Search Results for: coughing

Can’t (cough) Stop (cough) COUGHING?

COUGHS often seem to hang around FOREVER, and this year’s flu season has been a prime culprit.

Allergies certainly can cause coughs as well, but typically allergy coughs are more the dry, annoying, clear-your-throat variety, rather than the wet sounding coughing fits (that worsen every evening and prevent sleep) which come from viral respiratory infections. Typically there are a few days of headaches, fever, body aches, sore throats and stuffy nose, but then the cough itself may persist for up to SIX WEEKS after the initial illness.

Is there anything that can be done for a cough that wont go … Read more

STILL Coughing? Will Anything Help?

Is your cough driving you (and everyone around you) nuts? If your purse, coat or pant pockets are overflowing with empty cough drop wrappers and tissues, than you’ve dealt with that cough on your own long enough. Whether the original culprit was a common cold, the flu, or “just” seasonal allergies, coughs can take on a life of their own as our lungs gear up mucus production and airway spasm. My rule of thumb is that lingering coughs should be on a clear decrescendo- getting slowly but steadily better each day. If your cough is getting worse by increasing in … Read more

Our COVID Conundrum…Did We Have It or Not?

Setting: Beautiful small town, high up in the Colorado mountains, where we’ve been very much isolated and socially distanced in our home for several weeks…except that ONE day, six days earlier, when our older daughter and I had our “big outing”. After dropping off my husband at the small town airport, we made a quick Target run, ate lunch outside of a restaurant in another small town (sitting at an isolated table), and in the process, used two public restrooms, including the highly trafficked one at the airport. We wore cloth masks the whole time except while eating, and sanitized … Read more

Confused About COVID19 Masks? Let’s Talk

Long before the CDC officially recommended wearing cloth face coverings, people were buzzing about masks. “N95” and “PPE” (personal protective equipment) were two of the first words in our new Corona vocabulary, and by now everyone knows these precious masks are in very short supply.

Meanwhile, the medical community keeps repeating that wearing masks helps prevent sick people from spreading their germs to others, but these masks won’t protect healthy people from catching the exact same germs. Anyone else confused by this? Isn’t it the same mask on a healthy or a sick person? Why would any mask block germs … Read more

Okay Students, Let’s Talk About COVID19

Okay Students,

We’re listening.

We know COVID19 has trashed your spring semester, and all the fun and truly hard-earned events you’ve looked forward to have been swiped out from under your feet.

High school proms, musicals, concerts, banquets, spring breaks and even graduations are cancelled.

Ditto for college students, but add in losing internships, studying abroad and oh yeah, real jobs that were supposed to happen at the finish line.

And all of you are facing the reality of online learning, dreading technical frustrations with internet connections, lack of access to necessary programs that ran on computer labs, dealing with … Read more

Can’t Get Rid of that COUGH?

Okay, so you don’t think you have Corona Virus (now known as COVID-19), but why can’t you get rid of that cough? Perhaps you had the flu (or a flu-like illness) a couple weeks ago, complete with fever, chills, headache and body aches. The hit-by-a-Mack-truck symptoms have gone away, but the cough is driving you (and your spouse/roommate/classmates) crazy. Unfortunately, post-infectious coughs commonly persist up to SIX weeks after the initial illness, and this year’s influenza seems to be setting records.

Allergies certainly can cause coughs as well, but typically allergic coughs are more the dry, annoying, clear-your-throat variety, rather … Read more

College Student Health Quiz – Answer 7

College Student Health Quiz

7. How long do most coughs last after a respiratory virus (like a cold)?

ANSWER: C. 2-3 weeks

Coughs last much longer than people expect, but a dry cough by itself does NOT mean that you need antibiotics! Most coughs after a cold will resolve within three weeks, but a cough CAN persist up to 6 weeks. As long as your cough is slowly getting better (not keeping you from sleeping, no fevers), you are following the expected course. Taking OTC (over-the-counter) cough suppressants that contain dextromethorphan (DM) often helps.
[See “Can’t Stop Coughing?”]

Go to Question Eight… Read more

Nicotine/Nico-TEEN? Here’s Why NOT

TEENS want to know: WHY are adults freaking out and taking away their “harmless” JUULs (the most popular e-cigarette) when teens have REAL problems (like active shooters, social media stress, and impossible college admissions?)

DON’T ROLL YOUR EYES, this is a legit question from our teens. Let’s talk nicoTEEN!

Last week, Austin high school SENIOR GIRLS shared with me that well over HALF of their peers are JUULing regularly at school. (Rapidly outdated/underestimated studies from 2016 show that over 9% of 8th graders and 16% of high school students Juul.) These are the very kids who grew … Read more

JUUL? Not COOL

“JUUL” is a brand of electronic NICOTINE delivery system officially offered as an alternative to traditional cigarettes and other vaping systems. What does it look like? Pretty much identical to a flash drive. Let that sink in…would it catch your eye as a teacher or a parent if your student or son/daughter were holding one? Probably not. Are teens using this? YES. The AAFP notes that “nearly 1 in 5 students ages 12-17 have seen (JUUL) used in school”. The National Institute on Drug Abuse notes that 9.5% of 8th graders have used e-cigs in the last month, with this … Read more

Measles Memo: VACCINES WORK!

By now you have probably heard about the MEASLES outbreak that originated in Disneyland last month. At this point, over 100 cases (that span at least 14 states) have been documented since the first of this year…and we have only entered February. If you are my age or older (40-something), odds are good you remember HAVING the measles. In my case, I missed the coveted LAST DAY OF SCHOOL in 7th grade…miserably feverish, coughing, aching and covered in itchy red spots, so that particular event is etched in my middle school memories. I lay in bed sobbing in my self-pity … Read more