See my earlier post
Am I the only carer whose loved one coughs... - PSP Association
Am I the only carer whose loved one coughs when neither eating nor drinking ?
Written by
Garyvard
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17 Replies
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Yes, my husband Peter hd a persistant cough on and off.I thought it was the pooling of saliva because they do not automatically swallow as much as is normal and then almost choke on the excess fluid.He went through phases which were very bad ,then less.Hope this helps.He also choked on drinking mostly,occasionally on solid food.
Same as Pinda, and Dr does check Frank to make sure there is no infection on the lungs, I also find now, when he talks there is almost a "gurgling" with each word, I think this is excess saliva again.
My hubby is exactly the same. He coughs frequently due to excess saliva. It is distressing for him and I feel so helpless when he struggles to clear his throat. Tony's physio gave us a tip which might be helpful, and also depends if your loved one is still reasonably mobile.The patient needs to stand as upright as possible and walk about (in our case, with my help and the use of a 4-wheel walker). This allows the lungs to expand more efficiently and usually results in clearing the throat. It usually takes about 5 minutes. We certainly find this helps so it might be worth a try.
Good luck and take care...........SuzieQ
Many thanks Suzie my wife is now so unstable that she finds it almost impossible to walk even with a walker and support but I will certainly give it a try for like you I find very distressing.thanks again regards Hugh
No, with PSP the saliva tends to build in the patients mouth and not be swallowed normally. This in and of itself can cause coughing and choking. Some people suction the thick saliva out of the mouth. I'm not there yet but have read a lot about this.
Jimbo
Our guy coughs a lot, as soon as he starts talking. Strange though, he doesn't cough at night as one would expect with a cough lying prone. Do others cough at night?
Yes, my wife coughs in the evening but it is even worse at night. I see one of the other response refers to suction have you tried that.
. Hugh
This type of coughing-- in my husband's case-- was mostly due to choking on his own saliva. One way that we have dealt with this is with an injection (by our neurologist) of Botox into the salivary glands. It is definitely effective for him...and he has no wrinkles (just kidding). The Botox does wear off and the treatment has to be repeated somewhere between 2 and 3 months later. Early concerns that this would affect his neck muscles or ability to swallow have not been an issue. Best of luck
hi everyone my speech lady told me that if i had papaya tablets or drank dark grape juice it would help, break up the mucus that we seem to collect i have had dark grape juice which i feel helped me personally could not get hold of any papaya tablet s as yet i have been to my local health shop ]]\\\\\\\\\ thats if of course it is the mucas that makes you cough in the first place i thnk someone has spoken about papaya tablets before if so my opology
peter jones australia
Hi , my brother coughs a lot, we also find it very distressing , He had the Botox injections a few months back and it does help for a while . He also takes Kwell's travel sickness tablets twice daily to help dry up some of the saliva and,
yes we have a suction pump to help remove the phlegm , The health board here in Ireland gave it to us and I can honestly say we'd be lost without it .. I hope this help's you and the best of luck !!!
Hi, yes my hubby coughs and chokes a lot, some days bad others good. he can just be sitting and with one cough the face turns red and he's off, all i can do is give him his Ventolin if it's bad and he cant settle. some days i puree his food and others he can have a sandwich or thin piece of pizza only occasionally and i watch every mouth full the same with drinks i have to watch every mouth full he takes due to him breathing through the mouth while drinking and tipping the mug to high and overloading his mouth, he hasn't been able to learn or remember himself but like the sandwich and pizza i believe if he is going to eat and enjoy his food by mouth he better enjoy it for as long as possible. he can choke on saliva anyhow and he doesn't want a peg feed or assistance in that way. Grape juice helps also one doctor suggested a nasal spray to thin the mucus.
Hi Garyvard, lovely to hear from you, the nasal spray recommended to me is called Flixonase it's a 24 hour spray and we were told to use it for a while before noticing any improvement, this was from a GP, i recommend you talk to your GP before using it just to be sure as they may have something better and on the cheap as it is over the counter stuff and not so cheap. We live in Oz so not everything is covered on prescriptions. Good luck
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