Miserable Hacking

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I got a cold last Wednesday that had me bedridden for most of the day. I've been taking Mucinex D and Advil every day to deal with it, and it's helped for the most part, but starting this weekend I have been coughing like a plague victim all the time. I'm concerned that this annoys the people around me (and it makes my throat hurt despite the Advil). Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with the mother of all coughs? :smallannoyed:

[Innis Cabal]

Its the healing process. Its a good thing, let it come and go on its own.

[Pyrian]

Cepacol. It's like a lozenge, except it works.

EDIT: You didn't mention whether the cough was productive. Cepacol is a good choice either way, but if it's a dry cough, definitely treat it and try not to get carried away with coughing - it just further inflames your throat. If you're hacking up mucus, there's not a whole lot to be done but to let it take its course.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Cepacol. It's like a lozenge, except it works.

Never heard of it.

[Pyrian]

http://www.cepacol.com/

I highly recommend their lozenges. They contain a topical analgesic that really does something about the pain and also reduces the cough. It's powerful enough that your tongue will probably get a bit numb and things will taste funny, but the relief is totally worth it.

[Leon]

http://www.cepacol.com/

I highly recommend their lozenges. They contain a topical analgesic that really does something about the pain and also reduces the cough. It's powerful enough that your tongue will probably get a bit numb and things will taste funny, but the relief is totally worth it.

Another Vote for Cepacol. Its Good Stuff

[thubby]

hard-candy of any kind usually helps.
edit: medicated lozenges can only be taken so often.

[absolmorph]

http://www.cepacol.com/

I highly recommend their lozenges. They contain a topical analgesic that really does something about the pain and also reduces the cough. It's powerful enough that your tongue will probably get a bit numb and things will taste funny, but the relief is totally worth it.
Whenever I see "topical" I always think of "tropical".
Now, I'm thinking about coconut-flavored lozenges. Ew.

[Thajocoth]

When people I know are sick, I generally recommend to them that they use their immune system on it, so that's my recommendation. You could try adding more Vitamin C to assist this. Some of my friends take Emergen-C when they think they're getting sick. I just add OJ to my diet temporarily and take Vitamin C pills once/day if we have any (1000% of my daily Vitamin C per pill, according to the bottle...)

Good luck fending off the tiny invasion.

[Excession]

Surprisingly, chocolate can be a really good cough suppressant. Like better than codeine. Get some good quality dark chocolate with plenty of cocoa solids, cheap stuff won't work because it's just sugar and fat. See the wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cough_medicine#Effectiveness) text, or the citation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cough_medicine#cite_note-pmid15548587-19) for a link to the paper.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

When people I know are sick, I generally recommend to them that they use their immune system on it, so that's my recommendation. You could try adding more Vitamin C to assist this. Some of my friends take Emergen-C when they think they're getting sick. I just add OJ to my diet temporarily and take Vitamin C pills once/day if we have any (1000% of my daily Vitamin C per pill, according to the bottle...)

Good luck fending off the tiny invasion.

As soon as I was able on Wednesday I went out and bought some OJ.

[Anuan]

Spiced Honeymilk. Take two large tablespoons (or moar! 8D) of honey and place it in a mug, fill said mug with milk. Add cinnamon and cloves. Heat in a microwave.

Alternatively, take it to a larger scale and do it via teapot so you've got some ready whenever you need it.

Not only is it helpful, it's delicious! :smallbiggrin:

[ghost_warlock]

I'm currently fighting off something similar. It started last Friday night with just a sore throat. I felt more-or-less fine on Saturday but then it progressed to near-constant hacking by Sunday afternoon. Since I tend to sleep in the afternoon (I work nights), it made for a very craptastic night at work. I started to feel quite a bit better after I spent almost all-day Monday in bed and took some Tylenol PM to help knock me out when I went to bed at the usual time after lunch. My head and lungs ache from all the coughing. :smallfrown: Fever symptoms have come and gone a couple times.

Until late Sunday night there wasn't much mucus, but now my lungs are practically ejecting a fountain of olive-colored goop. Because I am clearing mucus out of my lungs I don't really want to suppress the cough, but I need to sleep sometime!

So far, I've mostly restricted treatment to lots of juice and other fluids. As soon as I started coughing up mucus I stopped taking throat lozenges/cough suppressants. Other than the Tylenol PM the other day, I've only taken a few Advil to help with the headache pain. My throat feels a bit ragged, but the pain isn't a significant factor there.

I know this isn't anything my immune system can't handle, but boy life has been miserable in the meantime.

[Tequila Sunrise]

As an asthmatic, I feel your pain. Persistent coughing is one of my top bodily fears, on the top of the list with vomiting, internal bleeding and cancer. I've been unable to sleep for days because of a bad cough.

If you can, spit that stuff right out. It looks and sounds gross, but it helps.

Also, OJ is good and fresh oranges are better.

[Telonius]

Standard "I am not a doctor, do not buy any snake oil from me" disclaimer...

Tea. Yogi Tea makes a pretty good one called "Throat Comfort." Basically any licorice-based tea usually gives me some relief, so you don't have to support the super-hippies if you don't want to.

I've generally heard that your throat doesn't hurt because you cough, you cough because your throat hurts. It's the irritation and inflammation that causes the reflex.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

My supervisor at work gave me some Halls cough drops. I'm not sure how to space them out though. I know you can't just pop them in like candy.

[thubby]

My supervisor at work gave me some Halls cough drops. I'm not sure how to space them out though. I know you can't just pop them in like candy.

http://www.gethalls.com/faqs.aspx#07

1 every 2 hours.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Crap! I was taking one an hour since 12:30! What should I do?! :smalleek:

[Pyrian]

:smallbiggrin: You'll live. Don't worry about it. But seriously, Cepacol is like ten times better than Halls.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

:smallbiggrin: You'll live. Don't worry about it. But seriously, Cepacol is like ten times better than Halls.

I don't know if I can get it where I'm at.