At the moment I seem to be intermittently purring like a cat and then coughing up stuff (clear, white or nothing). It’s like some of the larger airways are getting blocked up.
I don’t think it’s an asthma thing. The purring sound is like a wheeze but it stops when I cough and is a completely different pitch to normal.
It started 6 weeks ago after a cold. I’ve had another cold and COVID since.
Hi Giraffe91
You've been in the wars haven't you? Colds and Covid-19. If you have had asthma previously, it sometimes takes longer to clear the lungs. I would check with a respiratory doctor as you really need to know what is happening.
I work in schools so it comes with the territory I think. I have asthma, but I’m fairly new to it. I sometimes find it difficult to work out what symptoms are asthma/feeling grotty from having a cold/not being as fit as I was/etc.
It can be difficult. I once thought I had a chest infection when it was asthma from the exhaust of a mower when I mowed the lawn. It wasn't until the doctor put me on a nebuliser and I started to feel much better that it dawned on me. The purring sound may be asthma combined with the added congestion in your lungs or it may just be the congestion. Does ventolin ease it a bit? Is it easy to cough up?
White phlegm can be a sign of inflammation such as in asthma. Others things like silent reflux can cause coughing.
I guess it could all be just post viral coughing given you've had several things going on and these things can last ages (and are lasting ages for many non-covid things).
It does sound as if speaking to your GP would be a good idea.
Edited to add that regular peak flow monitoring is useful because that can be used alongside symptoms (including changes to phlegm) to work out whether it's asthma or not causing the symptoms.
Ahh do you know what, I've never thought of documenting change in phlegm as in indicating inflammation. I always think phlegm =green=infection. So thanks. X
Green can be inflammation too, not just infection. But going from none to lots of white might indicate inflammation for example. So useful as part of a picture!
I had a really bad infection a month ago and asked the Dr what the difference was to green/brown and white/clear. The green/brown is an infection the white/clear isn't
It’s really hard to work out what’s what. I don’t feel particularly unwell so I expect all this might be the tail end of 2 colds and COVID. They have all been so close together I’ve barely had a chance to recover before the next comes along. Covid affected me the least which I was surprised about. Peak flows are slightly down from normal but they have been since an inhaler change. I have another review in a couple of weeks. At my last review both me and the asthma nurse were not sure if the new inhaler had reached it’s full potential. It’s still hard to say, but perhaps something different will help me to recover from colds a little more quickly.
Hello I have Post Nasal Drip and purr and cough like you. Unfortunately not found anything to get rid of it yet! Tried nasal rinse, steam inhalation, steroid nasal spray, antihistamine, cough mixture etc. Hope you find something that works for you.
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