persistent chest infections antibiotics not working ?

hi all

i get frequent chest infections and usually now need at least 3 weeks on antibiotics and 5-6 weeks on steriods tabs to get any relief !!

currently finished my second lot of antibiotics and feel no better and still have a tight and painful chest -

does anyone know if the best option is to keep taking the antibioitcs and steriods ?

i am on max doses on medicatin the rest of the time - high dose seritide and singular plus ventolin and steriods to take when needed - is there anything else I can do - this is the worse I have been in the summer which does not bode well for the upcoming winter !!

thanks all - asthma sucks !

[angievere]

Hi Norman, Sorry to hear you've had such a bad time. Have you been back to the doctor to get your chest checked? He (or she!) should advise you about taking another course of antibiotics. I remember having one chest infection after another - can't remember how many courses of antibiotics I took, but in the end GP prescribed a heavy duty lot and that did the trick.

On the other hand your chest infection might actually have cleared up but your chest is still tight and painful because of the asthma. Often happens to me and my son. Re. anything else you can do. I dont know what your triggers are - colds set me and son off. We take extra vits (multi vit, vits C and D.) Son also takes Sellenium and Magnesium and takes Echinacea when he has a cold. I think taking these has helped over the last year -takes a while to build up in your body though.

Good luck and I hope you feel better soon. Let us know how you are getting on.

[Hidden]

hi i'm in a similar position to as i keep getting flare up's which seem like a cold and a chest infection but then i rapidly deteriorate and it then dawns on me that it's an asthma issue more than anything else. maybe visit your doctor and try a different antibiotic. i'm going back as my current infection hasn't gone down either with preds and antibiotics.

[KateMoss]

Have you had a bug culture done? e.g. GP sent of a specimen of sputum so they can identify which antibiotic it is most sensitive to?

Also, even when the anti Bs have done their stuf and worked, you can still have a lot of gunk rattling around for weeks. Perhaps you can ask your GP how to shift this without making you feel more breathless.

Take care

Kate

[Hidden]

thanks all

will go back to the docs and get more pills will try aksing for the spectum test

[Hidden]

Ugh I can totally sympathise - I've been having the same problem since November - several chest infections, never getting fully better in between. It's only since my most recent one (in June) that I asked the dr to investigate it further as I have been having lots of time off work (at least a month with each infection) that she said I have asthma.

I don't know which antibiotics you've had, the only ones that have touched my infections have been doxycycline (which is always the 2nd choice despite it being the one that works).

For general symptom relief, the best thing I've found is regular steam inhalation (my partner laughs at me when she comes in and finds me sitting in the bathroom with the shower running).

I do hope you feel better soon, I know how rotten this is.

Piglet xx