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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Strep Throat Along With Shortness Of Breath And Cough?

My sister has been sick, here are symptoms. Mid July had strep throat, then broncitus and was put on a Z Pac for 10 days which didn t clear up the illness. She has shortness of breath laying on her side and when she gets up in the morning she has a hard time breathing and has been using a paper bag to breath in for the first 30 plus minutes after waking. She is coughing up green and then yellow mucus, about 1/2 to 1 cup every morning. She has to wait until she is done coughing to shower as the hot steam makes breathing worse. She has been extremely tired in the last few months and she has lost 30 pounds since mid July. She has no appetite. She does not have blue fingernails and her bowel movements are normal, no black stools or diarrhea. She is a smoker and has cut down, she is now at or below 1 pack a day. She went back to her family physician and he now prescribed a steroid but he has never ordered a chest xray. She is on Obama care and must pay $130 per doctor visit. RECAP: *Weight loss - 30 pounds in approximately 3 months *Loss of appetite *Difficulty breathing *Cough, green and yellow mucus *Extreme fatigue Z Pac for 10 days ineffective No chest xray to date Steroid to start on 9/14/17 Looking for professional opinions please!
Wed, 15 Nov 2017
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Hi, I have thoroughly read your question. I am sorry to know that your sister is not feeling well. And thanks for providing such a detailed history about your sister's condition.

After going through the history and signs and symptoms, it seems that your sister needs more investigations to find out the cause/s of her breathlessness and cough with sputum. A chest X-ray is an important investigation in majority of patients with lung problem as it can give very valuable information about the lungs and other structures in the chest. If she was my patient, I would certainly ordered a chest film for her. She may also need lung function tests to look for any obstructive diseases such as Asthma or COPD.

Alongside other investigations, It is also recommended that her sputum be examined for any bug or other types of cells. This would guide any further management. The signs and symptoms like, loss of appetite, weight loss, breathing with difficulty and green/yellow mucus are all concerning for me. She needs more active and timely management of her condition. Z Pac alone many not be sufficient to treat all types of chest infections.

You mentioned that she has cut down on smoking which is really a good sign however, I would recommend that she abstain from smoking in view of her condition. There is a lot of help available for those who want to quit smoking.

Hope this helps. And please feel free to ask for any further clarification.
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What Causes Strep Throat Along With Shortness Of Breath And Cough?

Hi, I have thoroughly read your question. I am sorry to know that your sister is not feeling well. And thanks for providing such a detailed history about your sister s condition. After going through the history and signs and symptoms, it seems that your sister needs more investigations to find out the cause/s of her breathlessness and cough with sputum. A chest X-ray is an important investigation in majority of patients with lung problem as it can give very valuable information about the lungs and other structures in the chest. If she was my patient, I would certainly ordered a chest film for her. She may also need lung function tests to look for any obstructive diseases such as Asthma or COPD. Alongside other investigations, It is also recommended that her sputum be examined for any bug or other types of cells. This would guide any further management. The signs and symptoms like, loss of appetite, weight loss, breathing with difficulty and green/yellow mucus are all concerning for me. She needs more active and timely management of her condition. Z Pac alone many not be sufficient to treat all types of chest infections. You mentioned that she has cut down on smoking which is really a good sign however, I would recommend that she abstain from smoking in view of her condition. There is a lot of help available for those who want to quit smoking. Hope this helps. And please feel free to ask for any further clarification.