Post ICU cough

[allotment22-2]

Following 16 days in ICU and HDU, I was ventilated a year ago but still have a cough. I have been referred to ENT but a 6 month wait. Have others had this issue and do you have tips to help me?

[Doonhamermo]

Hello like you I’m bothered by a cough after spending a month in ICU last year. I have to cough in the morning to clear my throat and I feel my voice has taken on a croaky quality. My physio tells me I need to relax my voice cords. The physios have told me my breathlessness last year caused me to develop disordered breathing. I’m waiting for an appointment with a speech therapist to sort out this issue. Good luck with your ENT appointment.

[Rach2Sym]

HelloYes. Because of Covid-19 I was ventilated - in ICU for two weeks, then two more in HDU in April/May last year - and have had a persistent cough since (Male, 73). I occasionally have what seem like throat spasms which cause something like an involuntary snort, I easily get breathless, and I need to be careful eating i.e. not stuff food down! Unless this suddenly gets worse, I'm not trying to get an ENT appointment. I keep Strepsils and Gaviscon handy, and, like Doonhamermo, I focus on mindful, regular breathing. I'm told that the virus itself damages certain soft tissues, so, combine that with intubation and I'd expect some long term damage.

[Sepsur]

Mostly mine has gone - for quite a long time I had a nasal drip which would cause me to cough. I have to be careful when eating certain things, crusty bread & crumbly cheese especially- it get caught in my throat near trachy scar.

If I laugh too hard it tends to end in a coughing fit. Eventually, I noticed I wasn’t coughing as much or as regularly- took maybe a year

[Nepenthe]

Hi there. It is now a year since I was in ICU (in a coma for 12 days); ( my appendix burst causing sepsis and pneumonia) and I have had a tickly/dry cough ever since. Also sometimes when I'm eating , it causes me to cough and bring up phlegm (yuck, sorry). As its impossible to 'see' my GP about it (3 days before my appendix burst I couldn't see my GP but a nurse at the surgery saw me and told me to go home and take Buscopan!? I just deal with it myself, but I do think it has improved. It sounds like you have a hands on GP and it's probably best to get it checked out, but appreciate its a long wait. Good luck and hope it improves for you.