoon of salt, 1 tea spoon of cider vinegar and do gargles until the whole cup is gone roughly around 8 mouthfulls, It will definately help im on a hourly gargle to fix my raised bumps on back of tounge and blood blister patches from biting tounge lol, it doesnt taste that bad really

[Munchlet]

Thanks MyNameIsTerry I tend to dilute my apple cider vinegar in a small glass of water. I don't have a dog so don't need to worry about that.

No Swgrl hasn't put me onto the netipot I just read about it being good for allergies a while ago and started using the Nellimed Saline Wash which comes with the little satchets, it's just quite a few health sites were saying to put some Xylitol with the wash due to it being able to penetrate mucus and remove any bacteria.

Funny you should say about Salt Crystals I've just come back from Holland and Barrett and I saw they had a Salt Pipe in there, looked really cool that was based on the use of Salt Crystals which they said has been used for hundreds of years for various ailments. Good luck with it hope it helps.

TMackenzie-Orr I actually quite like the taste of ACV weird I know, but I have used it in the past for sore throats and it works quite well. I really like to try natural products if I can, years ago I found a natural product for UTI's and I've used that ever since, it always seems to work far better than Antibiotics did. That being said I think that if it is a severe infection or something serious then I'd have no hesitation in taking them. Hope the ACV does the trick for your mouth bumps :)

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yeah, there are centres popping up for salt therapy now and people use the caves where they take the salt from. I found they are cheapest on eBay and despite what the ads say about the ones that last for 5 years (the disposable ones) the originals with salt replacement still work out cheaper if you shop around on eBay. Worth a go anyway.

Thanks for the encouragement.

Swgrl mentioned those washes to me. I think sure mentioned a nurse had put her onto them and they work really well for her so I hope they do for you too.

Ionisers are supposed to be useful for allergies. I'll find the thread where we were discussing this about about PND and post it.

EDIT: Link added http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=169304&page=3

[swajj]

The way you describe the irritation as being all on one side sounds exactly the same as what I had a few weeks ago. I came down with a virus which affected my throat. My voice was quite croaky for a couple of days. After that I developed a cough. It was just a dry cough which came and went. The doctor put me on an inhaler but I continued to have the irritation on one side of my throat and the cough for weeks. One day I thought to myself "this is anxiety" and after another day of telling myself that all my symptoms went away. I believe I genuinely had the virus and it lasted about a week. Then my anxiety jumped on it and the next couple of weeks it created the symptoms. It sounds crazy but it can happen. It may be what is happening to you.

[Munchlet]

Thanks MyNameIsTerry I will have a read on that and I will have a look at some Ionisers.

Swajj I do think some of it is my anxiety but there's certainly something not right as well because my food smells off that kind of horrible smell you get after you've had a really bad cold, even though interestingly enough I never had a cold at all. My mum was telling me earlier one of her friends had it for 7 weeks and I know the lady I work with is still suffering so it's obviously not a very nice virus but I just want to feel normal again.