Hey All,
Me again looking for advice about my Mum who has COPD. Any recommendations on how to tackle a chest cold please? She is on blood pressure meds, so all of the Lemsip products we have are unsuitable! So scared about this developing into anything worse - don’t seem to be able to get her fully well since being hopistalised with COVID over Christmas 🥺
Thank you in advance!!!
Honey and lemon in warm water is very soothing and paracetamol to bring down any temperature or ease aches and pains. It may also be worth a phone call to her pharmacist in the morning who may recommend over the counter remedies that won't interact with her prescription medication. Hope she soon feels better.
Thank you CDPO16!
I had been living on tenterhooks since COVID started, but now she has COPD on top of everything else I live in a constant state of anxiety 🥺
CDPO16 beat me to it with their reply!
Honey and lemon in hot water and paracetamol should help a lot, and the suggestion to speak to the pharmacist is exactly what I would have said too.
It is a worry when someone you love isn't well and with all the additional anxiety following her previous COVID experience I'm not surprised you are concerned.
Try not to let it get you down, though. If this is just a cold, she'll soon recover again. If it's more than that, and she seems to be getting more unwell, ring the GP or 111 or, if her breathing is very difficult, phone 999.
Don't be afraid of bothering people if you don't think she's recovering as you would expect.
She's lucky to have you looking out for her! Don't forget to look after yourself too, though.
xx Moy
CPD016 is gd advice and id ring dr if chesty
Sorry to hear about your Mum. If you feel you would benefit from a chat with one of our nurses for advice, you are very welcome to give us a call on 03000 030 555. If her symptoms get worse or you are worried, don't hesitate to call her GP or NHS 111 for advice and in an emergency ring 999 in plenty of time.Take care
Debs
Ask your pharmacist Re which cold and flu remedies you can use. If you feel your mum develops a chest infection phone her GP straight away to get some antibiotics. Does your mum have a rescue pack? (Antibiotics and prednisolone ) if not you could ask for some to keep in just in case of a chest infection develops.
Thank you Chriskho! Yes, I have managed to get emergency packs for both of my parents, just had no guidance on when and how to use them?!?
They are to take the minute sputum changes colour indicating a chest infection I.e dark yellow, green or brown.
Quite often a chest infection may start say on a Friday evening, therefore cannot speak to a dr to get a prescription until Monday, so you can start the rescue antibiotics on the Friday and relay this to the Gp when you speak to him/ her on Monday.
Hope this makes sense . Most of us with COPD don’t take chances if we suspect a chest infection as they can get quite nasty if left untreated .
Thank you Chriskho! Our GP has never taken sputum samples - I had read on here people get them tested to check antibiotic resistance upon change of colour!
I live in fear of the weekends, what with the GP and our Pharmacy being closed. And my Parents are old school, and they never want to bother the 111 service.
Think I need to get all of my questions together and call the BLF number Debs kindly provided above 😊
Thank you for your support!!!
Regular sputum culture with antibiotic sensitivity is normal in bronchiectasis and similar conditions, not so much in COPD. Culture does (should) still get run when appropriate, but whereas in other conditions it’s considered necessary with every exacerbation, the NICE guidelines specifically state that it shouldn’t be routinely undertaken if a COPD exacerbation is being managed in primary care, aka the GP. My understanding is that this is because exacerbations may not be infection driven, and even when they are, because of the bacteria involved, most people will take their antibiotics from their rescue pack and that will do the trick. It’s usually only if that doesn’t do the trick, or if a patient is unwell enough to be admitted to hospital (and has manky sputum at the time), that the advice is to culture to see what bacteria are involved: although patients with COPD can grow some of the more unusual, environmental bacteria common in bronchiectasis and cf, which are quite frequently (and increasingly) resistant to various antibiotics, the majority don’t.
You may find the NICE guidance for managing COPD helpful, as it sets out what should happen, so you know what standard of care your parents should be receiving:
nice.org.uk/guidance/ng115/...
Thank you for taking the time to write that amazing reply Charlie_G!
Part of me thinks I need to learn more about it, then part of me is too scared to know 🥺
Yes please speak to the BLF nurses for guidance if you are worried about anything. Sputum samples are usually sent in/ asked for if the antibiotic you have in your rescue pack or the one prescribed by the GP is not stopping an infection. Cx
Thank you 🙏🏻 X
Thank you Patk1! I think we are always scared for her to start them as you are always meant to finish the course, and she doesn’t want to build up a resistance. That being said they only give Amoxicillin, she needed a second stronger course last month - doubting she cleared the chest infection fully now!
The lack of support is challenging and I feel so helpless! Plus I feel like it’s my fault - we think COVID triggered it 🥺
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