Sitting here with a cough that gets worse at night the past three nights. Tight and bronchial. Feel pretty good during the day. SO what works? Is mucinex any good? I DO have some Captain Morgan I am about to try!

I'm blaming my flu shot. lol

lots of ethanol

Mucinex is excellent, but make sure you hydrate. I drink hot chicken broth with lemon to help, too.

Mucinex DM works well for me. Delsum syrup is also the tits. But don't mix the two.

And even though it's old school, keeping my room humid is one of the things that helped me sleep at night when I had pneumonia in January.

It sounds like it's in your chest, but if the cough is being caused at all by post nasal drip, saline nasal rinses are great, too. Just don't do it within half an hour or so of laying down.

I hate taking a drug for the first time so wanted some TESTIMONY....(the only good kind)...now I'm on topic.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2014 11:11PM by steve benson.

Mucinex is wonderful. I swear by it. Got it the first time from my allergist.

Honey, citrus juice and some warm water. Mix well and drink. You can add brandy or Scotch, if you wish.

I do this but I add some fresh ginger slices and a dash of cayenne pepper. It's actually quite yummy.

I forgot one- Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar with warm water and honey or another sweetener helps.

Do you have any evidence for that claim, anonow?

Family tradition:

Brandy, honey in a mug. Sqeeze a lemon into it, add the rind, then top off with boiling water.

Doesn't cure anything, but helps me to feel better.

Lilith Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sitting here with a cough that gets worse at night
> the past three nights. Tight and bronchial. Feel
> pretty good during the day. SO what works? Is
> mucinex any good? I DO have some Captain Morgan I
> am about to try!
>
> I'm blaming my flu shot. lol


I happen to know a bit about this topic, being a pharmacist and all. The persistent cough is probably cough-variant asthma. This can persist for weeks following a simple cold. It is usually well-controlled by albuterol, which is a prescription medication, usually taken as an inhaler. There are other drugs in the same class- longer lasting, but usually more expensive.

Plain Mucinex is guaifenesin. So is plain Robitussin. This is a mucus loosener. It works best when accompanied by plenty of water. Some studies suggets that the water does most of the work.

Dextromethorphan is a cough suppressant for non-asthma-mediated coughs. It is the DM in Mucinex DM and lots of other products, and is the main ingredient in Delsym. Delsym is a 12-hour formulation. Try Delsym, and if it works, fine. If not, think about albuterol.


Note that it makes no difference what brand you buy. Turn the box over and read the actual ingredient listing. The dextromethorphan in Mucinex DM is the same as the dextromethorphan in Robitussin DM or any other product, with the exception of Delsym which, as I said, is a slow-release formulation. It also makes no difference whether you buy the name brand or the store brand. The only difference is the price. They all get their dextromethorphan (or other ingredient) from the same factory and put it in their own box.

For non-asthma coughs, there are stronger prescription-only remedies.

So each ingredient does exactly what it is supposed to do. If you need your mucus loosened, get a mucus loosener. If you have a cough, get a cough suppressor. If you have a stuffy nose, get a decongestant. Like I said, it makes absolutely no difference what brand you get. Nyquil (or whatever) is not some special super-secret amazing product from some exotic source. It is simply a mixture of several ingredients, each of which does exactly what it says on the box. Dayquil is simply Nyquil minus the antihistamine. And so on.

And no, it's not your flu shot. You picked up a virus (it only takes one actual virus organism!) from a doorknob or something,

The best way is to ask your local pharmacist.

I hope this helps.

I knew the rest of that info but the albuterol inhaler is new to me for coughs following a cold. From now On I will ask for that. It IS an asthma like cough with wheezing and feeling out of breath.

Don't blame the flu shot.
I swear by NyQuil. Nyquil along with Throat Numbing Spray. Feel better fast OK?
I was real sick a few weeks ago so I know what you're dealing with. It is awful.
Stay warm and use a humidifier if possible.

I also use Nyquil. It also works with a small dose to put you to sleep. By a small dose, about a fourth of the dose recommended.

Lilith Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sitting here with a cough that gets worse at night
> the past three nights. Tight and bronchial. Feel
> pretty good during the day. SO what works? Is
> mucinex any good? I DO have some Captain Morgan I
> am about to try!
>
> I'm blaming my flu shot. lol

in my very non medical opinion, mucinex is a very bad idea. Your body creates mucus to carry away the virus. It's supposed to help you. If you take a drug that reduces mucus, that is just prolonging your illness and blocking your bodies natural defenses. I would embrace mucus and let it carry it away. Tissue with lotion is your friend.

Tupperwhere Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Lilith Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Sitting here with a cough that gets worse at
> night
> > the past three nights. Tight and bronchial.
> Feel
> > pretty good during the day. SO what works? Is
> > mucinex any good? I DO have some Captain Morgan
> I
> > am about to try!
> >
> > I'm blaming my flu shot. lol
>
> in my very non medical opinion, mucinex is a very
> bad idea. Your body creates mucus to carry away
> the virus. It's supposed to help you. If you take
> a drug that reduces mucus, that is just prolonging
> your illness and blocking your bodies natural
> defenses. I would embrace mucus and let it carry
> it away. Tissue with lotion is your friend.

Mucinex doesn't eliminate mucus. It makes it more runny, which usually helps it to move things along.

Yep, just makes it so the mucus stops gumming everything up. When the mucus is thinner and wetter, you can actually cough it out. Mucinex DM has been a lifesaver for me, as I always end up with a horrible cough and bronchitis every time I catch a virus.

The other thing that helps (in my experience, at least) is peppermint oil. It's a natural bronchodilator. I use it for bronchitis or mild asthma symptoms, and it works really well. I either hold the bottle under my nose for a few minutes, or apply some to my neck and wrists. As long as you can smell it, it works fine. And no need to buy any expensive essential oils or anything. You can just use the kind from Walmart that's intended for flavoring candy. It's about $2.50 for two bottles, and that will last through at least several colds.

Ever since I had a virus in 8th grade where I coughed all winter, any virus I get ends up this way. So I appreciate that someone else gets that too!

I'm making a list of all these ideas.

I liked the combination of drugs and home remedies. I believe in using both as needed.

Due to chronic nosebleeds, I can't ever blow my nose, so it's horrible when I get a cold.

I swear by nasal rinses. It not only clears you out, helping you to feel more comfortable, but it makes the cold clear out faster too.

I think it helps you get less colds as well. And then you're not taking those awful cold medicines, which tell you not to take them with asthma anyway.

What Anonow said above works for us...as soon as we notice a cold is starting, we pop a zinc losenge [Cold eez, whatever] in our mouth. But you have to start them asap. Every 3 hours when awake for the first 3 days. Our colds usually are much shorter than they used to be. I also stop drinking milk and drink a lot of water.

You could try the Colorado Cure, which is not really a cure but a distraction.

Zinc...

Zinc lozenges popped into your mouth at the first (very first) signs of a cold will kill the virus on contact. They will also help shorten your cold if you don't catch it quickly enough at the onset of symptoms.

As I recall it was first discovered at North Carolina University around 15 years ago. I read about it in Scientific American Magazine and started using it. I haven't had a cold in 15 years since using zinc lozenges and I normally had two colds a year before that.

Don't swallow zinc tablet supplements...they made me throw up. Zinc lozenges...either Cold-EZE or the generic brand Albertsons sells (which taste better and are cheaper).

I take 1 vitamin B100 and 5000I.U. of vit. D3 every day...and when I feel something coming on I put 5 drops of Oil of Oregano under my tongue. It's nasty and burns like hell for 2 minutes but it keeps me healthy. Never found the ColdFX (or whatever it's called in the US) ginseng junk to be worth a damn. Hot buttered rum toddy's keep me happy.

Ron Burr

I've been in bed for 4 days. It's getting a bit better each day.

I get in the hot tub 3 times a day. I take nyquil at bedtime. I've been drinking tons of water.

I figure i'll be over it in 7 days no matter what I do. I'm trying to ease the misery in the meantime.

This is the second cold i've had in 10 years. I made the mistake of eating food at a huge buffet for St. Paddy's day. I figure someone who was working with the food was sick. There's no way to avoid it if that's the case. I do try to avoid restaurants in the cold and flu season. The problem being they don't pay their help sick time.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/23/2014 02:49AM by madalice.

I read that when you put Vaporub on the bottom of your feet at night (with a pair of socks), it helps with the cough and no one knows why. My son tried it and said it helped. Usually I use Robitussin (or generic) that includes cough suppressant and expectorant.