Viewing 31 posts - 1 through 31 (of 31 total)
  • Fed up with this cough, can't sleep, recommend me a cough medicine please!
  • marvincooper
    Full Member

    Been ill all the last week with a flu-like bug and the last couple of nights have hardly slept due to a chesty cough. Have tried Sudafed which seems to help a bit until I lie down, then it’s just cough cough cough all through the night.

    Any fellow lurgy sufferers care to recommend me a chesty cough medicine that actually works?

    goatster
    Free Member

    Black Zambuka!

    zippykona
    Full Member

    Corvonia night time. Mrs Zip coughs all day but sleeps all night.
    Edit.That was a dry cough though.

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    Chesty cough – as in, “kacky stuff in your lungs” ?

    Arguably nothing medicinal works for this. You don’t really want to stop the cough since it’s clearing shite out of your lungs (or trying to). The stuff to thin down mucus mostly doesn’t, especially what you buy over the counter. Sudafed might just be drying up your snotty nose, which sometimes helps coughing (if caused by post-nasal drip)

    Nice warm humid air might help a bit, maybe LIGHT exercise to get you breathing a bit harder IME; have a shower or bath before bed ?
    Plenty of fluids, some ibuprofen if you can take it safely – and as m’learned friend suggests, industrial doses of alcohol are ALWAYS appropriate in any illness (or maybe just a bit to relax you a bit and make you feel a bit sleepy)

    trout
    Free Member

    Night nurse has been my chosen drug through this difficult time

    RobHilton
    Free Member

    Have you tried sleeping sitting up? It’s not the most fun, but can work out.

    marvincooper
    Full Member

    Yes “kacky stuff in the lugs” is right.

    Tried Night Nurse but it didn’t help at all. Can’t sleep sitting up, have tried.

    Thanks, well I’m walking to the LBS to pick up my bike later then a gentle ride home so there’s the exercise. Don’t really fancy alcohol but might give it a go. Had my head over a bowl of hot water / eucalyptus breathing in steam last night – cleared the nasal tubes but still coughed when lying down. Will pop in pharmacy on way to LBS. Just really really want a reasonable nights sleep.

    julianwilson
    Free Member

    You used to be able to get codeine linctus over the counter from a proper pharmacist, though like most/all other codeine/opiate preparations it is now prescription only as it was rather abusable. (Anyone read “Scale” by Will Self? 😆 ) However, it might help in the OP’s case because the right dose (ie quite small compared to pain-relief-size doses of codeine) is supposed to supress your cough overnight whilst you sleep. Only for you to wake up with looooads of stuff to cough up but at least you got some proper kip. But you’ll be needing to go to the GP’s for that.

    beefheart
    Free Member

    Laughter is the best medicine.

    Karinofnine
    Full Member

    Codeine Linctus. Someone up there ^^^ has said it’s on prescription – is it? I didn’t know that. My experience is that you have to bully the pharmacist into selling it to you, ie, convince the pharmacist that you are not a drug abuser looking for a high, but a bona fide cough sufferer who really, REALLY needs a break.

    I find (but I am not recommending this) that slightly over the dose kills your cough, dead.

    As said above, if you are producing gunge you will need to cough it off your lungs at some point, but at least you will have had a decent night’s sleep.

    Good luck! Get well soon.

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    Yeh, Karinofnine – legal to buy but you can’t get people to sell it to you. “Oh, no sir, you’ll be wanting pholcodine – that’s exactly the same”

    If you ask them to look it up, they just assume you’re an abuser who’s well-informed (IME).

    😳

    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    If i take some codiene i have hidden away will.it help my pounding head from blocked sinuses?

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    not as much as marvin’s sudafed would

    daddydave
    Full Member

    And friends has said that putting Vick Vapour rub on her daughters feet stopped her coughing all night. Don’t know if it works but worth a try.

    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    What about codiene and diclofenac together?

    I have some Tramadol too but that is just like switching to “off”.

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    putting vicks on your feet ?
    … on yer nob may stop you coughing all night, mind 😉

    (codeine and/or diclofenac would help a bit but not address the cause of the problem)

    bigphilblackpool
    Free Member

    No word of a lie boiled lemonade!!!! Pref cloudy, me mam told me after i had a bad tacky flemy cough and sore throat, i tried everythin!!!!!!!! Then gave in to me mum and it worked a treat!!! Cures throat and can feel it breaking down the shite, so i went one step n boiled sprite and added lemsip and had a co codamol best nites sleep ever!!!! ; )

    Karinofnine
    Full Member

    Contac 400 suppresses cold symptoms quite effectively, might be called just Contac these days. Anyways, it’s good, and you can buy it from the pharmacy without getting funny looks.

    There was a really good link posted on here a few months back about colds, I haven’t been able to find it since. It said (amongst other things) that first generation anti-histamines were good for suppressing cold symptoms, including bunged up synuses.

    HTH

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    bigphil – both lemsip and co-codamol have paracetamol in them. You shouldn’t really be taking both (although I admit, a single co-codamol isn’t a big addition if that’s all you had)

    (the lemonade’s safe with either though !)

    marvincooper
    Full Member

    Thanks all will go to the GP Monday if I’m still struggling. Got some Benylin nightime cough medicine from the chemist so will give that a go tonight. Not sure about the vicks on the feet (or other more tender parts), may have to try that as a last resort….

    On a positive note, I picked up my bike with its shiny new drivechain and it felt like new riding it home 🙂

    marvincooper
    Full Member

    Ooh just seen the boiled cloudy lemonade idea, might try that later as we’ve some in the house. Cheers!

    nickswolves
    Free Member

    I was told by a doctor friend that steam and pholcodine are the best cures for coughs – but that’s for dry ones I think

    marvincooper
    Full Member

    Well the Benylin medicine was completely useless, another night of coughing, 3 in a row now. I just remembered I have some co-codamol left over from when I had a bad back so will be trying that tonight. Docs tomorrow if it’s another rough night tonight. 🙁

    Karinofnine
    Full Member

    That’s why I recommended Codeine Linctus (not Pholcodeien by the way, which is what they will try to sell you) – generally over-the-counter cough medicines don’t work.

    Opiates (heroin, morphine, codeine) stop or slow the cough reflex. Why not have a word with NHS Direct? They may be able to give you a steer on whether it will be self-limiting or whether you should see the Doc.

    cloudnine
    Free Member

    10 drops of Olbas oil in a large jug of boiling hot water next to your bed will also help.. one of the oils in it works as a cough suppressant and also helps you breath better

    qwerty
    Free Member

    Methadone works well.

    Karinofnine
    Full Member

    *waves to qwerty*

    Davesport
    Full Member

    Yeah, the Pholcodeine works for me. It’s a cough suppressant & it gives the irritation that the coughing causes a chance to subside. I recommended it to the bank manageress who had a persistent cough…she was drinking the stuff from the bottle & overdosed 😆 Had to call NHS 24 as she was halucinating.

    It’s the real deal & definitely worked for me.

    D.

    supersaiyan
    Free Member

    get a steam inhaler, with some friars balsam or one or two tiny menthol crystals. and extra strong fisherman’s friends. Olbas drops under the pillow too. manflu sucks.

    qwerty
    Free Member

    * waves back *

    T1000
    Free Member

    Friars Balsam+1

    Just don’t spill it on anything plus be prepared to throw the bowl away after ….. If that wont clear your sinuses nothing will!

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