chesty cough

I wondered if anyone has any suggestions, I've had a cough and cold now for over a week and went to docs yest and he said my chest is clear but my peak flow had dropped to less than 75% so he said the cold had triggered off my asthma and gave me a 7 day course of pred. this is only the second time I have ever needed pred for my asthma. Anyway getting to the point I've coughed constantly for a week to the point I have pulled every muscle in my stomach and am struggling to get breath in in between every cough and am coughing up loads of yallow gunk (attractive I know!). I have tried every cough medicine going and had many tablets to which beechams all in one appears to be the best so far. Does anyone have any other suggestions to try and tame this cough coz I'm really frightened I end up in a&e as last time I was this bad thats where I ended up.

Tanks in advance

Danni

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I normally find that the pred will help settle my cough in a couple of days if it is asthma related. If its just related to the cold then steam inhalation can help clear a gungey chest. I've always been wary of cough/cold remedies as I've been told that sometimes they can make asthma worse. Oh and also simple linctus can help. I find that hot drinks such as hot ribena/honey and lemon can really help as well.

Hope that helps

Em

xx ps did u tell your dr you were coughing up yellow stuff?? If not then you should probs go back and see him.

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I normally find that the pred will help settle my cough in a couple of days if it is asthma related. If its just related to the cold then steam inhalation can help clear a gungey chest. I've always been wary of cough/cold remedies as I've been told that sometimes they can make asthma worse. Oh and also simple linctus can help. I find that hot drinks such as hot ribena/honey and lemon can really help as well.

Hope that helps

Em

xx ps did u tell your dr you were coughing up yellow stuff?? If not then you should probs go back and see him.

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Hi Danni,

Sorry to hear you're struggling - you did the right thing in going to see your doctor, and hopefully the pred will kick in soon.

Most commercial cough medicines are not particularly useful, and some are not recommended in asthma. The only thing I tend to use is something like simple linctus, which is just a throat soother for tickly coughs.

Steam inhalation in combination with using your reliever can be helpful in shifting sputum and helping you cough more effectively. Use your reliever, and then spend a few minutes inhaling steam, either over a sink with the hot tap running, or over a bowl of hot water, with a towel over your head. Be careful not to scald yourself. After inhaling the steam for a few minutes, a few good coughs should help you shift a lot of sputum, which should make you feel less short of breath and hopefully calm the cough for a while.

There are also various physiotherapy techniques that can help to shift sputum, but these should really be supervised by a doctor or physiotherapist, and they may cause bronchospasm in some people.

The only other thing I can really suggest, if your problems persist and you are worried you are going to end up in A&E, is to go back to your GP. Obviously, if at any point you are becoming more breathless, your reliever is working less well, you are having difficulty talking, or are worried in any other way, please do seek emergency medical advice.

Take care

Em H

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thanks for that guys might give the steam thing ago. Yes I told the doc I was coughing up yellow stuff coz I automatically thought I must have a chest infection but apparently not as my chest was clear. Hopefully the pred will kick in soon coz my peak flow has dropped from 390 yest to 320 today and I normally have a peak flow of 550 - 600 which I find quite worrying. And I can't physically cough much more coz its too painful but I don't think keeping all this gunge in will do me any good either. As I said previously its only the second time I've ever been on pred so I suppose only the second time my asthma has really got the better of me so not really sure what to expect and don't want to keep bothering the doc all the time.

Thanks for the advice

Danni