Monday, December 03, 2007

Coughing

I have had a cold, which turned to laryngitis which I believe is now bronchitis. I'm exhausted. I want to sleep but get these coughing fits and can't catch my breath. I'm really, really tired of it. Now, Kai is coughing with his second cold ever and he just finished his first one. Gary started taking echinacea tonight because his throat is sore again. When will this ever end? Right now it is 1am and I can't sleep because I keep coughing and the humidifier and cough medicine and puffer don't work. Kai is coughing and I've never given him cough medicine and I don't know if he's too young to have it. THis reminds me, he's 16 months old today, I will have to do a post on that. Really, I'm not trying to complain but I'm really wanting my old lungs back. Anyone have this bronchitis going around? HOw long did it take? I'm at 12 days so far..please, tell me it'll be gone soon!!!!!

2 comments:

  1. Sorry you guys are sick! No cough medicine for kids: it's marketed as safe but isn't, and the diphenhydramine that is in most anti-tussives (cough meds) is proven NOT to be an effective cough stopper! If he develops croup there are meds for that but otherwise coughs should be left alone or treated with humidifier or cold air.
    Side effects for diphenhydramine include:
    drowsiness
    dizziness
    dry mucous membranes
    nervousness
    nausea
    thickening of bronchial mucosa

    also, coughs are nature's way of moving sputum...if it isn't moved it reduces their ability to move oxygen from their lungs to their bloodstream, and increases their chances of more serious infections developing, such as pneumonia.

    hopefully I don't sound too preachy! Medicine interests me, and diphenhydramine (the active ingredient in most anti-tussives) is a drug we give for allergic reactions so I know a bit about it.
    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. p.s. sleeping semi-sitting helps, too, for nighttime coughs!

    ReplyDelete