The head/chest cold that won't go away

[MissMillie]

It's been a full week now, and I'm starting to really hate this. It has messed w/ my morning workout (who can work out when you're coughing up green chunky stuff?) and is certainly messing w/ my good nature.

It was all I could do to come to work today (I'll probably be alone in my office all day, so I don't worry about spreading it).

Someone, please help.

[shesemsmom]

1. I'm sorry to hear you are sick

but are you quite sure that you don't have pneumonia. What you are coughing up doesn't sound good. Best to see the Doctor.....ASAP
Get Well!!

[MissMillie]

4. I don't feel feverish

But I suppose I should check that. I imagine if I do have a fever, pneumonia is a possibility.

[Avalux]

2. You may have bronchitis

Are you having difficulty sleeping due to your cough? Are you taking any meds at all?

[MissMillie]

3. No, the cough doesn't keep me up

But when I wake up, it's pretty miserable.

I take Nyquil gel-tabs before going to bed. I've been sucking on sugar-free cough drops to coat my sore throat, and I've been forcing fluids (not easy to do considering my tummy will only hold about 4 oz at time).

[Avalux]

11. I'd suggest giving it a few more days -

sometimes a cold can take a couple of weeks to go away. Meanwhile, get an EXPECTORANT cough medicine - will help you get that nasty phlegm out faster. If you don't get any better, see your doc. You may have bronchitis and need antibiotics. Hope you feel better soon! :hi:

[DS1]

5. I've had one for the last three weeks

I think it's finally going away :grr:

[underpants]

10. Mine lasted about 10 days

then POOF it was gone

[Dora]

6. chunkies? greenies?

Maybe it might be worth a visit to the doctor, eh? I've always understood greenies to be a sign of infection. Of course, if you're coughing them up, at least they're leaving your body rather than hanging out.

If it was all you could do to come to work, then maybe you should drag your poor sick bod home.

Now here's my doting and directive self speaking: No smoking. No coffee. If you need hot bevs, then try hibiscus tea or microwave some apple juice with a cinnamon stick in it. And lots of water and juices. If you can remove dairy from your diet, please try it. It only adds to the phlegms. I'm a cereal lover myself, so I know how hard it is for some people to cut out dairy. If you're a meat eater, go for the chicken soup cure. Stay away from processed and fast foods. A good book and a cozy blanket. Slippers. Vitamin C.

Awww. I hope you feel better soon. Take care of that cold.

[MissMillie]

7. I quit smoking nearly 7 years ago

I am trying to force fluids, but as I said to someone else, I have a very tiny tummy now, so it's hards to get too much in.

I rely on dairy quite a bit, especially milk & cottage cheese, to get my protein in for the day.

I do talk a pretty beefy multi-vitamin every day, but I suppose I could try to get a little extra "C" in.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

8. That sucks!

Hope you feel better soon1

[thecrow]

9. 1000 mg of vitamin C each hour

Vitamin C 1000 mg really helps! It's like some sort of natural antibiotic.
What your body can't absorb it will throw off... no unpleasant side effects.

And if you can get it, try goldenseal herb tea. It tastes bad, so use honey or something to sweeten it. It helps the lungs. I had an unshakeable cold years ago and nothing worked but the goldenseal.

Good luck!
I hope you recover soon.

[XNASA]

12. I've got it too.

Since Saturday. Not feverish, and my appetite is good, but....

I sound like Phyllis Diller.

[Susang]

13. Arrgghhh!

Too many punchlines, I can't choose! :D

Sounds like you're feeling better anyway, even if you're sounding a little raspy. Should I buy you a feather boa and a cigarette holder for Xmas? }(

[MissMillie]

14. My sore throat makes me sound different too

Sort of like Kathleen Turner. (I won't complain about that.)

[skygazer]

15. Get thee to a doctor

Green chunks are never good. Take it from someone who has had pneumonia at least ten times (no joke). The first time, I didn't feel too horrid except that I had awful chest congestion and was coughing up green shit. So I kept doing my thing (which was raising two small kids) and put myself in the hospital because my body finally said 'enough already'. One day, I discovered I could barely breathe and there it was. It left me with chronic asthma and a succeptibility to lung infections.

Worth getting checked out if it's been a week. :hug:

[yellowdogintexas]

16. absolutely you have some kind of infection going on and you

need some antibiotics.

Green gunk is never good, especially if it is coming up from your chest.

and you don'thave to be coughing up stuff to have bronchitis/near pneumonia. From experience: I let a dried out annoying cough and tiredness linger and linger and woke up one morning w/fever of 103 and my hair hurt ! Nearly pneumonia, for sure. If I had dragged through the weekend to wait to see my regular doc, it would definitely have been pneumonia. I went to doc in the box, and they gave me antibiotics, an inhaler, expectorants and a scrip for presnidone to calm down the inflammation in the lungs (this is key if you have bronchitis!)

[MissMillie]

20. I always thought it was the yellow gunk

that I had to watch out for.

I don't yet have a fever, thankfully.

[yellowdogintexas]

22. green is worse than yellow

[ScreamingMeemie]

17. Slippery Elm Tea. I swear by it MissMillie. My son is taking it right

now. You can get it at a Health Food store and it really calms the cough and clears the sinuses. Feel Better! :hug:

[FellowAmerican]

18. You may need to see a doctor . . .

and get a good expectorant and drink lots of "hot totties." Strong tea with a shot of booze (Southern Comfort is the best!), lemon and honey. Keep warm and get plenty of sleep.

Hope you are better soon! Being sick really sucks!

[MissMillie]

19. can't have alcohol

I had some surgery a couple months back, and alcohol is out, for at least a few more months.

The rest of it sounds wonderful. I did hit the hay at 9:30 last night, and slept un-interrupted until 7:30 today.

[FellowAmerican]

21. I'm sure it is just as good

minus the "tottie" ;)