Hack Your Cough

How to recognize winter’s secret danger — and how to get it off your chest

Most of us come down with some kind of cough every winter, and over the years we’ve learned to live with this. But a cough that lasts more than two weeks — or is accompanied by a high fever, shortness of breath, chest pain or coughing up blood — needs prompt attention, particularly during the winter months, when influenza is rampant. With age, our immune defenses weaken and subtle physiological changes in our lungs make us more susceptible to illnesses.
"As you get older, it’s more likely a winter cough is something bad,” says David Beuther, M.D., chief medical information officer at National Jewish Health in Denver, a leading respiratory hospital. After age 65, there’s an increased risk for serious complications from the flu — such as pneumonia, heart inflammation, kidney failure or sepsis. Up to 70 percent of people hospitalized for wintertime flus are 65 and older, and this age group suffers 85 percent of flu-related deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Yet as Sonntag’s case shows, you can run into these problems at an even younger age. Today Sonntag advises friends to always wash their hands — and even shower and change their clothes — after visiting a hospital or nursing home, where he thinks he picked up his bug. “It sounds extreme, though I believe it’s helpful,” he says. He’s up to date on his pneumonia vaccines and gets the flu vaccine every year. “I never really considered getting any shots prior to this health emergency, but I am a firm believer in them now,” he adds. “Nobody should go through something like what I went through.” In addition to those precautions, it helps to fully understand what your winter cough might mean — and when to see a physician.

What's Ailing You?

Common Cold
What it feels like:  A sore throat and runny nose, followed by up to 10 days of coughing and sneezing.
It could be:  A common cold - basically a viral infection that's spread through the air, from shaking hands or by touching a surface such as a doorknob that has viruses on it, then touching your eyes, mouth or nose.
What to do:  Get lots of rest and drink plenty of fluids.  Over-the-Counter medicines may soothe symptoms but won't shorten the sickness.


Flu
What it feels like:  A cough (dry or with clear phlegm) accompanied by a sudden high fever, chills, body aches, sore throat, fatigue and general misery.
It could be:  The flu.  "Influenza tends to come on like a truck," says Pulmonologist Todd Astor of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
What to do:  Get to a doctor ASAP.  If you start taking an antiviral medication such as TAMIFLU within 48 hours, it shortens your misery by a day and may reduce your risk for serious complications.


Pneumonia
What it feels like:  A cough (often with yellow or green phlegm) accompanied by a fever, shaking chills, difficulty breathing, chest pain, weakness and occasionally mental confusion.
It could be:  Pneumonia, an infection of one or both lungs that causes their air sacs to fill up with fluid.
What to do:  See your doctor, who may take an x-ray and prescribe an antibiotic.  Some types of pneumonia will put you in the hospital:  others, such as "walking pneumonia," don't make you as sick.


Bronchitis
What it feels like:  A cough (often with phlegm but not always), soreness in the chest and a fever.
It could be:  Bronchitis.  This is what people often refer to as a chest cold.  It's inflammation of the bronchial tubes - the airways of the lungs swell and produce mucus, making you cough.
What to do:  See your doctor (especially if you have a fever), who may take an X-ray to rule out pneumonia.  Drink plenty of fluids, and breathe in steam from a hot shower.


Pertussis
What it feels like:  Uncontrollable, violent coughing that makes it hard to breathe, forcing you to inhale deeply, often making a "whooping" sound.  Other signs include a runny nose and a low-grade fever.
It could be:  Whooping cough, or pertussis.  A highly contagious respiratory disease, it's caused by bacteria that make your airways swell.
What to do:  See your physician for antibiotics ASAP - you won't get as sick if you start taking them in the first couple of weeks of having a symptoms.


www.aarp.org | AARP The Magazine | Article by Lisa Haney