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Suggest Treatment For Cold With Chills, Cough, Headache, Breathing Difficulty And Fever
Posted on
Fri, 1 Jan 2016
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Fri, 1 Jan 2016
Answered on
Mon, 18 Jan 2016
Last reviewed on
Brief Answer:
it's better if her doctor examines her
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I've got some questions about her condition. Please describe in detail what "troubled breathing" means. Is she having shortness of breath? Is this discomfort due to congested nasal passages? Please clarify what you meant.
A general rule is that the most serious respiratory tract infections (pneumonia) are usually accompanied by high fever and rigors (severe trembling when the temperature is rising). Sometimes shortness of breath and pleuritic pain (chest or upper back pain during respiratory moves) may occur.
A runny and congested nose is more likely to be caused by a "simple" viral infection but that's not conclusive evidence.
The flu shots you've mentioned protect you against some strains of the influenza virus only (and the protection is not 100% efficient). The rest of the respiratory tract pathogens may be involved in infections in the vaccinated individual.
So if she has any of the aforementioned signs of severe infection like shortness of breath, pleuritic pain, rigors, etc then she has to seek medical help at once. Otherwise - although a more severe disease cannot be excluded - it's more likely to be suffering from one of the common respiratory tract infection that usually resolve by themselves without any complications. Even in that case, it would be better if a doctor assessed her condition but it wouldn't be so important as in the first case.
I hope you find my comments helpful!
You can contact me again, if you'd like any clarification or further information.
Kind Regards!
it's better if her doctor examines her
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I've got some questions about her condition. Please describe in detail what "troubled breathing" means. Is she having shortness of breath? Is this discomfort due to congested nasal passages? Please clarify what you meant.
A general rule is that the most serious respiratory tract infections (pneumonia) are usually accompanied by high fever and rigors (severe trembling when the temperature is rising). Sometimes shortness of breath and pleuritic pain (chest or upper back pain during respiratory moves) may occur.
A runny and congested nose is more likely to be caused by a "simple" viral infection but that's not conclusive evidence.
The flu shots you've mentioned protect you against some strains of the influenza virus only (and the protection is not 100% efficient). The rest of the respiratory tract pathogens may be involved in infections in the vaccinated individual.
So if she has any of the aforementioned signs of severe infection like shortness of breath, pleuritic pain, rigors, etc then she has to seek medical help at once. Otherwise - although a more severe disease cannot be excluded - it's more likely to be suffering from one of the common respiratory tract infection that usually resolve by themselves without any complications. Even in that case, it would be better if a doctor assessed her condition but it wouldn't be so important as in the first case.
I hope you find my comments helpful!
You can contact me again, if you'd like any clarification or further information.
Kind Regards!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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