Dry cough advice/help/info?

[Dirty Don]

I have the dry cough, no mucous, no congestion...just those 'feelings'. Docs gave me the usuals (folic acid, nasal steroids, and the purple pill...all to no avail) , have another appt this Monday, we'll have a talk, but before I do, I'd love some help from you all!


Anyway, cough has worsened, don't smoke, seems to come at inopportune times and is random. Sometimes it appears a food has gone over the spots that 'itch'. Sometimes it's just a position I'm sitting in, and when I talk toooooooo much, it dries out in there and I cough. The coughs range from mild 'ahems' to violent, lung disturbing fits...none last more than a few minutes, but they are more frequent right now.

Thanks in advance, am looking forward to some ideas...this is getting irritating!

Don

[Al]

I have the dry cough, no mucous, no congestion...just those 'feelings'. Docs gave me the usuals (folic acid, nasal steroids, and the purple pill...all to no avail) , have another appt this Monday, we'll have a talk, but before I do, I'd love some help from you all!....

Hmmm...Thr are many kinds of and reasons for dry coughs, Don. In my cse, it is a bad sign: The ANCA are back, and my body is prepping for a flare. Can't say that is your situation, but you should mention it to the fine folks at Mayo.

Al

[Psyborg]

How are your airways Don? Those coughs are my primary symptom due to Tracheal and Bronchial Stenosis.

[Dirty Don]

Bob, doc's exams always say my airways are clear...which kind of surprises me at this juncture...you shoulda seen my lung x rays from August...looked like a white spider got loose in there! And I was intubated right up to the last possible moments. Some scar tissue, but no damage according to gastro who stuck last camera down there. OMG! I sometimes think I feel a bit swollen, but no choking, can swallow meds and foods, but there's an 'itch'/'scratch' area just above my vocal cords that seems to act up when food or turning or dryness gets too much. I don't have any stenosis at this time either. Then again, sometimes it's just random! Go figure!

Don

[Chris G]

For me the dry cough is a sign of a flare. Usually an early sign. If I increase my pred slightly, the cough clears up in days. I don't have lung involvement......the cough comes strictly from my throst. Unconfirmed stenosis in my opinion.....only because I've not been able to get scopepd while it's active. I know thet itching sensation you mention!!!

[Al]

For me the dry cough is a sign of a flare. Usually an early sign. If I increase my pred slightly, the cough clears up in days. I don't have lung involvement......the cough comes strictly from my throst. Unconfirmed stenosis in my opinion.....only because I've not been able to get scopepd while it's active. I know thet itching sensation you mention!!!

I get the itching too, when a flare is in the works, though I have no stenosis or other glottal involvement, and the lungs are pretty well behaved these days. For me, it is apparently a systemic thing, and time to take action.

Al