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global1

(25,169 posts)
Fri Apr 28, 2017, 09:52 PM Apr 2017

I've Had Lingering Cough & Cold Symptoms All Winter And Now ....

into Spring. Seems like I almost shake it and then it rears its ugly head again and the eye tearing, congestion, nasal drip and coughing begin again. Just can't eliminate it all together.

I'm posting this here because I want to find out if others are experiencing the same thing?

I'm wondering if this is something as a result of climate change?

I never had the same type of cold and symptoms before.

24 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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I've Had Lingering Cough & Cold Symptoms All Winter And Now .... (Original Post) global1 Apr 2017 OP
I hope you have seen a doctor. WhiteTara Apr 2017 #1
I had a cold 5 months ago that was so bad. I never had a cold like that before. SummerSnow Apr 2017 #2
Are you sure it isn't an allergy? The Velveteen Ocelot Apr 2017 #3
Try some vitamin C? shenmue Apr 2017 #4
No, it's not normal. Doctor. Warpy Apr 2017 #5
Hubby and I both had months' long coughs. Finally gone. nt LAS14 Apr 2017 #6
You may have pneumonia GulfCoast66 Apr 2017 #7
It could be a bacterial infection that has taken hold csziggy Apr 2017 #8
More than usual, but nothing dramatic... CBHagman Apr 2017 #9
An antibiotic cleared it right up. NightWatcher Apr 2017 #10
My husband is in his 4th week of this. AJT Apr 2017 #11
Go to the pharmacy and ask for menthol crystals malaise Apr 2017 #20
We have had a LOT of people with terrible allergies from late spring to now. . . . BigDemVoter Apr 2017 #12
I had walking pneumonia once that lasted that long in high school. Mom finally woke up... Hekate Apr 2017 #13
It's hell getting old. RedWedge Apr 2017 #14
I rarely have colds, but this last winter I've had 4 in a row. 4! Same stuff you had -- Nay Apr 2017 #15
Hope you get better! It seems it IS more prevalent. Not good mvd Apr 2017 #16
Or go to your nurse practitioner. 3catwoman3 Apr 2017 #17
Do like TamaFlu? Liberal In Texas Apr 2017 #18
Tamiflu is a prescription med indicated for... 3catwoman3 Apr 2017 #22
Both my husband and I have had the lingering forever cough/colds this winter. mnhtnbb Apr 2017 #19
Sounds like allergy to me. I say Xyrtec is called for. Zen Democrat Apr 2017 #21
I know someone who has been fighting these symptoms for months. Ilsa Apr 2017 #23
I had a lingering cough that lasted whistler162 Apr 2017 #24

WhiteTara

(29,676 posts)
1. I hope you have seen a doctor.
Fri Apr 28, 2017, 09:55 PM
Apr 2017

This is NOT normal and you should get a second opinion (after yours of course )

This may be nothing but it may be something...good luck!

SummerSnow

(12,608 posts)
2. I had a cold 5 months ago that was so bad. I never had a cold like that before.
Fri Apr 28, 2017, 09:57 PM
Apr 2017

It took so long for me to get rid of. Only relief I had was garlic and tumeric tea. it just helped me sleep. So all I could do is let it run it's course until it went away

The Velveteen Ocelot

(115,281 posts)
3. Are you sure it isn't an allergy?
Fri Apr 28, 2017, 09:57 PM
Apr 2017

I had a terrible cold that turned into bronchitis earlier this winter - it started before Christmas and it finally went away almost entirely in March. The main symptom was a persistent, miserable cough. But then after couple of weeks I came down with a lot of congestion and sneezing, which I'm sure is a spring allergy.

Warpy

(110,913 posts)
5. No, it's not normal. Doctor.
Fri Apr 28, 2017, 10:00 PM
Apr 2017

What color is what you're coughing up? If it's clear, it could be allergies or it could be something more serious. If it's cloudy or has any color at all, it's most likely bacterial. Your doctor is the only person who can tell you for certain.

GulfCoast66

(11,949 posts)
7. You may have pneumonia
Fri Apr 28, 2017, 10:01 PM
Apr 2017

Go to the doctor. It almost killed a friend of mine and he was fully functional.

csziggy

(34,120 posts)
8. It could be a bacterial infection that has taken hold
Fri Apr 28, 2017, 10:02 PM
Apr 2017

Have you been to a doctor to be checked?

Before the very effective antihistamines came out I used to have constant symptoms like you describe. I'd get a reaction to something, usually fragrances or blooms. Then it seemed as though it would move on to chest congestion which might clear a little but never go away. If I visited my doctor, he'd diagnose it as bronchitis or pneumonia and give me an antibiotic and that would knock out the nasal and chest issues until the next fall and winter. I also had a lot of sinus infections that came back on a regular basis.

Once Zyrtec came out, my constant sinus congestion cleared up which seemed to reduce the number of nasal and chest issues I had. I still occasionally get cold or flu symptoms but they are not as severe or as prone to lead to other infections.

If you haven't been to the doctor, think about going. Maybe they can find something that will help.

CBHagman

(16,968 posts)
9. More than usual, but nothing dramatic...
Fri Apr 28, 2017, 10:04 PM
Apr 2017

...and I'd echo the first respondent and say only a medical professional is qualified to evaluate your symptoms and why they're so persistent. There are just too many factors to rule in or out.

Let us know how you're doing!

AJT

(5,240 posts)
11. My husband is in his 4th week of this.
Fri Apr 28, 2017, 10:33 PM
Apr 2017

He has had cough, chills, fever and exhaustion. As of now it looks like there is really nothing that can be done. The infection has to run its course. The doctor said he has had many patients with these symptoms and they can come and go for months.

malaise

(267,845 posts)
20. Go to the pharmacy and ask for menthol crystals
Sat Apr 29, 2017, 07:09 AM
Apr 2017

Pour boiling water over half a teaspoon and cover his head with a towel. Let him inhale hard five times - lift towel - repeat ten times. Repeat the procedure three times a day for two days. He'll cough up most of the awful stuff. Tell his doctor. I was shocked at how well this works.

Hekate

(90,202 posts)
13. I had walking pneumonia once that lasted that long in high school. Mom finally woke up...
Fri Apr 28, 2017, 11:06 PM
Apr 2017

...and took me to the doctor, who scolded me and made me listen to my own chest. The doc didn't mess around-- he gave me lots of antibiotics, and I finally got better.

The moral of this story is, go see a doctor. You might even end up with a chest x-ray to rule out some stuff.

If infection is ruled out, I suggest an allergist. Finally going to one as an adult sure helped with a lot of my respiratory symptoms.

If global climate change has anything to do with what ails you, it could be masses of things (weeds, trees) pollinating earlier and longer, and various molds doing the same. Again, an allergist may be able to help.

Good luck!

Nay

(12,051 posts)
15. I rarely have colds, but this last winter I've had 4 in a row. 4! Same stuff you had --
Fri Apr 28, 2017, 11:18 PM
Apr 2017

congested head, tearing, nasal drip, incessant coughing.

The last time I caught it I was on a month-long RV trip to Texas' Big Bend National Park. As we traveled toward the park I got worse and worse, although I have to say it never got as bad as, say, the flu, but I still didn't feel good. I stopped at one of those private clinics in Louisiana, where the doc told me she had already seen a dozen cases of walking pneumonia. She gave me a steroid shot and 10 days of an antibiotic because she suspected that's what I might be developing. My lungs were clear, but the other symptoms, plus the fact I couldn't shake the stuff through 4 bouts of it, made her aggressive with treatment.

I took all my meds, started feeling pretty good in 48 hours, and have not had a recurrence.

Go see a doctor and tell her you've had it four times; that usually clues them in, even if your lungs sound clear.

mvd

(65,148 posts)
16. Hope you get better! It seems it IS more prevalent. Not good
Fri Apr 28, 2017, 11:22 PM
Apr 2017

My mom still has a cough from something in February. I had a cold for a long time last Feb and got sick again last April. Have been fortunate this winter/spring. Wish I knew what it is.

3catwoman3

(23,820 posts)
17. Or go to your nurse practitioner.
Sat Apr 29, 2017, 12:57 AM
Apr 2017

Color of secretions is only part of the story. Color of the membranes that line the inside of the nose is just as significant, often more so. A healthy nose is about the same shade of pink inside as the inside of our cheeks. A nose that is bothered by allergy alone will typically have membranes that look quite pale and washed out - blue, gray lavender or even white. If a cold or sinus infection is part of things, the membrane will be quite red and angry looking.

Antihistamines (Claritin, Zyrtec, Allegra, Benadryl) do nothing for cold symptoms. They stop cells from releasing histamine, which is what causes all the allergy symptoms. Decongestants (Sudafed) constrict the capillaries in the nasal membrane, thereby decreasing the congestion and the amount of secretions.

Any antihistamine that has a suffix of "D" has Sudafed added to it - Zyrtec-D, etc.

There are times when coughs linger for weeks, and nothing much helps. I had 4 colds this fall and winter (occupational hazard from working in a pediatric office), and the final one was characterized by cough that lasted 6 weeks. Chest was clear, no fever, but the cough was stubborn. 2 courses of antibiotics didn't touch it. Finally, it just disappeared. I saw many patients who had the same things. Office visits for coughs have diminished over the last couple of weeks, finally.

Liberal In Texas

(13,457 posts)
18. Do like TamaFlu?
Sat Apr 29, 2017, 01:04 AM
Apr 2017

I just for the first time tried it when my wife came home with a bad cold or something. I caught it and decided to on an experiment to see if it worked. I started taking it. I think it actually worked.

At least I was a bit sick for 2 days, but on the 3rd or 4th it all started to clear up. I do think I had a bit of an upset stomach from it.


3catwoman3

(23,820 posts)
22. Tamiflu is a prescription med indicated for...
Sat Apr 29, 2017, 11:34 AM
Apr 2017

...treatment and prevention of influenza. It must be started within 48 hours of first symptoms in order to treat, and can be given prophylactically to family members of someone diagnosed with influenza.

Our practice would never prescribe it for cold symptoms. Are we talking about the same med?

mnhtnbb

(31,322 posts)
19. Both my husband and I have had the lingering forever cough/colds this winter.
Sat Apr 29, 2017, 05:38 AM
Apr 2017

Although mine was mostly head cold and nasal congestion rather than coughing. Lasted for weeks.

I noticed that when I started taking an anti-inflammatory for my arthritic knee (which is scheduled for knee replacement in July) several weeks ago,
my nasal congestion cleared up. Coincidence? I doubt it.

If your cough is continuing to return, you might want to see the doc to have it checked out.

Ilsa

(61,675 posts)
23. I know someone who has been fighting these symptoms for months.
Sat Apr 29, 2017, 11:36 AM
Apr 2017

I haven't talked to her in awhile, so I don't know what, if anything, was diagnosed. She may have had some kind of Fall allergy that kicked it off.

 

whistler162

(11,155 posts)
24. I had a lingering cough that lasted
Sat Apr 29, 2017, 12:02 PM
Apr 2017

4+ weeks and when I was just getting over it I got sick again so another 4+ weeks of coughing. My doctor said her cough lasted about the same.

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