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Suggest Treatment For Nasal Discharge And Productive Cough
Question: I have what seems like a head/chest cold/Alergy. Blowing out my nose tellow phlegm and coughing up the same. I get tired easy also. I have had this 2 weeks now and drags on
Brief Answer:
infection most likely
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
Infections and allergies are the most common causes of nasal discharge and productive cough.
Since your symptoms have been occurring for a few weeks and there is a slight colour to the discharge, then infection is more likely.
The infection can be viral or bacterial Viral is more common but if you continue to have symptoms for an additional week then your doctor may consider adding oral antibiotics in the event that there is a bacterial aspect.
In terms of current treatment , you may want to consider: (1) mucolytic- this would break up the mucus in the chest ,nasal passages and sinuses.
Examples are bisolvan, mucomyst, robotussin
In the initial stages of a mucolytic the coughing may increase as the mucus breaks up and starts to be expelled more
(2) oral and topical decongestants to reduce any nasal congestion. Topical decongestants such as otrivine can be used for 3 to 5 days.
Oral deccongestants are pseudoephedrine or phenylephrine.
(3)anti histamine- this can also be helpful, there are some medications that may have a combination of all of the above
These are available over the counter
(4)steam inhalation would also be effective in helping to treat the nasal secretions.
(5) if the coughing is very disturbing then you can also obtain a cough suppressant over the counter
If with treatment, there is no improvement of symptoms after 1 week to 10 days, then your doctor may consider adding antibiotics to this regimen.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
infection most likely
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
Infections and allergies are the most common causes of nasal discharge and productive cough.
Since your symptoms have been occurring for a few weeks and there is a slight colour to the discharge, then infection is more likely.
The infection can be viral or bacterial Viral is more common but if you continue to have symptoms for an additional week then your doctor may consider adding oral antibiotics in the event that there is a bacterial aspect.
In terms of current treatment , you may want to consider: (1) mucolytic- this would break up the mucus in the chest ,nasal passages and sinuses.
Examples are bisolvan, mucomyst, robotussin
In the initial stages of a mucolytic the coughing may increase as the mucus breaks up and starts to be expelled more
(2) oral and topical decongestants to reduce any nasal congestion. Topical decongestants such as otrivine can be used for 3 to 5 days.
Oral deccongestants are pseudoephedrine or phenylephrine.
(3)anti histamine- this can also be helpful, there are some medications that may have a combination of all of the above
These are available over the counter
(4)steam inhalation would also be effective in helping to treat the nasal secretions.
(5) if the coughing is very disturbing then you can also obtain a cough suppressant over the counter
If with treatment, there is no improvement of symptoms after 1 week to 10 days, then your doctor may consider adding antibiotics to this regimen.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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