Morning cough - different positions produce different coughs
Every morning for about the past 6 months, I wake up, and I feel the need to cough to clear my lungs. They feel full (liquid-y), but the cough itself is not productive. It is very benign and boring-sounding.
Only when I roll over onto my left side and then cough does it turn into a heavy, loose-sounding cough, and my lungs feel like they are clearing themselves finally. Each morning I know to do this, as it is the only way I can get some relief from the full feeling in my lungs.
If I roll over onto my right side and cough, there is no loose-sound, but instead there is a deep barking seal type of sound. When I cough lying on my right side, I can't help coughing hard and deep and this results in my lungs becoming irritated and making me cough even more.
Once I return to my back, the cough turns into a nothing, bland cough again, and once I actually get up and out of bed, the cough goes away entirely within 10 minutes.
Is this really weird? Why do I have totally different sounding and feeling coughs depending what position in bed I'm in??
Re: Morning cough - different positions produce different coughs
Different positions can definitely affect your lungs and sinuses. Why is the left side better than the right for you? I don't know. Maybe you sleep tilted a particular way, and fluids settle at a particular angle. In people with acid reflux disease, lying on the left side is better than the right because it keeps the stomach juices down.
Here's a suggestion that may sound a little odd. Get some blocks and prop up the head of your bed a few inches. It may prevent the morning lung congestion.
Does this cough cause any real problems for you? Do you have any sinus issues or anything like that?
Re: Morning cough - different positions produce different coughs
Thanks for the reply.
No, I have no sinus issues, and I guess the cough doesn't bother me that much. I was more curious than anything else.
I have another post in the Allergies section about my morning sneezes and nose irritation, so I assume the cough is from that. I just wondered if I was weird in that the different positions lying in bed produced such different coughs.
