We watched Gandhi for our New Year’s Eve movie, and despite what you’d expect, it was not exactly a chill mellow meditation movie. Or maybe that is exactly what you would expect, and we should have asked you first. Anyway, it was the kind of movie I think of afterward as An Important Movie To See. I am very glad we saw it, and there were some truly excruciating scenes in it, but how lucky am I that the worst I had to experience was SEEING those etc. etc. etc. Anyway. Good movie. Good to have frequent breaks for pizza rolls, mozzarella sticks, chocolate-covered pretzels, putting a cool washcloth to my swollen eyelids, etc.
I am coughing again. Here is what is happening: I get a cold, just a perfectly ordinary cold, no big deal, not even a bad cold. Then I cough for two or three or four weeks, the kind of coughing that builds on itself until I’m gagging. No fever. No other bothersome symptoms. Just relentless coughing, until my stomach and back and shoulders are sore from it.
This was unpleasant but tolerable when I was an at-home parent. Now that I am working, and furthermore working for elderly people who should not be coughed on, this cannot stand. Listen, is there anything, ANYTHING, that can stop the coughing temporarily, for say two to four hours?
(This job, like all of my other jobs so far, gives lip service to not going to work when you’re sick, but actually does want you to come to work when you’re sick. This would not be a productive area for debate, because I KNOW RIGHT, but there it is. The elderly should not be exposed to germs, nor should people in hospitals, and yet this is where we are as a society until something elemental is changed about how we handle staffing. Really. I am too frustrated even to get relief from discussing how dumb it is. But anyway, even in A Better World it’s hard to imagine taking a month off of work for a cough. And then doing it again two weeks later. So. Back to the topic at hand.)
My mother says codeine cough syrup, and that is what the doctor gives me whenever I go to her and plead my case. But it just makes me feel pleasantly lightheaded and slightly queasy while I cough.
I think I have tried most of the over-the-counter cough syrups by now. Robitussin. Mucinex. DayQuil. Delsym. Feel free to recommend them anyway (it’s been awhile since I tried Delsym, for example), especially if there’s something FANCY about it: i.e., “I take Mucinex WITH half a Benadryl AND I gargle vinegar.” I WILL TRY SERIOUSLY JUST ABOUT ANYTHING. Oh, I have also tried Miss Grace‘s suggestion of a small glass of Drambuie before bed, which I’m not sure if it helps the cough PER SE but it certainly is delightful and delicious and I have bought many a bottle since she recommended it.
Also feel free to say things you feel as if maybe you shouldn’t say, such as “You know, this is probably cough cancer” or “My asthma was just like this before I knew it was asthma” or whatever. I’ve mentioned the situation to two different general practitioners already, and both of them were all “Yep, colds sure suck, and coughs are a normal part of colds, SHRUG.” And maybe they DO and ARE, but I feel as if I cough a LOT MORE than the average Josephine.
Sometimes I get a dry, drip related, totally not sick cough and I find keeping jolly ranchers on my person is helpful. I just read something that said chocolate is as effective as codeine, which, could be total crap (can’t remember where I saw it) but is probably totally worth trying for *science*. Also, honey. You could keep those honey sticks on ya. Oh, and I’ve read for my children vicks on the feet at bed, which won’t do anything while you’re coughing on a poor old person and I’ve also heard is crap but, Lorelei likes it and it’s not going to hurt you.
I am watching 60 minutes – avoid the codeine!!! (it’s about heroin addiction – OMFG – NO OPIATES)
I just scrolled down here to share about that chocolate article, too! I’ve actually found it to be helpful. Try buying some rich chocolate and just letting one square of it kind of sit in the back of your mouth and slowly melt, kind of like a cough drop. It can be pretty effective at coating your throat to keep some of the coughing at bay.
FWIW, I get those annoying lingering coughs after colds, too, and my doc told me they’re not contagious–maybe worrying about it less around the elderly will help? As for med, I found that pure guaifenesin syrups (I think in Mucinex in the US?) help them go away faster. You don’t want to take guaifenesin PLUS a cough suppressant though–guaifenesin loosens the liquid/phlegm in your chest, and can make you cough more at first, but helps get rid of it faster. (I’m not a doctor, just my experience!)
Yes, I’ve been told before that I/my kids have a post-viral cough. It can go on for weeks even though you’re not actually sick any more. This guy (no idea of his credibility, TBH) says “this too shall pass” and maybe consider a mask? http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2014/02/treating-postviral-coughs-pass.html
Honey seems to be helping my husband temporarily, he’s got a cough that sounds very similar to yours. Cough drops too. The Fishermans Friends are our current favourite, because they don’t give you that gross cough drop tummy feeling.
But yes, it sucks. I coughed for long enough in the fall that they gave me a puffer (no asthma here) and that really helped.
Yes. Fisherman’s Friend! I buy them on Amazon by the case because it is hard to find them reliably in stores. They really, REALLY stop the cough. A way bigger amount of menthol than anything else on the market. They work!!!
Try a neti pot or a squeeze bottle to rinse your sinuses and keep them from drying out. Gallons of extra liquids (you should be complaining about how often you need to pee). Humidifier by the bed at night. And time. Sorry you are feeling puny.
Totally agree. After an 8-week cough, my primary care physician suggested a netti pot. In desperation, I gave it a try. You use a saline solution in it, which shrinks the swollen tissues in your nose and sinuses. After the first use I was better; 3 days later the cough was gone. Warm rum with a little honey helps, too. Or maybe it just helps you tolerate the healing process better.
I try this on my kids: http://nancyvienneau.com/blog/articles/home-remedy/ It’s a mixture of spices, honey, water and apple cider vinegar. Only the 4 year old likes it, not the older two – and I do make it a little less spicy for him.
I also recently read about pineapple being helpful: http://www.healthbeckon.com/pineapple-can-relieve-cough-faster-cough-syrup/ I think it’s meant to be fresh, but I just bought my kids the canned juice. Not really sure if it helped, but they liked the juice and I felt like I was doing something for them.
I second the honey suggestion – it’s good for coating the throat, and there’s no worry about dosages or dependencies. Buckwheat honey is also full of antioxidents, so you can imbibe freely.
This happens to my brother in law EVERY YEAR. Same thing – coughing so hard he gags. Sometimes he even throws up. He usually goes on antibiotics (not the greatest answer) but it knocks it out for him.
This also happened to me once when i had a horrible sinus infection. The sinuses cleared up but the coughing lingered until i got an inhaler. Cleared me right up, and i haven’t needed it since. Have you tried an inhaler? Of course this was like 10 years ago so I don’t remember the name of the inhaler.
I know it would mean you would have to go to the doctor but…maybe it’s worth a shot?
I use the Flovent inhaler as soon as the cough starts and it makes a huge difference in shortening the after cold cough.
Okay, perhaps everyone before me has already said it, but I did read something a while ago that said there was a study that found that honey was more effective than cough syrup. Also, as someone else said, I find that having just plain ol sucking candies, rather than cough drops, is just as effective, and actually tastes good. Jolly ranchers was a good idea. I also like Werther’s even if it’s supposedly old man candy.
This happens to me as well as my youngest. Colds seem to linger in the lungs for us with the awful coughing. Anyway, honey plus neti pot are things already suggested and I would agree with those! Also we are trying elderberry syrup and it’s a little early for me to insist you try it but it does seem to have cut the length of our latest round.
Delighted about this conversation because ME, TOO.
I’ve heard that Vicks on the feet help…but I think that’s a nighttime cough remedy. For the daytime, I’d suggest a saline rinse. Nasty, I know. But it seems to help.
Albuterol. It opens up the airways and stops that god forsaken nonstop hacking. My first baby was a preemie with lung damage and we needed a nebulizer right away for him. Albuterol is safe for pregnant ladies, babies, etc, in contrast to nearly every other medication out there. My point being, it’s safe for you! See if your doctor will prescribe you an inhaler to try.
Yes! This was the inhaler I was given when I had a bad cough during my last pregnancy when I was about 6 months along and it was really helpful. I like the jolly rancher idea. Good luck, my colds always end up with hacking coughs too. Would a humidifier help you at night maybe? Cold mist? It seems to help my youngest.
I don’t mean to steal what you have already said, but this is EXACTLY what I experience with colds and when I was…26? Finally? My doctor had me do an asthma test and turns out that’s what it was. Basically the cold aggravates my asthma and then I just end up coughing for a solid 6 weeks after the cold is done. For me the coughing is much worse when I lay down in bed than it is in the afternoon when I am going about my day, though. Hope you get it figured out.
I would rather die of cough cancer than use cough drops, so I have found that Jolly Ranchers do the trick for me when I’m in the violent coughing stage of recovering from a cold. I also do the vampire cough (into my elbow, not my hand). I have heard that you are the most contagious right before and right after you first develop cold symptoms, so I think the terrible hacking cough at the end is mostly your body getting rid of all the gunk that is left behind. If you can take off the first few days when you feel the crappiest, then I think you’ll be doing the most practical thing to help keep your clients healthy. (Although a month of time off work for the sniffles sounds kinda nice…)
Eucalyptus based cough drops or stick help me. Like Vicks but with natural ingredients. I like doTerra brand (and have access to it, if you want a hook up). They’re called Breathe drops or Breathe stick.
ME TOO
So, every year, 2-3x a year, I would get a similar cough. And cough. And cough. The only thing that knocks it out is what my husband refers to as the4 part solution. 1) Codeine cough syrup at night to allow my lungs to rest from the coughing. 2) Mucinex during the day to get the crap out of my lungs. 3) an inhaler to open up my lungs 4) antibiotics to kill the sinus stuff that started this mess
Then, in 2009, I was let go from my job and I never got that terrible cough again. I truly believe the building had mold or something or that my stress was off the charts. It hasn’t happened since.
I assume upon hitting comment I will get deathly ill, but I’m going to chance it.
Nin jiom is a great herbal/honey cough syrup that seems to help, and as a bonus, tastes great. I’ve heard a lot of people swear by buckley’s, but I’ve never tried it personally. I also suck on pure eucalyptus candies(from a healthfood store) when I have a lingering cough, and it definitely helps me. Good luck, hope you find something that works for you!
I also cough for weeks/months whenever I get sick. My doctor said it is “reactive airways”, which basically means that a cold triggers an asthma-like reaction in me. To help the cough go away, I use Nasonex over the counter nose spray and a prescription inhaler (Advair) every day. Advair can be expensive depending on your insurance, but any inhaler with a steroid should work. I usually stop taking the nose spray and inhaler 2 weeks after the cough stops.
I also take Prilosec every day, because I have reflux which makes my cough worse.
I like sugar free Ricola cough drops. Only use sugar free cough drops to avoid getting cavities.
As a last resort, you could get a prescription for an oral steroid like Prednisone. However, this can have side effects so it’s probably not a good idea to take it multiple times per year. I’ve only taken it twice ever (I’m 34).
Maybe, if you aren’t already on anything for acid reflux, try one of those meds, like Prilosec or Zantac? I learned at one of my husband’s ENT appointments that reflux can cause sore throats and coughing even if you don’t feel heartburn at all. Hubs was already on Prilosec and feeling much better but the doctor looked at his throat, saw some lingering irritation, and doubled his dose. Good luck!
Similar suggestions, different commenter… Hard candies, constantly, which ever kind you like. If you can get your hands on a ventolin inhaler you can see if a puff helps. I have mild asthma and cannot abide by coughing because it spirals out of control – I once damaged a rib! Calming the bronchial spasms and inflammation as soon as any coughing persistentcy starts via ventolin and a regularly used steroid inhaler is what saves me. I hope you find your solution!
I thoroughly THOROUGHLY recommend olive leaf. It’s a really good immune booster.
I am a cougher from way back. And boy it’s annoying sometimes, isn’t it. I will not say I am 5000% healthy now (because that would be mathematically impossible oh har har har I am hilarious) but I’m so much better since I started taking it every day.
Basically, I changed jobs in August last year, and started into the next round of my habitual cooler weather cough (I’m in Australia). Where I get a bit better for a couple weeks, then worse for a week, then a bit better again, but I’m still coughing the whole time. A co-worker recommended olive leaf, which you can get in liquid or capsule form. I started taking it, and while it’s warmer weather now, and I still cough a bit (which is partly due to acid reflux)………… my kids have been sick a couple times since I started taking it back in August, and I HAVEN’T CAUGHT IT AT ALL.
(And yes I am now trying to get them to take it! I got my middle kid onto it when she picked up a bad cough, and it reduced it a lot within a few days – she normally coughs badly for longer than that.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_leaf
There’s also something called the Herxheimer Reaction, which for me meant I felt a bit worse on the 3rd day. But then I got rapidly better. http://www.about-olive-leaf-extract.com/olive-leaf-side-effects.html That’s mentioned on a couple different websites.
So again, I’m not completely and utterly healthy now, but I have barely coughed since August. Which is a big deal for me. I am prone to coughing for various reasons, OFTEN when I’m not otherwise sick at all. If you’re similar to me, this could help you a lot. I don’t know what the prices are like in America, but here it’s a reasonably cheapish as bottles of vitamins go.
GOOD LUCK. I hope you can find something that will help you.
I should add, I have always been pretty good about keeping up with my vitamin C and zinc, and I add juice when I’m sick too. So I’ve taken things for my immune system before – and this still really helped me.
I realise that may be because I’m new to it, so in a year it might have no efficacy whatsoever. But I’ll take what I can get!
I strongly second this recommendation for olive leaf extract. It is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti- everything! Also good for UTIs, both prevention and cure.
I have something very similar which the doctor diagnosed as post- viral asthma. Using a puffer when the cough starts has been a game changer!
Drinking more water will always help pretty much every problem. My husband has had good luck taking DXM for his dry cough. Also, try an inhaler. Albuterol can work wonders. When I get sick, I get dry coughing attacks that are like a crazy awful tickle/itch that won’t go away and all I can do is cough ridiculously (unless I take a deep breath and hold it while my diaphragm convulses). Albuterol cuts that nonsense right out.
If albuterol helps, I would also look into getting a Singulair script. This sounds like it’s pretty common for you, if not actually chronic. I was having mystery shortness of breath (it feels like I need more O2, even though my lungs are full), and catchy (coughy) breathing, and a Singulair pill 1x a day fixed it!
(Disclosure: I also take daily ranitidine and levocitirizine for chronic hives/swelling, so these are also helping my airway problems along with Singulair and an occasional inhaler puff)
Airway inflammation is no joke. I hope you figure it out!
You mention prescription cough syrup; have you also tried Tessalon Perles? They have a terrible name but are a legit med, I promise (prescription only). They numb the reflex that causes coughing. I found them more effective and less drowsy-making than the codeine.
That being said, I want to nth the suggestions above of an inhaler. Albuterol will have the most immediate effect although it can give you the jitters. Advair has to build up over time but will provide longer-term relief. Also saline nasal rinses to help with any post-nasal drip you have going on.
I was on jury duty with a terrible convulsive cough (the lawyers were starting to get really irritated with me hacking up lung while they talked..) and the urgent care doc gave me a script for the Perles. Stopped my cough instantly. I wonder why they aren’t prescribed more often?
That aside, I agree with everyone here suggesting the Albuterol.
Another vote for the Tessalon Perles. I get a terrible hacking cough that lasts for weeks and weeks. If I can get the coughing to stop at night I don’t cough as much during the day and eventually I stop coughing all together.
At night I put a cool mist humidifier on a chair right next to my bed. I turn it on high while I sleep. I also sleep with a heating pad on my chest to relax the muscles. Those two items combined with the Tessalon Perles usually make my cough go away in a week-ish.
If I can’t get the Tessalon Perles from my doc I will take the generic of OTC Robitussin Long Acting Cough Gels. They don’t works as well as the Perles but they work better than syrup.
They do work, plus I like the way they spelled Perles, because they are pearls! I believe I read an article about how those work. Very interesting and weird. I have to research it again. They do work and no tired feeling. Also, I read a website about the world’s most yucky tasty cough syrup called Buckley ‘s. I never tried it but also interesting. Wow, it sounds like I read about coughing a lot!..hope you feel better soon.
Another vote for the Tessalon Perles. They’ve helped my daughter when she has those relentless coughs, and also a friend who had a severe cough from radiation treatments to the neck. Best wishes, Swistle!
I also like the Tessalon Perles.. especially when the cough isn’t helping anything ,just being annoying. They actually sell them over the counter in Mexico, so I stock up every time I go there!
I was coming to the comments section to mention the Tessalon Perles too! (also known as Zonatuss). They suppress the reflex to cough itself, which is perfect when you’re not actually sick (read: mucus-y), just coughy. They don’t make me feel tired or loopy in any way, like the cough syrup with codeine does…
Yup. I do the cough-til-I-gag thing and it is so uncomfortable and embarrassing. HATE. I find that the only way to get relief is to have something in my mouth at all times: cough drops, vitamin c drops, and tea are what I typically go for. There is this Traditional Medicinals tea (sold at Target) called something like respiratory therapy that I like. I have no idea if it does anything for my respirations but it keeps my cough at bay. Of course lots of tea does lead to lots of peeing but that’s way better than gagging from a cough so I deal with it.
I have also taken dextromethorphan – a cough suppressant. I don’t know that it works a LOT but it works SOME.
And nighttime seems worse for coughing, for me, so I bend my pillow in half (otherwise known as folding I suppose) and sleep semi upright which helps some also.
Hoping your cough goes away quickly!
Okay, so a couple of things to share from my own history: allergies can sometimes present as a horrible cough that won’t go away. I’d get sick, and just never get better. Twice after this happened at different times in my life I finally went to the doctor and they prescribed sinuses rinses and some kind of allergy treatment (Flonase at the time, but now I Just take Zyrtec and it seems to do the job). BOOM! Cough gone! (Apparently post nasal drip can happen without your realizing it, but the discharge irritates your throat and causes a cough). So that’s one option that would be easy to try fixing – rinse out your nose and take some OTC allergy stuff for a week and see if it helps.
But ANOTHER option would be a lesser known form of asthma called cough variant asthma. (I found a lot of fancy articles on the subject when looking for a reference to share, but they were all so technical and long. The short version is that when asking about asthma a lot of times they want to know about wheezing and can you walk across the room without being short of breath, stuff like that. But with CVA the issue is that your lungs are overly reactive, and the only thing you have is the cough, without the wheezing or difficulty breathing). So it can SOUND like just a normal cold when you describe it to your doctor, except YOU know you’re not exaggerating when you say you can’t sleep and that you’re gagging whenever you try to talk because it makes you cough so hard. Treatment for that has to come from your doctor (in an acute episode you’d usually take prednisone to calm the inflammation and then inhaled steroids to keep your lungs calm and let them heal. Untreated asthma can actually cause permanent damage to your lung tissues, so it’s important to continue the treatment even after the cough seems to have gone away because there is still a lot of healing to complete). I called my doctor a month ago with the same story (I had a cold that turned into a cough and it’d been two weeks and I couldn’t sleep or talk or do anything, but no, no wheezing, no trouble breathing, just the cough that I couldn’t get any relief from) they weren’t going to offer much help until I mentioned that my family had a history of asthma and then they prescribed the inhalers and the steroids and OH MY GOSH. I slept for the first time in weeks, it was glorious. So it really COULD just be an annoying cold side effect, but since not many doctors know about CVA it might be worth doing some research and then going in and just asking for a trial of prednisone to see if it helps.
THIS THIS THIS. I had horrendous soul-sucking coughs after every single cold of my whole life, until FINALLY, at age 30, I found a doctor who diagnosed cough-variant asthma. (Which, I have since learned, is not even understood by all doctors and definitely not all nurses). Now: I have standing prescriptions for an inhaled steroid (Advair) and a rescue inhaler (albuterol), and I start using BOTH as soon as I have even a tickle in my throat at the beginning stage of a cold, and it makes a HUGE difference. To be clear, a lifetime of being undiagnosed has indeed “re-architectured” my longs (that’s the exact word the doc used), so I will always be prone to coughs and bronchitis, but I no longer spend 2/3 of every winter either coughing or trying not to cough, so I am happy. Also: as other posters have said, do not negate the possibility of a secondary bacterial infection that will be helped by a course of antibiotics. And yes, yes, yes, to all the suggestions of humidifiers, honey, hot lemon drinks, orange juice, general hydration, mucinex (with NO DM). The numbing throat spray (Vicks makes some,) also works to stop the tickle. Those are all my cough-management tricks.
This same thing for me. I use an inhaler only a couple of times a winter but I haven’t had that horrible cough since then. Also, my son has the same thing and we use a humidifier in his room plus Sudafed to dry the postnasal drip. It has solved the problem almost 100%.
Honey & lemon. Cures just about everything, according to my Mexican contingent, but especially coughs.
I was coughing for 3-4 weeks and finally went to the Dr. Turns out I’d developed walking pneumonia. My only symptoms were the cough and feeling a little tired. I’d had a short cold that caused me to have a scratchy voice for a day or two. So I’m on a week of antibiotics. It’s definitely clearing things out and making the cough productive. My other clue was that none of the cough medicines were working, not the suppressants, not the expectorants. I’m not saying that’s what you have every year, but if cough medicine isn’t working for you it might be something to check. Can you hear your wheezing or crackling at all?
Tea with honey does help temporarily (I read that same study/article about honey being as good as cough syrup!) and having something to suck on helps too. I like Ludens because they don’t have that medicine taste that cough drops do, but they coat well.
Honey, especially raw honey from the health food stores, eaten in large quantities helps my throat. As does humidifier and throat coat tea. Mucinex cough suppressant.
I have the coughing thing TOO. Every time I get a cold, I end up with a truly alarming-sounding cough for a good couple of weeks afterward–the dramatic kind that causes people to give me concerned looks and say, “Are you…sure you’re okay?” Sadly I have nothing to offer you other than sympathy, though. And I could be completely wrong about this, but I’m pretty sure that if the actual cold is gone you’re not actually contagious anymore. So…at least there’s that?
A friend was lamenting on facebook that it is only if you are outside of the US that an effective cough suppressant is available over the counter. The good stuff is apparently levodropropizine. All we have in the US are many versions dextromethorphan, which is not effective (its being brought onto the market predates placebo testing being a standard requirement, and all studies done since suggest it’s no better than a placebo). It’s also kind of dangerous for kids… so overall, big boo for the DM.
Codeine isn’t actually effective against coughs, but IS effective at getting you to sleep, which probably helps you recover from whatever is causing the cough.
I often have a lingering cough long after a cold is over and I am otherwise well, and it helps me to know that it is not actually a sign that I am contagious and spewing germs all over, but rather, that my lungs are still irritated (from all that coughing – it seems to be a vicious cycle). I think that whether your lungs are particularly prone to responding to a cold by coughing enthusiastically for many weeks after you are actually done with the virus seems to be bad luck. This knowledge might not be very reassuring in your professional workplace, though.
I find sucking on candy (cough drops, but also pectin lozenges or any other kind of candy, really) to be moderately helpful, and at least enjoyable. Ditto tea (with honey and/or lemon) and cold water… both can just be soothing of the irritation from all that coughing, at least as far as the throat region goes.
Sorry you are going through this. If it was me, I’d try a cool mist humidifier. In certain areas, houses humidity gets all wacky during the winter because of heating.
We started using Doterra essential oils a couple of years ago and love them. We shell out the cash for the brand name oil and then use a whatever kind of diffuser. I’d recommend the Breathe version of Doterra for coughing and “on guard” for whenever.
Try eating fresh pineapple before/during your shift! I eat it at night before bed & it helps me not cough all night.
I always say about the codeine cough syrup that it doesn’t stop me from coughing, but it makes me not care that I’m coughing.
I hope you find something that works!
I cough for weeks after a cold. Weeks and weeks. I also cough every morning when I wake up for about an hour so I think I am a coughy person. I have a deviated septum in my nose and I think that is why. Everything clogs up up there. Anyway, I have some luck with prescription nose spray which doesn’t seem like it would keep the coughing away but it does. And it also sometimes helps with sore throats at which point I declare that it wasn’t a sore throat but a throat sore because of post nasal drip. Also, I carry a water bottle around when I am coughing and take lots of tiny sips. This is all I’ve got.
I don’t know if anyone mentioned it, but the best thing ever is Buckley’s cough syrup. (Do you have that in the States? We do in Canada.) Their tag line is “It tastes awful. And it works.” and that is so so true. It’s the most disgusting stuff ever (I usually have to mix it with something like honey to get it down) but it does work amazingly well. You didn’t say whether the cough was dry or if there was still phlegm though. I’m not sure if it works on dry coughs, but definitely check it out. But I also think that maybe getting checked for asthma isn’t a bad idea either. Feel better soon!
Buckwheat honey has really helped me. It works much better than other kinds of honey – I have no idea why though. Also I know it is gross but the Nettie pot and also inhaling some apple cider vinegar helps my sinuses. For me, post nasal drip from bad sinuses is the root of a lingering cough.
I haven’t had time to read through all the other comments so my apologies if this has already been mentioned. Last year I had the same thing happen that you are describing. My doctor actually prescribed an inhaler. I thought she was nuts because I don’t have asthma. However, it worked! The downside to trying this option is that it requires a visit to the doctor with the hopes that he/she will give you a prescription.
The other thing that I’ve been given (again, prescription which sucks) are benzonatate capsules. They are very small dissolvable “beads” that have some kind of numbing mechanism for your throat that eases the cough reflex.
Good luck and I hope you feel better soon.
Yes – this happens to me, too! I mostly deal with cough drops or other things to suck on and have found Delsym to be the best over the counter remedy for our family. We’ve also found the Vicks on the bottom of the feet trick to work as well but it’s so strange because you get a strange taste in your mouth!
Based on my children’s experiences, their extended coughs so often require a few days of albuterol, the nice thing is that once you have an inhaler you don’t HAVE to call the doctor every time you need to use it. Of course if you end up using it a lot you may need to look into asthma controller meds.
Good luck! I hope the cough is gone soon!
Just one other thought (maybe someone has mentioned but I didn’t read all the comments). Possibly GERD (reflux)? My daughter got those coughs year after year–she’d end up with antibiotics, inhalers, steroids, etc. Finally we started treating her for reflux, and she’s been worlds better. She didn’t have the obvious symptoms of reflux, but when she finally had some tests we discovered it. For her, we tried reflux medicine (40 mg prescription strength Prilosec and OTC Zantac) before we did the major (expensive) invasive testing (endoscopy).
Ivy Calm is what was recommended to us by our doctor. It works without side effects or rebound effect. I notice it gets good reviews on Amazon, and several mention it helping when nothing else did.
There are prescriptions you can get which will numb the cough reflex if your dr will order it for you – my husband gets it – you take a tiny amount (1 tsp and he is 6’2 and 220) – works wonders!
Well I read the Drambuie wikipedia article and, “The name “Drambuie” derives from the Scottish Gaelic phrase an dram buidheach, ‘the drink that satisfies’.”
Indeed!
I get VERY BAD COUGHS as the result of NOT very bad colds.
I have, a couple of times, gone into urgent care and gotten the Albuterol breathing treatment, and that has helped STOP the cough, and I find that once it is stopped temporarily, the vicious cycle of my coughing making my cough worse gets broken, and I start to get better. So, an inhaler may be helpful? Isn’t Albuterol also what is in inhalers? (I don’t have one, but I have thought about seeking one out, for sure)
And the Drambuie, of course.
I have this problem too and the only thing that helps is my inhaler. I have two: one that is a steroid that gets rid of the inflammation that is causing the lingering cough, and one that is a “rescue” puffer that stops the coughing for around four hours at a time. Might be worth asking your doctor about — even if you don’t have asthma you might still have “reactive airways” which I believe is treated with puffers as well.
I also second the recommendation for Buckleys, if you have it down there. It will make you wish you were dead for about 30 seconds after you swallow it, but it is very effective on coughs/colds.
Earlier this year I had a head-cold that moved down to my chest and I was coughing so hard, I literally gave myself a pulled neck muscle. With the exception of the horrific cough I thought I was getting better b/c that awful stuffy-head feeling wasn’t as bad as it had been previously. My husband finally forced me to go to the doctor (he was annoyed by my coughing – such a caring soul, that one) and turns out it was a sinus infection and the post-nasal drip was what caused the cough. Antibiotics, Nasonex and an albuterol inhaler made a big difference within the first 24 hours of using it. Drinking hot water with honey and lemon also helped for the few minutes that I was actually drinking – but not long enough to last a work shift.
Lingering coughs are THE WORST. Hope it gets better soon.
a friend told me to try IceCube brand gum. not sure why, but it really helps and is so much nicer than cough drops.
Any chance there’s some acid reflux in there? I think it’s called “silent” acid reflux. My dad had it and thought it was a cough lingering long after it should have been gone. This sounds really awful, whatever it is. So sorry, Swistle!
I’ve never had luck with cough syrups but I have had luck with honey. Also I second the “Jolly Ranchers” idea. I heard that cough drops are no more effective than a lollipop, but lollipops taste infinitely better so…
So yes, my asthma was just like this before I knew it was asthma. It seems I have a flare up every time I get sick, but very rarely when I am well. I worked with an asthma nurse and my only real trigger was respiratory illnesses. I do not take asthma meds when I am well but as soon as a cold comes on, I start my daily inhaler (Dulera or the like) and use it in the morning and before bed. For cough fits I use my rescue inhaler (Albuteral) as needed. I continue with the daily inhaler until about 10 day after I feel like my cold is gone.
Slathering Vicks-Vapo Rub all over your feet and then covering them with thick socks always works wonders for us. Works every time! I swear!
I just remembered one more remedy that I don’t think I’ve seen mentioned yet – Bronkaid. It’s an asthma medication with ephedrine which doesn’t require a prescription, but is held behind the counter with the pharmacist. Not every pharmacy carries it and you will be required to show your drivers license to buy it. If you are like me you will feel the need to explain to the pharmacy tech that you do indeed have legitimate medical reasons for requesting this medication (i.e. you are not making meth). This was the only medication that seemed to help my coughing fits before I went to the doctor and got prescription medication (see previous comment). Bonus side effect- my house was never cleaner!
Yes! Bronkaid is what I use. I was going to suggest it and was worried about the responses (because ephedrine is no joke) but my relief with this is instant and lasting. I grew up with asthma and then grew out of it and stopped with my regular asthma meds. When I had these coughs after my colds as an adult, I didn’t recognize it as asthma because they felt so different from a regular asthma attack. Just this past year I had a cough that made it impossible for me to teach my classes – I was coughing every other minute. Three days of that hell and I finally decided to reach for the Bronkaid. It kicked in after 15 – 20 minutes and I was fine the next 12 hours. Used it for a few more days and that’s it. The added productivity/energy of Bronkaid is fun, too. And I’m very careful – never overuse it, stop as soon as I can, and recognize that though I know *why* this was used as a diet pill, I shouldn’t. The elevated heart rate is the only unnerving side effect.
I was a little nervous about mentioning Bronkaid as well, but since Swistle was desperate enough to give us permission to suggest she may have cough cancer, I figured it would be okay. ;-)
Coughing to the point of vomiting several times a week is no fun! My cough that wouldn’t stop ended up being a raging adenoid infection. Mine were removed when I was little, so imagine my surprise at that diagnosis! It took 2 months and about 8 different appointments with 5 different doctors to get that diagnosis. I did learn, when I ended up in the ER from coughing so hard that we thought I broke a rib, is that vicodin is a very effective cough suppressant. Not ideal for most, but it was extremely helpful with the awful pain in my side (which ended up just being a pulled muscle) and at keeping me from further coughing. Not to encourage drug use, but man did it make the cough stop. The next most effective thing was a high dose of steroids. Might be worth seeing an ENT or pulmonologist if this is a persistent problem.
So I scrolled through the comments and didn’t see what I always use for nagging coughs that are no longer productive and are certainly annoying and gagging and seem to be un-related to the cold that has passed: ibuprofen. I don’t take a ton of it, but it will get me through a few hours where I need to not cough. It’s an anti-inflammatory, so my throat stops being inflamed and itchy and twitchy and sensitive. Prolonged ibuprofen use is bad for your liver, so I try not to overdo it, but compared to lots of other things, there are few side effects. Good luck!
Hot water with apple cider vinegar and honey for me. It’s not a miracle, but it calms things down for a little while. And it’s surprisingly tasty!
That is definitely more coughing than the average Haroldine.
My vote is for Mucinex Cough. IMO it treats the underlying cause (lingering, can’t-take-a-hint snot) and the symptom (post-nasal dripping cough).
I hope you feel better soon.
Another vote for honey (especially raw; my mother swears by a teaspoon of it for a cough, repeat as often as needed). And apple cider vinegar diluted in hot water.
I just went to my Dr. for this and she said I had sinus drainage that was causing it. I started taking an allergy pill to dry me up and boom, cough gone.
I didn’t read through all of the comments, but it sounds like reactive airways to me. Cough syrup/honey/candy are not going to do anything to solve the problem; they will just give you a temporary fix.
I developed this as an adult. Basically your lungs get inflamed from the cold you had, and you need to open them up again with an inhaler. My doctor started me off with Albuterol, but it only worked for a few hours at a time and never completely got rid of the coughing. So now I take Advair, with is a prescription inhaler that combines a steroid and a bronchodilator. It takes a few days of use to build up in your system, which works perfectly for this situation. I start using it twice a day when I get a cold. By the time I start coughing a few days later, it has usually built up enough in my system that it works right away and I cough like a normal person–like when I am first falling asleep and have drainage, etc. I never have that extended coughing for 3 weeks after a cold anymore. I use the inhaler for probably 2 weeks total and then can stop until the next cold.
It has worked amazingly well for me–I hope it is the solution for you as well!
Wow! There are a lot of comments on this post and I’m certain that nothing I’m going to say here hasn’t been said already BUT
Honey. A straight up teaspoon of honey soothes the scratchiness of my throat enough to stop the coughing for a little while.
And, antihistamines. Assuming the cough is from irritation is due to residual post nasal drip left over from the cold and not from your chest, a plain old antihistamine will dry it up enough to give a little relief. I usually go straight for the Benadryl rather than playing around between the “non-drowsy” types because I find that those make me hyperactive or do nothing.
Good luck, swistle! The residual cough stinks.
My son used to develop a terrible cough with every cold, to the point of throwing up. He seems to have mostly grown out of it, but when he does get a cold, I use essential oils, and it seems to help a lot. I use a blend that contains eucalyptus, pine, spruce, pepppermint, and a few others, and sometimes I add lavender to help him relax. If you don’t want to go with a blend, I’d probably use just eucalyptus. A drop or two, mixed with coconut or another type of oil, rubbed on the chest & bottom of the feet (during the day) or in a diffuser (at home or at night).
Honey, raw, unfiltered, the darker, the better.
I get hit hard with long-lasting coughs, too. Lately whenbive gone to the clinic, the doctors have ended up saying that my chest sounds clear but because of post-nasal drip I’ve got an irritation. Then I’ve been prescribed Nasonex nasal spray. Two sprays each nostril at night for ten days. Well. It works well for me! Once the nasal drip improves, the cough is much better.
I used to dread being sick because I would have a cough just like this for weeks or months. It would be worse if I laughed or gasped or did any sudden speech related type of thing. I described it to my doctor, and I have taken montelukast for several years now. It’s a medication that is most often prescribed for asthma, although I am considered to be allergy-induced asthma. Also, if you feel chest congestion coming with a cold, request a standard albuterol inhaler prescription. It will make you a bit jittery, but if there’s junk in your lungs, it opens everything up so it gets out more easily.
I didn’t read all the other comments, so maybe 18 others have said this same thing, but I do hope it helps. Being miserable from a cough when you otherwise feel fine colors everything a little gray.
I chew gum to temporarily stop a cough. All the extra swallowing helps to alleviate the cough, according to one of my doctors, and also helps to get the sinuses to drain.
I live in Italy. That means I don’t know whether I’m about to tell you something terribly obvious, please bear with me!
Anyway, when I have this kind of cough (which is, thankfully, not very often and not for very long), I’ll boil some water and then breathe the steam in. It’s been a while since I last did it, so I have no idea how long you should wait. 5 minutes sounds definitely not enough, and 10 is still on the low-ish side, but 15 seems WAY TOO MUCH. Either way it takes too much to be used while you’re working.
I like to just sit and breathe, but Google has some additional tips:
– Keep a towel on your head so as not to disperse the steam too quickly. I’ve never done this, but it sounds terribly funny.
– Add some Eucalyptus oil or baking soda.
I have always had a cough for 2 to 4 weeks after a cold clears and finally was prescribed a ventolin inhaler that worked wonders. Maybe give that a try (apologies if I’m duplicating or missed you saying you have already tried that)? Also as gross as it sounds my cough can be triggered by a post nasal drip so I try sudafed to dry things up – allergy tablets can work well too. Mine is worse at night so my five step plan for helping me not cough in bed is to use my inhaler, take a drying up medication, sleep upright on three pillows, gargle with warm salt water beforehand and to take sips of water when I do feel tickley. I hope your cough clears up!
I’m pretty sure all my suggestions have already been put forward but I’ll chime in anyway. I cannot recommend a bronchodilator inhaler enough to get rid of the cough, especially at night. Things I do to soothe my cough during the cough phase: menthol cough drops (red, black or dark blue Halls are my vehicle of choice). I will occasionally try eating pineapple because once upon a time I heard it was good to loosen/break up phlegm. I like to think of this as “unproven and probably does nothing but a good excuse to eat something I like in the name of ‘science'”. For a persistent dry cough that either keeps me awake at night or drives my coworkers crazy, I’ll bust out the cough suppressant cough syrup (dextromethorpan, I think).
I was just seen at the doctor on Friday because Thursday night I was coughing up foamy fluid and good ol’ google was like, it’s time to go to the ER. I was coughing so much it was hard to catch my breath in between coughing. Plus Snowmaggedon was headed to Philly. My doctor diagnosed bad bronchitis which was aggravated by a new cold virus.
Anyway. She gave me an albuterol inhaler and while it didn’t stop the coughing dead in its tracks, I didn’t hack up a lung that night and I’ve gotten so much better so much faster than usually happens. It wasn’t cheap even with insurance though although that might be because my insurance sucks. Not really sure why it was so pricey ($71) for those playing along at home. Also, I was making myself hot water with ginger slices steeped in it, lots of raw honey, a bit of cinnamon, lemon, and turmeric. For immediate cough stopping, cough drops help.
I don’t have time to read the comments, so this may have been mentioned, but I’m wondering if you have virally induced cough-variant asthma that requires an inhaler during and after viruses? My daughter had that and it wasn’t exercise induced, it wasnt’ wheezing. It was just tons of coughing when a virus around or after! Just a thought if you make it to a doctor!! I hope you feel better soon!
Definitely a humidifier at night! And if you keep your house fairly warm (the heat runs often) I’d put one in whatever room you use a lot during the day. They are a royal pain to maintain, but make a huge difference in how healthy we stay during the winter and how quickly coughs go away. They do come in cute animal designs too, so that’s fun.
Add me to the lingering cough list. It lasts 4 times as long as the cold that triggers it. UGH.
My solution has been tea with honey. I hang my head over the mug and breathe in the warm air to soothe the airways. Of course, my cough is always aggravated by cold, so I also wear fluffy scarves so I can bury my nose in it when the air feels chilly.
I am a little late to this party, and it may have been said already.
I dealt with this once and was coughing so hard I was gagging (and throwing up) and actually soiling myself, which was terrible and embarassing and humiliating. I went to the doctor and said, seriously this is all that is left of this cold and I can’t do it anymore. I was prescribed an inhaler (it was a narcotic and I had to be monitored while on it), but that was the ONLY thing that got rid of my chronic cough and I haven’t needed it since.