Bronchiectasis and throaty cough.

[siskin]

I am new to this site and need your help. I have been diagnosed with bronchectasis. I have been given physio exercises to expel mucus which is fine for what I call my deep cough.

My problem is a cough which is what I call a throat cough. It starts the minute I wake up and is as if there is a hair stuck in my throat with stringy mucus.

Consultant has given me carbocisteine to loosen mucus and ratinidine to protect my stomach, but I am reluctant to take it as I already have an ulcer

I feel it is a sledgehammer to crack a nut

I don't feel this is PND as nose is clear and reflux doesn't seem to apply either.

Dose anyone have any ideas as to something I can inhale or eat to stop this cough in it's tracks. The best I can find is lockets or fishermans friend.

I have RA and hypothyroid and this cough is so severe while it lasts I feel exhausted. Once it clears after about 15 mins of coughing and nearly gagging I am fine, and it seldom re-occurs during the day.

Your thoughts please.

[Hidden]

Do you drink plenty of fluid? Being dehydrated can make mucus more difficult to clear. Ginger is supposed to be good as well, a cup of lemon and ginger tea and a chest clearing session often makes a difference for me. Hope you find a solution that works for you.

[siskin in reply to Hidden]

Thanks LizB I do have the lemon and ginger tea with some added honey.The chest clearing exercises do work for me for the deep cough but this cough starts the second I wake up and I can't stop. It seems to be a dry mucus cough, I know that sounds daft. I don't wheeze or anything just keep on hacking.

Feels like a spider is crawling all over y throat.

I am trying to up my fluids.

Regards siskin

[joyce741]

warm lemon and honey helps me x

[siskin]

Hi Joyce 741, thank you for that, I do have lemon and ginger tea with added honey, but will try fresh lemon, may be more effective.

[monkey65]

Hi. I used to have cough just like you describe. Not entirely sure what made it go away, but it seemed to be at the same time as the chesty cough when;

1 the bronchiectasis was under control with azithromycin and various other methods as recommended by posters on here.

2 the allergies were under control with beconase

3 the acid reflux was under control with omeprazole (a horrible drug - only used for the minimum time and still got withdrawal)

4 asthma was improved with montelukast

5 started following a gluten free diet (For thyroid symptoms)

Its impossible to know which of these was most important, since they all happened at the same time, but it was always the back of the throat cough I found most annoying. Good luck.

[siskin in reply to monkey65]

Hi monkey65 thanks for reply. As far as I know no allergies, sputum comes back nothing found. PPI's really made me sick. Yesterday I ordered a Himalayan salt pipe. Longing to see if that works.

[monkey65 in reply to siskin]

I've never had a positive result from a sputum test in the five or more years since I had bronchiectasis. Don't trust them at all!

[siskin in reply to monkey65]

I have a friend who was a Fellow of the Inst. of Medical Laboratory technicians, who in the 60's advised consultants which anti-biotics they should use.

I asked her why my dreadful gungy sputum always came back negative, her response was they test nowadays for common infections and if yours is outside the box it doesn't get picked up. In her day technicians were more hands on

and less reliant on machines and of course a lot less tests needed to be done.

I have been prescribed anti-biotics even when test comes back nothing found. No wonder there is antbiotic resistence

[Dedalus]

Boil up some flax seeds (Holland and Barratt or other natural products supplier), strain out the seeds and use the resulting liquid to make tea/honey & lemon/other additions - I found it was the only thing that helped when I had this type of cough. Worth a try as it's a natural product.

[siskin in reply to Dedalus]

Thanks for that Dedalus, on my shopping list.

[PurpleLady]

Read books by Dr Jamie Koufman in the US. I had that cough because I had Airway Reflux (LPR). No heartburn, just the coughing. One week on her diet cut my cough in half.

edited by admin

[siskin in reply to PurpleLady]

Thank you Purple Lady