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7267. thoughtful - 2/26/2008 10:34:10 PM Cough, cough, cough.
Hubby and I are both still coughing. He came down with the flu first and I followed on about 5 days later. We spent 2 days with fever of 102 and another 2 days with fever of 100 and finally the fever broke, but the cough lingers on for both of us.
Actually, he's been coughing since he got a cold before xmas which never really went away. My cough from my xmas cold (which I also got from him) ended in early Feb only to be followed on a week later with this flu thing.
cough cough cough
He had his lungs x-rayed and they're clear but this cough lingers on. So annoying. Not enough to keep us up all night long, not enough to cause worry or warrant dr visit, but enough to just be annoying.
cough cough cough
Hurry spring! 7268. wonkers2 - 2/27/2008 1:05:24 AM I have the same problem every winter when I spend most of my time inside. A couple of years ago I saw an ear-nose-throat doctor who gave me a bunch of tests but was unable to help my problem or even give me a credible diagnosis. And he tried to talk me into surgery for a deviated septum which I rejected on the spot. 7269. arkymalarky - 2/27/2008 1:30:04 AM If you have a deviated septum, Wonk, you'll probably have problems until you correct it. Bro had it, and finally got pneumonia, which is when he decided on the surgery. 7270. arkymalarky - 2/27/2008 1:33:14 AM Also, you might try an allergist rather than an ENT doctor, or even try a daily antihistimine, at least during the winter months. 7271. robertjayb - 2/27/2008 3:21:30 AM As I've said here before, having my deviated septum repaired was the best doctor money ever spent. 7272. wonkers2 - 2/27/2008 3:32:07 AM Thanks for the comments. I guess I'll have to do some Internet research on deviated septum. I think I can breath normally through both nostrils at the same time and separately, most of the time, except during the winter when I have nasal congestion and bronchitis occasionally. What harm is my deviated septum causing me. The doctor brought it up but didn't really explain it. And he didn't press hard for me to have the surgery. ??? 7273. arkymalarky - 2/27/2008 5:20:23 AM Bro's problem was that, way back in his nose, drainage wasn't flowing, and his sinuses were draining into his bronchial tubes and lungs and staying chronically infected. I imagine it's a manner of degrees, and Robert sounds more like Bro was. I know doctors sometimes press for surgery when it may not be needed.
I've been sick much less since treating my allergies, but I've never been to an ear nose and throat doctor. I was always afraid they'd try to get me to have that surgery, but if I felt bad enough, I'm sure I'd go for it. Ugh. 7274. wonkers2 - 2/27/2008 6:07:28 AM I considered seeing an allergist, but I've heard mixed reports about them, too. The older I get the more skeptical I'm getting about doctors and hospitals who strike me as being similar in certain respects to transmission repair shops. 7275. arkymalarky - 2/27/2008 6:34:04 AM Me too, but if you truly have allergies, there's nothing experimental about antihistimines, which are some of the oldest medicines around. As for my allergy shots, they do work over time, and insurance does pay for them. I've noticed a huge difference with and without them, but only after months of regular shots. My allergies had really gotten debilitating without treatment, with constant bad headaches, nose bleeds, chronic infections, and respiratory problems. I was miserable 24/7 by the time I went to an allergist at the suggestion of my regular doctor, who'd been treating me with antihistimines and antibiotics for literally decades. 7276. wonkers2 - 2/27/2008 3:12:07 PM My symptoms are nowhere near that severe--nasal congestion, coughing and spitting for three months or so in winter. Not enough for surgery or allergy shots. 7277. Wombat - 2/27/2008 5:46:43 PM My wife had frequent sinus infections (and her snoring was like the Queen Mary's foghorn) until she had her deviated septum repaired. No more sinus infections (and the snoring now is more like a train passing in the distance--she claims my snoring is worse, but I have never heard myself snore!) 7278. judithathome - 2/27/2008 6:44:20 PM That's the problem with snoring...just as a skunk can't smell himself, we can't hear our own snores. My mother swore on a Bible that she did not snore.
That is, until my son tape-recorded her one evening after she fell asleep on a camping trip. Was she ever embarrassed! I rememberd that and never claim that I don't snore...because I know I do. I wake myself up at times doing it. 7279. thoughtful - 2/27/2008 6:48:55 PM Even our cat snores...and he can be loud! 7280. wonkers2 - 2/27/2008 7:30:49 PM How complicated is surgery for a deviated septum? Out patient or in patient. Painful recovery? Maybe I should check into it. 7281. robertjayb - 2/27/2008 9:42:18 PM In-patient. The procedure and the recovery were not particularly painful but uncomfortable. The discomfort was due mostly to the splints (plastic tubes) inserted in each nostril. I did a lot of whining, I recall. Mostly I was pissed at myself for not having the operation years earlier. 7282. arkymalarky - 2/27/2008 10:21:04 PM I would whine a lot. Bro thought he was going to suffocate. But he was very glad he did it.
If you have problems certain months of the year, Wonk, you could probably try Claritin or some other OTC antihistimine (I prefer Zyrtec, which has just gone OTC but makes you very drowsy until you get used to it), but you have to take it every day during the season for it to work on symptoms. That keeps the reactions and thus the symptoms and infections under control. It's the cheapest, easiest first step. 7283. arkymalarky - 2/27/2008 10:22:33 PM I would whine a lot. Bro thought he was going to suffocate. But he was very glad he did it.
If you have problems certain months of the year, Wonk, you could probably try Claritin or some other OTC antihistimine (I prefer Zyrtec, which has just gone OTC but makes you very drowsy until you get used to it), but you have to take it every day during the season for it to work on symptoms. That keeps the reactions and thus the symptoms and infections under control. It's the cheapest, easiest first step. 7284. arkymalarky - 2/27/2008 10:23:01 PM Sorry I keep hitting doubles, but my connection's acting up. 7285. alistairconnor - 2/28/2008 7:17:43 PM At our favourite Vietnamese restaurant the other weekend, my (Judaeo-Muslim) girlfriend was munching on a pigfoot when she broke a tooth.
Divine retribution? Anyway, she said it was no big deal because the tooth was already dead, but I made her go to see a dentist. And it turns out her jaw is rotten with abcesses, which probably explains a few things like migraines, and rheumatic type joint pain in the last couple of months.
Anyway, on Saturday she gets to spend some quality time in the dentist's chair : a six-hour operation to clean her up, under local anaesthetic. And she'll apparently come out looking like a pumpkin.
I've promised I'll make soup for her. 7286. arkymalarky - 2/29/2008 12:48:59 AM Abcesses are nothing to play with, since they can spread dangerous infection. Glad she's getting it dealt with. She'll feel much better, I bet. The worst pain Bob ever suffered was from an abcess he didn't know he had which had caused a horrible headache. When we took him to the emergency room with it he had no idea his tooth was a problem until the ER doctor got the idea--after looking him over for several minutes--to start tapping teeth. He almost hit the ceiling when she found the right one.
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