The Well Woman Podcast with Dr Frances Pitsilis
In this podcast, I share evidence-based insights about hormones, ageing, longevity, natural and modern medicine — and what patients are often not told.
While these conversations are grounded in women’s health, many are equally relevant to men, particularly when it comes to midlife health and ageing well.
I will discuss common issues women have and also interview prominent women to discuss their issues. Lets see how this podcast evolves....
The Well Woman Podcast with Dr Frances Pitsilis
Curing the Post infectious Cough
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Post Infectious Cough
Having trouble drinking that cold beer without coughing? Up to 25% of people suffer from a post-infectious cough – this is the cough that continues for 3-8 weeks after you have recovered from that cold or chest infection. It keeps you, or others, awake at night. It gets worse in air-conditioning, when you speak, go outside, laugh or have cold drinks.
Indeed some people get this post infectious cough every time they recover from a respiratory infection. Part of its definition is that it lasts eight weeks and resolves on its own. It is also associated with no abnormal findings including a normal chest x-ray. It is just that the cough drives everyone mad. It causes a lot of misery due to lost sleep, impaired performance, fainting or incontinence associated with the coughing attacks. There have even been fractured ribs and collapsed lungs.
The big three main causes of this persistent cough are:
- Postnasal drip – this is the mucus running down the back of your nose, past your palate and onto your windpipe.
- Asthma – unstable airways as a result of the previous infection.
- Persistent airway irritation – this is most often after a viral respiratory illness and due to persisting upper airway inflammation and irritation that reacts to the cold air environment.
Other causes can include sinusitis, gastric reflux, ACE inhibitor drugs (used for controlling blood pressure), heart disease, heart failure and other lung conditions. So, if the cough persists you need to see your doctor.
Why does it last this long?
Because although the infection itself has resolved, it takes several weeks for the airway irritation to completely settle in some people. It is important to note that antibiotics do not work for this condition. If it is due to postnasal drip, it is important to dry this drip up with a nasal spray and possibly decongestants. The old fashioned first generation antihistamines also help this.
Cough suppressants may be useful and if it is the post-infectious cough, inhaled or oral steroid drugs from your family doctor have a high success rate.
My tips for helping the post infectious cough are as follows:
- Heat the bedroom to 25 degrees – it is not your body that needs to be warm, it is the air that you breathe that should be.
- Drink hot honey drinks (with or without alcoholic spirit) – the honey coats the throat and the spirit may suppress the cough.
- Find cold lozenges with the highest menthol content to suck on – this will heat up your throat and suppress the cough.
Remember that a cough that persists could be an indication of a more serious condition. It is important that if the cough does not go, for you to see your family doctor to check it out.
Hello, I'm Dr. Francis Pitsilis. Are you having trouble drinking that cold beer without coughing? Well, 25% of people get a post-infectious cough. That's a cough after you've recovered from your cold or chest infection, and the same people tend to get this cough over and over again next time they get the infection. This post-infectious cough is a really powerful disruptor of quality of life. It keeps you and everyone else awake, it stops you from working properly, it really is irritating, goes on and on and on, and its definition is that it lasts for eight weeks. And of course, a lot of people will tell you that you just have to ride it out, but you don't have to just ride it out. The three main causes of infectious post-infectious cough are asthma or an airways instability that has occurred associated with your infection, a post-nasal drip that's kept going after the infection's improved, and in some people just an irritation of their airways. The infection has got better, but the irritation of the airways hasn't got better. So one of the things that you can do with your family doctor is get some decongestant medicine to dry up your post-nasal drip, and you can even use a nasal spray. Your doctor can also help you if it's an asthmatic type cough by giving you medication that will help you with that. But the third most important thing to consider if no cause is found is some inhaled steroid or oral steroid therapy. In fact, I've found it very successful. It's only on the odd occasion that I need to give my patient a second lot of oral steroids for six to eight days. So that's important for you to consider, and it may help to get rid of that eight-week misery. Now I also have a few tips for you. While you're helping yourself to get better from this post-infectious cough, you should warm up the bedroom to 25 degrees tropical so that it's warm air that you're breathing. It's not how warm you are in bed, it's the warm air that you're breathing that will stop you coughing. You should always also find the strongest menthol-containing lozenges that you can find because it's the menthol that warms up your throat and stops you from coughing. The other thing that you can try is the age-old remedy of a hot honey drink. I'm not sure if the spirit helps, but I definitely do know that the honey coats the throat. And of course, the honey contains a lot of polyphenols, which are plant antioxidants that may be of some help to you. So remember, if your cough persists despite these tips that I've given you, you must see your doctor to make sure it's not something more serious, and your doctor can help you immensely with medication, including some steroids.