How do you stop yourself from having a coughing fit ?
Ok ..i'd really love to know whay you all do to stop coughing and start breathing ! I'm having wicked coughing jags this week and soem of them are lasting for 5 to 15 miniutes at a time .......then leaving me exhausted and they are getting more intense but shorter as the week goes on ..so and clues on what to do besides using my ventolin inhaler (which I am religiously ) would be appreciated BTW I have broncitus right now compounded by any asthma and a lung that just seems usless so i am on a fairly high dose of steroids and antibiotics ...
Re: How do you stop yourself from having a coughing fit ?
Well, if the cough is do to the bronchitis, you really don't want to stop the cough. That stuff needs to come up. But there are strong cough suppresants by prescription. If you are having the problem when you go to bed, an old home remedy is to poour some campho-phenique on a kleenex and hold it to your nose as you sleep...inhaling it eases the lungs.
If the cause is your asthma, it's not under control and you need to see about changing your daily meds.
Re: How do you stop rself from having a coughing fit ?
Thanks Titcho..good idea on the campho-phenique ..I am on codeine syrope (sp)but on mly for the night time becasue my cough is productive (green and red nast stuff) and as you can probably tell my steroids are making me crankyI hate being on them ..........but I'd be dead without them long ago....
Re: How do you stop yourself from having a coughing fit ?
I'm sorry that you aren't feeling well. I would have replied earlier but I just didn't have an answer. I am battling some sort of crud myself but not very successfully.
With all the views of your posting, apparently there is a lot of folks in the same boat. Just not many with solutions. Sorry if it seemed as if we were ignoring you.
Good luck and feel better.
Tom
p.s.
I am going to see my pulm about this and if he has any suggestions I'll pass it on.
Tom
Re: How do you stop yourself from having a coughing fit ?
Thanks Tom I'm off to see mine in 2 hours too, with anyluck she will not put me in the hospital but my husband and child both say I'm much worst so the odds are not in my favor.
Re: How do you stop yourself from having a coughing fit ?
I hope you were able to avoid the hospital. All my pulmonologist did was put me on a 5 day course of antibiotics and a three week pred taper. Since it sounds as if you were already doing that I guess this is not much help.
Re: How do you stop yourself from having a coughing fit ?
p.s. I also have to use my nebulizer 3-4 times a day until things are back under control. Actually it seems to be working. I feel much better...just jittery from the pred and all the albuterol. But my coughing has slowed down significantly.
I hope you are able to find similar relief.
Tom
Re: How do you stop yourself from having a coughing fit ?
Hi Tom thanks for the advice ! I ended up being admitted to the Hospital ...I knew I wasn't feeling any bettter but my wheezing was so minimal I though I must be getting better ....I was wrong ..my tubes leading into my lungs had tightened so much that they weren't allowing me to even wheeze ..any my oxegen was down to 40%.....my doctor was freaking that I hadn't gone to the ER earlier.......but honestly I hate going to the hospital , I once had a nurse that said that I was taking up space others that really need could be using ((she had just come on shift and i'd been there on IV's and various treatments plus oxegen for 7 hours at that point so I was greatly improved)..anyways it makes me feel stupid going to the hospital ....I'm still recoevring but definaly feeling much better!!
Re: How do you stop yourself from having a coughing fit ?
I've done quite a lot of reading about coughing and asthma, because I spent so long in denial since my primary symptom for a long time was a persistent dry cough. What I've found is probably basic for those of you who've been battling this for a long time, but nonetheless, I'll share it.
I read abstracts to some studies that found that:
First, coughing with asthma can act to make you feel more well than you actually are. The expulsive action of coughing seems to open the bronchi enough to move some air, even while they are continuing to constrict.
Second, coughing can help mucus clear, but this means that the lungs sound pretty ok, despite bronchi continuing to contract/produce mucus.
Third, unsurprisingly, when asthma is accompanied by a persistent cough, wheezing does not set until the bronchi are significantly more constricted than they would ordinarily be for wheezing to occur.
This weekend, the person who saw in triage first seemed a little annoyed because I presented with a mild wheeze, and was more panicky and disoriented than probably seemed warranted. But I was poorly oxegynated, and responded pretty well to O2 and bronchodilators.
Anyway, I hope you continue to improve. I hope the cough stays away. I've found that for me, the cough is a mixed blessing. It can keep me exhaling when otherwise I'd be in more severe distress, but it can also make me feel and appear in better shape than I actually am.
Re: How do you stop yourself from having a coughing fit ?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vanessa74
Engineer1961,
I am SO GLAD that you are feeling better. Did you know that you were that bad? Did you have any other symptoms - since you were not wheezing?
I hope you continue to improve everyday.
Vanessa
HI Vanessa ..nope i had no clue that i was that bad........but my chest felt incredibly tight and i couldn't get a full breath .It kind of felt like someone was sitting on my chest and the pressure just kept building , but only on one side becsuea my left lung had basically stoped working .But I am feeling way better and now know that just because i've stopped coughing and wheezing ..it doesn't mean i'm better !!
Re: How do you stop yourself from having a coughing fit ?
I have to admit that I had come to rely on my cough as my major sign that my asthma was flaring. It is usually the only real sign I had since I don't wheeze.
However I was feeling exhausted on Saturday and I wasn't coughing but Ikept feeling worse. My chest was sore but it almost always is. I took my peak flow and was surprised to see that it was in my red zone. I initiated my asthma action plan and was able to avoid an ER visit but it did teach me a lesson.
I will routinely take my pf's from here on. I had foolishly assumed that I was on top of things by controlling the cough.
Tom
Re: How do you stop yourself from having a coughing fit ?
Thanks for the detailed info Snowdrift , and good luck with you're visit to the specialist!
Tom it sounds like we may have had the same cold bug(or what ever the *&^ it was!Glad you're feeling better. I've got an asthma action plan I'm supposed to use but I was so out of it last week it never clicked in
How do you stop yourself from having a coughing fit ? 
BTW I have broncitus right now compounded by any asthma and a lung that just seems usless so i am on a fairly high dose of steroids and antibiotics ...
Re: How do you stop yourself from having a coughing fit ? 
Re: How do you stop yourself from having a coughing fit ? 
