Quieting my cough
Mama and furbaby catching some zzzzs when they were both healthier.
Most of my posts lately have been about this crappy cold I have. Well, enough already, right? Yea, that’s what I am thinking. (But it ain’t over yet.)
This cold started Christmas night and still lingers. On Friday the cold moved to my chest.
The congestion in my head and nose is almost gone. But I have this annoying cough. I have tried so many different kind of medicines. I am thinking the Mucinex in liquid form is the best medicine so far. And the kinda yucky tasting generic honey lemon cough drops work pretty well.
The past few nights I have slept horribly because I wake up numerous times hacking like a maniac. At some point last night I grabbed an extra pillow from the spare room to prop myself up. I am not sure if it actually worked. (I plan to try three pillows tonight.)
I did a little research today to see if I could find anything to help with my cough, especially while I am trying to sleep (as is The Husband).
According to this eHow article: How to Ease a Cough I am pretty much following all the advice. I have been drinking lots of water and hot tea (with honey). I am taking various cough medicines to help control cough and to also help loosen and expel the lovely mucus. I am sucking on icky cough lozenges.
Even though this isn’t mentioned I have also been trying to stay on the healthy track with food. Lots of fruits and veggies. For dinner tonight we will be having grilled chicken breast and a side of veggies. I have cut out alcohol and soda. I am pretty much just drinking water and tea.
This article on WebMD, Sleep Better When You’re Sick, tells you how to sleep better when you are sick. The information I was really looking for was this: Elevate your head to ease sinus pressure and make breathing less cumbersome. A sleep expert said, replace your pillow with a foam bed wedge. If that’s not possible, stack your pillows so that you create a wedge, with at least some lift under your shoulders, increasing elevation as you go toward your head.
Some advice on Ask Alice gives some general things that can help quiet a cough, including:
- keeping the bedroom humidified (using a cold-air vaporizer, for example)
- drinking lots of fluids — enough to keep urine colorless and odorless — to help liquefy the mucus, making it easier to cough up
- drinking hot liquids or eating soup
- sucking on cough drops or hard candy to soothe a tickly throat (maybe before you try sleeping)
- propping up on pillows or sleeping on 2 or 3 pillows to help ease post-nasal drip, thus minimizing the need to clear your throat
Let’s hope between the NyQuil, my propped pillows, healthy dinner, maybe some hot tea and an early bedtime I will get this cough under control and get a good night’s sleep.