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Vestiges of Whooping Cough?
Hello, I'm a 24-year-old with a dry cough problem.
I got whooping cough about 4 years ago. It wasn't diagnosed right away, so it got pretty bad (airways closing almost completely at night during a coughing fit, etc.).
Anyway ... since then, I've noticed that I tend to develop a dry cough during or after almost every cold.
Like right now, I'm getting over a cold. I'm no longer congested and achey. I had a brief bout of productive coughing, but now it's just dry and PERSISTENT. I'm coughing every few minutes.
It gets absolutely tiring. DayQuil has done nothing. Delsym has been fairly effective, but not completely.
Last winter I had the same problem -- (I was coughing for at least 2-3 weeks after a cold ended), and my doctor prescribed benzonatate. It helped quite a bit. He said that my whooping cough could have "scarred"(?) my airways and therefore make me more prone to bouts of dry coughing.
So my question is:
Is this true? And if so, what would be the best long-term remedy? These WEEKS of dry coughing after colds is getting really old (and physically exhausting), and I don't know if I should be chugging Delsym every time it happens. Should I get a hefty prescription of benzonatate or a different cough suppressant? I just don't know why this is happening to me, and not my older Mom or Dad (who also got whooping cough when I did).
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
I got whooping cough about 4 years ago. It wasn't diagnosed right away, so it got pretty bad (airways closing almost completely at night during a coughing fit, etc.).
Anyway ... since then, I've noticed that I tend to develop a dry cough during or after almost every cold.
Like right now, I'm getting over a cold. I'm no longer congested and achey. I had a brief bout of productive coughing, but now it's just dry and PERSISTENT. I'm coughing every few minutes.
It gets absolutely tiring. DayQuil has done nothing. Delsym has been fairly effective, but not completely.
Last winter I had the same problem -- (I was coughing for at least 2-3 weeks after a cold ended), and my doctor prescribed benzonatate. It helped quite a bit. He said that my whooping cough could have "scarred"(?) my airways and therefore make me more prone to bouts of dry coughing.
So my question is:
Is this true? And if so, what would be the best long-term remedy? These WEEKS of dry coughing after colds is getting really old (and physically exhausting), and I don't know if I should be chugging Delsym every time it happens. Should I get a hefty prescription of benzonatate or a different cough suppressant? I just don't know why this is happening to me, and not my older Mom or Dad (who also got whooping cough when I did).
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Your problem is more common than you might think. First, the bad news: almost everyone that has had a severe lung infection/virus tends to be predisposed to lung issues going forward. By that I mean the lungs tend to be the weak link in the chain every time you get a viral challenge and/or are more sensitive to temperature changes. In part this is due to scarring, but there is much more to it. So the next time a virus goes through town you stand a higher chance of it settling in your lungs (more-so than the general population).
Benzonatate is the perfect treatment for the dry persistent cough and can be taken for years without a problem. It is generic, non-habit forming and easy on the system. It is written more than any other cough treatment in our office and our patients love it. It works by stopping the signal at the stretch receptor on the lungs that start the cough reflex. One common problem I see with benzonatate, is that many doctors under prescribe the milligram dosing. The dosing guidelines were changed to reflect a more effective dosing but that info did not reach many of the doctors for some reason. The new dosing is: In children or those under 100 lbs. dosing is 100mg every 4 to 6 hours as needed. For adults dosing is 200-400mg every 4 to 6 hours as needed. They came out with a 200mg dose a few years back to make it easier, but many doctors are still not aware it exists.
I hope this helps.
Benzonatate is the perfect treatment for the dry persistent cough and can be taken for years without a problem. It is generic, non-habit forming and easy on the system. It is written more than any other cough treatment in our office and our patients love it. It works by stopping the signal at the stretch receptor on the lungs that start the cough reflex. One common problem I see with benzonatate, is that many doctors under prescribe the milligram dosing. The dosing guidelines were changed to reflect a more effective dosing but that info did not reach many of the doctors for some reason. The new dosing is: In children or those under 100 lbs. dosing is 100mg every 4 to 6 hours as needed. For adults dosing is 200-400mg every 4 to 6 hours as needed. They came out with a 200mg dose a few years back to make it easier, but many doctors are still not aware it exists.
I hope this helps.
Hey sorry to hear about what's going on- that is so ANNOYING!
I had whooping cough too when I was 24 I think too. And I haven't had any problems. What I can tell you though is when I was younger I had pneumonia bad, turning blue, paramedics, my lungs were 85% filled I think, I was in 3rd grade and spent 2 weeks in the hospital. I had never been able to breathe right or play sports without being short of breath, cold weather I cough/ hard to breathe. I asked my gp about it, and if there was a correlation. He said because of the severity and the duration [just the extent it went to], I probably have lung scarring. He gave me an inhaler. and that was it. I never thought to ask anyone cause it doesn't impact me a lot, but I guess it does happen.
Have you seen an ENT? Or got a few different opinions? Imaging?
Not sure if this helped, and there are some anti spasticity medicines [wanted to put me on one] they are suppose to make you a little foggy, but they might help relax the constant spasm.
You might need to think outside the box, let me know any other info you have! Take care!
I had whooping cough too when I was 24 I think too. And I haven't had any problems. What I can tell you though is when I was younger I had pneumonia bad, turning blue, paramedics, my lungs were 85% filled I think, I was in 3rd grade and spent 2 weeks in the hospital. I had never been able to breathe right or play sports without being short of breath, cold weather I cough/ hard to breathe. I asked my gp about it, and if there was a correlation. He said because of the severity and the duration [just the extent it went to], I probably have lung scarring. He gave me an inhaler. and that was it. I never thought to ask anyone cause it doesn't impact me a lot, but I guess it does happen.
Have you seen an ENT? Or got a few different opinions? Imaging?
Not sure if this helped, and there are some anti spasticity medicines [wanted to put me on one] they are suppose to make you a little foggy, but they might help relax the constant spasm.
You might need to think outside the box, let me know any other info you have! Take care!
It might be a simple case of your larynx being dry. try breating some steam from a boiling pot and driking lots of water (no tea or soda it makes things worse. I really don't know though. I have cousins that have the same issue and they are mearly toddlers. I heard that stuff in your house like, mold, CO2 build up, dust etc can cause a similar thing. Try the steam thing first though and see how you feel. Larynx noddle can cause a persistent cough.
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