# Vile dry cough



## vickster (14 Jul 2015)

Keeping me awake at night and off the bike  

Best remedies? Venos tickly cough stuff is pretty useless, just drinking water and tea seems to help short term but I can't stay up all night drinking! Any other OTC concoctions recommended? 

Had for a couple of weeks, two different lurgies...crook on birthday! Fed up (especially as I've nearly puked from coughing) , don't usually get coughs  Don't smoke, no asthma, no hayfever etc

Grrr


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## User269 (14 Jul 2015)

Night Nurse.


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## vickster (14 Jul 2015)

User269 said:


> Night Nurse.


I think they doa cough mixture...off now to Tesco pharmacy to stock up on drugs and chocolate!


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## gbb (14 Jul 2015)

No other symptoms ?
Lethargy, sweats, fever etc etc ?
TBH, two weeks with a cough should mean a trip to the docs is in order, honestly.


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## Kevoffthetee (14 Jul 2015)

I've been to the docs about a chest infection with a very dry non productive cough and was told nothing works for the cough except warm brandy

Out comes the Metaxa reserve


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## Katherine (14 Jul 2015)

That's long enough now, go and get checked out.


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## vickster (14 Jul 2015)

gbb said:


> No other symptoms ?
> Lethargy, sweats, fever etc etc ?
> TBH, two weeks with a cough should mean a trip to the docs is in order, honestly.



It's a new bug...I lost my voice on holiday at the end of June and had a cough which eased (my throat was a little sore but not too bad)...then - fresh sore throat on Saturday (probably overdid the cycling but didn't feel especially unwell), then got all blocked up on Saturday evening and I've been coughing since
I'm sure it's a virus, nothing the doctor can do. I still don't feel especially unwell, just tired due to lack of sleep and the coughing :-/

I have Benylin and fruit and nut ;-)


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## jefmcg (15 Jul 2015)

Codeine is an excellent cough suppressant.


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## vickster (15 Jul 2015)

The co codamol didn't help on Monday night  but I've just slept through like a baby so the Benylin must have helped. Birdcage breath and death rattle this morning though!


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## summerdays (15 Jul 2015)

I had a horrible cough earlier this year, and so did some of my family and work colleagues. Mine definitely was a bug but it seemed to be more of a lingering cough than normal, with everyone not just me. I'm used a combination (not at the same time), of cough medicine and hot toddy's. That's not to say you shouldn't get it checked out, just that a bug that was doing the rounds this year seemed to be mostly an annoying cough, that lingered long after the other symptoms disappeared.


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## summerdays (15 Jul 2015)

jefmcg said:


> Codeine is an excellent cough suppressant.


My favourite cough medicine was called Dimotane Co? (Which must have contained Codeine as I was always given the 3rd degree before they would sell it). Which apparently wasn't meant to work so they withdrew it, but it worked for me to suppress the cough so I could sleep at night.


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## Dayvo (22 Jul 2015)

Honey in *hot* water and chopped ginger.


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## Wafer (22 Jul 2015)

I've ended up with an inhaler for occasional use following a cough where doc thought I'd probably scratched the lining of the lungs a bit and though it would heal in time a steroid inhaler was prescribed to help. Got to work very quickly and have needed it for one more bout of coughing since.
Otherwise I've found cough sweets have helped calm an annoying tickly cough, fishermans friends and similar seemed to work alright. Get a bit boring when you've been consuming them one after the other for a while though...


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## slowmotion (22 Jul 2015)

I'm a big fan of Benylin too. Always choose the "drowsy" version. It helps you sleep better.


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## vickster (22 Jul 2015)

Still coughing a bit, throat a bit scratchy (especially on bike when breathing through mouth), cough a little productive, still a bit snotty, but as I don't feel especially unwell not seen a quack as I'm sure it's the tail end of a virus

Meant to be giving my platelet sample tomorrow, am sure it's fine


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## ColinJ (22 Jul 2015)

This probably doesn't apply to you, but I will mention it AGAIN in case anybody new to CC stumbles across this thread in the future when searching for advice. It could save their life ...

The first sign of my DVT/PE was a minor shortage of breath, but that was pretty subtle and I ignored it. After a week or two, I got very short of breath and developed a vile, dry cough similar to the one you describe.

I did go to see a doctor but he missed the signs and misdiagnosed it as a virus. I was prescribed anti-inflammatories for the pains in my chest caused by weeks of severe coughing, but the cause of the problem was not treated and the delay in treatment almost led to my death.

So, I wouldn't recommend ignoring a cough for _too_ long ... In most cases, there won't be anything sinister going on, but sometimes there _will_ be!


So, you finally found your way here! if you really want to know - _TRSMAYTISAM!_ = _That Remark Says More About You Than It Says About Me! _Reserved for pitiful, small-minded and spiteful posts. I expected better from you ...


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## vickster (22 Jul 2015)

No shortage of breath, no chest pain (and I've done two long cycle rides since the symptoms started)., it's very much a throaty upper respiratory tract type thing

But thanks


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## Smurfy (25 Jul 2015)

vickster said:


> Keeping me awake at night and off the bike
> 
> Best remedies? Venos tickly cough stuff is pretty useless, just drinking water and tea seems to help short term but I can't stay up all night drinking! Any other OTC concoctions recommended?
> 
> ...


Make sure the humidity is around 50% for optimum comfort. If it's too low, try having a long steamy bath or shower before bed. Keep some well-watered pot plants on a table next to where you sleep. Hang up your washing in the bedroom just before you go to bed.
http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/features/nighttime-relief


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## mrbikerboy73 (31 Jul 2015)

jefmcg said:


> Codeine is an excellent cough suppressant.


Work well for the old ten bob bits too!


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## cyberknight (1 Aug 2015)

You havent been near me have you ?
I have been on the bike once all week with similar although mine started as a sniffle that progressed to a temperature and now its a phlegm producing cough/sniffle.
You can tell im now off work for 2 weeks shutdown as im now blerrrgh !!!


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## cyberknight (2 Aug 2015)

Hows it today @vickster ?
Mrs ck now has it too, like sleeping next to someone gargling gravel so i ended up on the sofa .


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## vickster (3 Aug 2015)

Sorry for not responding, I was otherwise occupied yesterday doing Ride London!
Yeah pretty much gone, still a bit phlegmy in the morning. Had a nosebleed on Saturday, so was spitting up some nasty crud yesterday during the ride! Note I used a tissue, I did not spit on the ground!


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## albion (4 Aug 2015)

YellowTim said:


> Make sure the humidity is around 50% for optimum comfort. If it's too low, try having a long steamy bath or shower before bed. Keep some well-watered pot plants on a table next to where you sleep. Hang up your washing in the bedroom just before you go to bed.
> http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/features/nighttime-relief



We are in Britain. Too high a humidity leads to major problems for many, outside night time humidity very very often being near 90%.
Years back now, I had a short sharp involuntary cough for near 2 years, likely remedied with decreased humidity , though back at the time I put it all down to a low room temperature.
And I'm near as dammit 100% certain my old asthma was caused by the complications of increased humidity.

Vickster, has anything changed ? A house move, a room move, a different/none heating system etc etc ?


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## vickster (4 Aug 2015)

I went on holiday, picked something up probably on the plane, lost my voice, the cough started and felt a bit rough. Came home, seemingly picked something else up on the plane, sore throat, bunged up, more tickly cough. So that could be it.

I now have what the GP thinks could be Costalchondritis which can be caused by a virus. It came on most acutely during Ride London and I assumed it was a straightforward stitch from overexertion, lack of fitness, poor core, all the usual (I had stabbing pains for ooh about 70 miles  ) . Who knows. It's still pretty darn uncomfortable though


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## albion (4 Aug 2015)

I'm not cycling at the moment. In the 8 months since I stopped lots of niggles have gone. One was getting up needing a pee up to 5 times a night.
It seems it is quite (or very?) common for athletes to get bladder inflammation etc (IBS too) from too much running or peddling so I'm now putting that one down to regular 100+ mile bike rides.


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## vickster (4 Aug 2015)

My bladder is fine fortunately, despite not peeing for 9 hours on Sunday


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## albion (4 Aug 2015)

Mine too. 9 hours a night of near bliss.


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## vickster (4 Aug 2015)

albion said:


> Mine too. 9 hours a night of near bliss.


I don't make it 9 hours usually without peeing! And I don't have a prostate


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## Smurfy (4 Aug 2015)

albion said:


> We are in Britain. Too high a humidity leads to major problems for many, outside night time humidity very very often being near 90%.
> Years back now, I had a short sharp involuntary cough for near 2 years, likely remedied with decreased humidity , though back at the time I put it all down to a low room temperature.
> And I'm near as dammit 100% certain my old asthma was caused by the complications of increased humidity.
> 
> Vickster, has anything changed ? A house move, a room move, a different/none heating system etc etc ?


Depends on a lot of things, design of house, heating, ventilation. Best way to check is to have a hygrometer, then you can rule it out or look into it.


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## albion (4 Aug 2015)

For very good reason I monitor it more than most people.

Open your window in the UK and we only have 2 possibilities. Normal and high humidity. The norm outside air overnight seems to be 80 to 90%


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## ColinJ (4 Aug 2015)

vickster said:


> I don't make it 9 hours usually without peeing! And I don't have a prostate


Sounds like you didn't drink enough!


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## vickster (5 Aug 2015)

I had at least 3 750ml bottles of water and half a litre of coke! Plus another half litre of water after the ride, finished before I got off the train home


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## ColinJ (5 Aug 2015)

vickster said:


> I had at least 3 750ml bottles of water and half a litre of coke! Plus another half litre of water after the ride, finished before I got off the train home


I drank 5 * 750 mL bottles of DIY sports drink plus a coffee plus a Coke on one ride but came home weighing several kgs less, so I evidently had still not drunk enough. I met friends at a pub that evening and it took lots of beer to get me peeing again!

We block-booked a go-kart centre for a mate's 40th birthday party. It was a baking hot day, and the karting took place in a large former aircraft hangar building with a corrugated iron roof. It was horrendously hot in that building from the heat of the sun beating down on the roof plus that from the kart engines exhausts. The problem was made worse by the thick protective suits we all wore. I was drinking water all day and must had 7 or 8 pints of beer in the evening before I finally got my fluid levels back up again to the point where I could pee.


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## vickster (5 Aug 2015)

I lost no weight but did have swollen feet and ankles so fluid retention. It was a warm day but at no point did I feel especially sweaty. No real headache which is a sure sign for me


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## ColinJ (5 Aug 2015)

vickster said:


> I lost no weight but did have swollen feet and ankles so fluid retention. It was a warm day but at no point did I feel especially sweaty. No real headache which is a sure sign for me


Oh ... I just did a search for 'causes of oedema' and one of them is chronic lung disease! 

(Blood clotting is another, but I already knew that from my own experience - my left calf ended up 2 inches bigger than the right.)


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## jefmcg (5 Aug 2015)

ColinJ said:


> Oh ... I just did a search for 'causes of oedema' and one of them is chronic lung disease!


Stop scaring @vickster! That's my job!

Oedema is also the result of exertion. I hadn't expected 100 miles to be enough, but on LEL, it happened to lots of people. A French rider I met on the road by the halfway point had no knees, his legs were swollen so much. And after 1100km had no ankles, sausage fingers and was hoarding 5 litres of fluid.


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## vickster (5 Aug 2015)

I'm fine. I've seen the doctor (actually to get a physio referral for my grumpy knee but @jefmcg suggested I mention the stitch too) . I just over did it. 10 miles or whatever at 17mph average is way quicker than I normally ride over said distance and with no stops!

I haven't got COPD, I think I'd know by now, stopped smoking years ago 

I realise you're just cautious because of what happened to you, so thanks


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## w00hoo_kent (5 Aug 2015)

ColinJ said:


> Oh ... I just did a search for 'causes of oedema' and one of them is chronic lung disease!
> 
> (Blood clotting is another, but I already knew that from my own experience - my left calf ended up 2 inches bigger than the right.)


This is why searching on things medical is bad. Our first advice to anyone we meet who is newly, first time, pregnant is to get rid of any medical books they might have bought for it. (Which shows how long it is since we were in the 'hanging around with people likely to become pregnant' demographic). All the ones we tried basically had two flow charts 'bad stuff happens - death' or 'bad stuff happens - miscarriage - death' I guess they are just covering their backsides but still, precious little use to an anxious parent to be with a twinge at 11:30 on a Friday evening...

I'm yet to find an internet search correlated by a GP visit, no matter how exact the NHS Choice diagnosis seems to be.


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## vickster (5 Aug 2015)

And probably asking for advice on web forums on medical issues


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## ColinJ (5 Aug 2015)

w00hoo_kent said:


> This is why searching on things medical is bad.
> 
> ...
> 
> I'm yet to find an internet search correlated by a GP visit, no matter how exact the NHS Choice diagnosis seems to be.


_Funnily enough ..._ 

When I got ill, I was bedridden for 3 weeks, lost over 2 stone in weight, but the first GP then merely said - '_It is probably just a nasty chest virus - carry on resting_'. 

My sister looked up my symptoms online and said '_Thank goodness it is only a virus - the website I looked at suggested that you might have a DVT and a pulmonary embolism_'!


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## w00hoo_kent (5 Aug 2015)

I prefer my proof of the rule to your proof to be honest.

Yeah, it's going to be right at some point and then it'll be terrible, because they always come up with the terrible option when you search.


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## jefmcg (5 Aug 2015)

w00hoo_kent said:


> This is why searching on things medical is bad. Our first advice to anyone we meet who is newly, first time, pregnant is to get rid of any medical books they might have bought for it. (Which shows how long it is since we were in the 'hanging around with people likely to become pregnant' demographic). All the ones we tried basically had two flow charts 'bad stuff happens - death' or 'bad stuff happens - miscarriage - death' I guess they are just covering their backsides but still, precious little use to an anxious parent to be with a twinge at 11:30 on a Friday evening...



I'm not sure about this. There's a lot of paternalism associated with pregnant mothers. And a lot of belief that pregnancy was dangerous, but isn't anymore. It's better, but babies and mothers still die, more often than you'd expect. For example, I've got two friends, whom I am very close to, who both had still births. Full term, otherwise perfect babies who were dead. One went to hospital in early stages of a labour and was sent home. The next day, there was no heartbeat, and she had the ordeal of delivering a baby she knew was dead. The other one had an incompetent midwife who couldn't detect a heartbeat midway through labour and kept thinking it was an equipment failure. As it turned out, it was because the baby's heart had stopped, and by the time an ambulance was finally called, it was too late. Maybe a little ill-informed proaction from the parents might have made a difference.

I've got a friend who was advised to see a chest specialist because of a nagging cough. He didn't get around to it for a year, and by that time the benign tumour was impinging on his spinal cord, and couldn't be removed - he survived, I am pleased to say. Another friend who is a doctor told me of a couple who came in with a lump the size of a fist on the wife's arm. Turned out to be malignant melanoma, and so far advanced they could only offer her palliative care. A little googling of their symptoms in both the above cases could have got them to help quicker by frightening them. Both these stories are pre-google, so maybe this has changed.

A colleague I didn't know well had lunch with me one day, and told me about things going on in her life. I "diagnosed" her, from reading and a tv program I had seen, with schizophrenia and found her suitable mental health support. She later thanked me for saving her life - schizophrenia has a huge death toll from suicides and accidents. 

Too much information without knowledge is scary, but can save lives.

(and yes, I once had an ECG because I had indigestion. I'm not proud, but I'm not embarrassed)

PS: @ColinJ and @w00hoo_kent both posted while I was drafting this.


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## w00hoo_kent (5 Aug 2015)

Again, perfectly happy with this and feel I should make clear I Am Not A Doctor so really, do what makes you feel best.

I've experienced similar, with our only child during pregnancy my wife was spotting blood. We hit the books (early 90's, no home internet to talk of and it was either late evening or the weekend of course) and it was all death and miscarriage. Went to GP it was 'yeah, that can happen, look out for it getting worse and come back if it does, but it probably won't' and it didn't. Then again, my mum wasn't feeling right, she rarely went to the doctor, but was unhappy with it all so went and asked for 'an MoT of some kind' because she knew there was something wrong with her but couldn't pin it down (I'm sure she gave some symptoms). The doctor said 'we don't have time to deal with every minor niggle, come back when you have something you can describe wrong with you.' As quite a stubborn woman she didn't go back until she was regularly passing blood and she was dead from cancer 6 months later at 63. It was about 9 months after she died that the NHS started talking about 'doing MoT's for people'...

So, apologies if it seemed flippant (to be fair that is my default setting) but I still doubt you'll ever look up your symptoms and find the result 'yeah, no worries, have a beer and chill.'


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## jefmcg (6 Aug 2015)

w00hoo_kent said:


> So, apologies if it seemed flippant (to be fair that is my default setting) but I still doubt you'll ever look up your symptoms and find the result 'yeah, no worries, have a beer and chill.'


Just remembered one, about 3 weeks ago! Got bitten (for the first time in my life) by a march fly. Very painful and the bite didn't settle down. As someone with an over-reactive auto-immune system, and perhaps a currently lowered immunity to infections (had cellulitis earlier this year) I was about to go to see my GP. Google told me that it was a march fly, that the bites hurt a lot, and they take a while to settle down, though prone to infection. So I had a beer and chilled.


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## summerdays (7 Aug 2015)

I just looked up March Fly, as I hadn't heard of them, and it's what I call a horse fly, and they are vicious. I think everyone in my family has been bitten this year!


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## Arjimlad (7 Aug 2015)

My wife's had a horrible dry cough bug for many weeks and it is just getting better. In July she was waking up with it in the middle of the night every night. It must have taken 6 weeks to bugger off and even now when she exercises she is still affected. GP said it was a virus & an awful lot of people have had it. Get well soon !


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