Mother-in-law has moderate COPD / emphysema. The coughing is driving us nuts. Anyone have any suggestions?
She is already on advair, spiriva, zyrtec, mucinex , benzonatate, albuterol nebulizer. She is on oxygen as well. No Pneumonia currently although she had a bout of it 7 weeks ago. ct scan shows its clear now. what else can we do to help?
A vaporizer is great and white vinegar is great for killing the bacteria when cleaning it. When I had bronchitis (I have asthma) my doc told me to drink, warm, sweet liquids. I still do this and it does help, warm tea, hot coco or hot cider. If she is diabetic you can use sweetener. It doesn't hurt to try it.
My husband in his last months developed difficulty with food not going down properly and coughing back up. They found that a spot that had been on his lung doing nothing for years had turned aggressive and was narrowing his throat. Checking meds is always a good idea--too many dr's don't take interactions and side effects seriously.
Might want to check the diet, many foods besides dairy are very mucous - producing in the body. All flour, sugar, anything refined tends to produce mucus. Eat lots of green leafy veggies, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, onion is really good (try roasted garlic on whole -grain flatbread). Lean poultry for protein, or baked fish. Avoid citrus, especially orange juice (unless the oranges from your backyard and you squeeze it yourself). Dietary changes could have a huge positive impact. Eliminate the processed stuff and all will get much better.
Oxygen is very drying. There is a little water bubbler canister attachment that you can get that moistens the air for her. Also go over that med list with the MD because too many meds are as bad as too little.
Michele, we thought the mucinex was thinning out the mucus too much causing dad to have a continuous post nasal drip. We stopped without asking anyone. If you are not sure call the doctor and ask could you try not giving it for a few days. Sometimes I think the elderly are put on Meds for one thing, more for another, get a little better and no one tells you to stop giving the meds. Patrice
She has a tumor in her lungs which they wee going to do cyber knife on. Got postponed from pneumonia. She is not able to get out without a lot of difficulty but maybe a respiratory therapist may help if I can get one at home. She spends most of the day in a recliner chair so maybe i need to get her sitting in a different position. I have not cleaned the oxygen tubing either. I will try cleaning it. I was wondering if the mucinex is helping or making the cough worse?
Make sure the air in the area of the home Mom uses is kept moist with a humidifier. It sounds as though she has all the medications available. If she is still raising sputum when she coughs she may be helped with a cough suppressent at night. Talk to her Dr. My husband who does not have a chest disease recently had an extended chest infection and it nearly drove me crazy. follow the instructions for keeping the equipment clean but unless she always has a productive cough it will eventually go away. Where is her cancer? is it possible that it has spread to her lungs? Make sure she drinks enough fluids so the sputum is not allowed to dry out. Could she use the help of a respiratory therapist. Is she mobile enough to go to a clinic if not a home visit may be possible.
My dad has Copd and uses a cpap machine at night. Recent was sick and hospitalized for a week dince he had to be put on antibiotics and steriods which then increased his sugar. When he came home he was still coughing, not as bad but still coughing. Pulmonary doctor put him on another round of antibiotics and told us the following : change distilled water in cpap every day and let the chamber air dry after washing: every 3 days soak mask and tubing in vinegar and water (1 to 3); tell him to spit out and not swallow amy mucus: same cleaning procedure for his nebulizer. Doc said that coughing is normal with copd. Pay attention when he coughs the most (in mornings, make sure sitting up and not laying back, milk makes him cough more so we are trying to avoid. Elevate head of bed if possible. Can use pillows under the mattress . My father seems to cough and swallow then tells me nothing came up although I could see otherwise. Therefore whenever he coughs I try to say spit it out. The coughing also drives me crazy. Hope it ends before allergy season starts. Good luck
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Checking meds is always a good idea--too many dr's don't take interactions and side effects seriously.