dry hacky cough

[grand17]

my husband had by pass surgery four wks ago, the papper work they gave at the hospital says he is in the warning sign if he has a dry hacky cough. he is coughing but not all the time. should i call the dr.

[Flycaster305]

Good point, Ed, about the throat tube.  It's a device that saved all of us when we had bypass, but was obviously designed by the devil.  

[ed34]

The trouble is, a cough can be a normal part of recovery, or a sign of an underlying problem. I had a cough for about a week, only due to the ventilator tube leaving my throat sore. It was a dry cough.
Erijon is correct, be safe, it isn't worth the risk.

[Smiley2000]

Hi there,

When I had my open-heart surgery (mitral valve) I was in heart-failure for more than a year post-op and had to get re-admitted a few times due to fluids on the lungs, fluid retention.  

A very good breathing exercise:  blow up a baloon!  let him do that a few times a day and check him for signs of fluid retention (ancles, face, hands) and let him see a Doctor to make sure he is not in heart-failure.

[Flycaster305]

By all means, I'd suggest he contact his doctor.  However, after my bypass surgery, I had a tendency to cough for a couple of months.  Is he still doing the breathing exercises?  Also, is the cough worse at night or when he is lying down?  If fluid is collecting abnormally in the lungs, lying down will cause a lot of coughing.

[erijon]

Yes, place a call to the doctor's answering service, play it safe.

Jon