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Suggest Treatment For Cold, Cough And Shortness Of Breath
Question: I have had a cold, lots of coughing and now I have shortness of breath. I am 58 years old and have been in good health. Should I go see a doctor or can I get a over the counter breathing treatment?
Brief Answer:
Being short of breath you will need to have a visit with a doctor
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thank you for asking at HCM.
I carefully read your question and understand your concern.
Cough can be caused due to several causes. We are now in the flu season and this might be a very likely cause of bad cough that lasts for a while.
Other viral infections of the respiratory tract might be the cause also.
In a few patients pneumonia might develop and cough gets worse.
Cough in itself can not give us enough clues to as what the cause of it might be. Other accompanying symptoms might help us in understanding the reason of the cough.
If you have had fever for more than 3-4 days, feel tired, have chest pain and feel tight in your chest or are short of breath- these are all symptoms that increase the likelihood of a more important infection like pneumonia.
I would say that you will need to have a visit with a doctor if you feel short of breath. Checking your lungs the doctor will better decide if you need other tests to rule out pneumonia. There may be a few investigations like chest X-ray and a CBC with CRP might be needed.
Meanwhile make sure you take amplerest and drink plenty. If you are smoking you will need to quit. Guaifenesin syrup might help make the cough easier but still the cough is a protective mechanism of the body that helps to clean the airways and we do not prefer give medications against it but try to identify the cause of the cough and treat the cause of it.
I hope this answers to your question and is helpful to you but please feel free to ask if anymore clarifications are needed.
I wish you quick improvement
Kind Regards
Dr Antoneta Zotaj
Being short of breath you will need to have a visit with a doctor
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thank you for asking at HCM.
I carefully read your question and understand your concern.
Cough can be caused due to several causes. We are now in the flu season and this might be a very likely cause of bad cough that lasts for a while.
Other viral infections of the respiratory tract might be the cause also.
In a few patients pneumonia might develop and cough gets worse.
Cough in itself can not give us enough clues to as what the cause of it might be. Other accompanying symptoms might help us in understanding the reason of the cough.
If you have had fever for more than 3-4 days, feel tired, have chest pain and feel tight in your chest or are short of breath- these are all symptoms that increase the likelihood of a more important infection like pneumonia.
I would say that you will need to have a visit with a doctor if you feel short of breath. Checking your lungs the doctor will better decide if you need other tests to rule out pneumonia. There may be a few investigations like chest X-ray and a CBC with CRP might be needed.
Meanwhile make sure you take amplerest and drink plenty. If you are smoking you will need to quit. Guaifenesin syrup might help make the cough easier but still the cough is a protective mechanism of the body that helps to clean the airways and we do not prefer give medications against it but try to identify the cause of the cough and treat the cause of it.
I hope this answers to your question and is helpful to you but please feel free to ask if anymore clarifications are needed.
I wish you quick improvement
Kind Regards
Dr Antoneta Zotaj
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Arnab Banerjee
Answered by
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