Weird Sinus / Throat Thing Going On

Forums: Allergy, Asthma, Health, Sinus, Coughing
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For months I have had this odd ticklish, spontaneous, immediate coughing fit happen a few times per week (up to a couple times per day). The coughing isn't violent, it's not even persistent. I sometimes can clear the feeling with a few ehems or small coughs and it goes away after a few minutes. I do have some post-nasal drip and stuffy ears, but no congestion to speak of (I can breath through my nose).I also have really blood-shot eyes and am sort of tired all the time sleeping well over 8 hours per day if I let myself.

I am guessing it has to do with allergies or some strange sinus infection. I don't really do much to treat it except I use a neti pot saline wash a few times per week.

I want to fine-tune my terminology and descriptions of the issue so I can be concise when I do get to a doctor to talk about it.

Thanks for any advice or leads for further research.

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@littlek,

That sounds a little like what ended up being asthma for me.

I've gone this long without having asthma and so just was not really used to it/ couldn't really identify it. I now can identify the "tickle" as my lungs being off.

Not that you definitely have it -- not enough information.

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@sozobe,

I don't have anything going on with my lungs. Waaaaiiit. Maybe I do. Hnh. Can you explain what you mean by 'lungs being off'?

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@littlek,

Urgh, that's the thing. I didn't realize it had anything to do with my lungs for quite a while -- I thought it was more about my throat. I'd use lozenges and stuff. Now I just... uh <words fail>. Just had to develop new associations. (I keep having that tickly cough feeling that I had when I last had a problem with asthma -- let me try some asthma medication -- there, much better!)

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@sozobe,

I have noticed that I get more winded than I should while hiking up two flights of stairs and that sometimes it's a little harder to breath like my stomach's overly-full. ****.

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@littlek,

Yep! The stomach thing is familiar. It's often worse when I'm sitting down or wearing tight jeans.

Good news is, if that's what's up, a) the asthma meds are amazingly effective and b) it's a temporary thing, for me anyway. Usually a month or less if I actually grab it in time... thing is I've let it go in previous years and then it mutates. (I cough to "clear my throat" which actually irritates my throat and then causes further problems, and further coughing -- wound up with pneumonia last year or the year before. This year seems to be going MUCH better since I threw asthma meds at it at the first sign... knock on wood...)

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@sozobe,

Good luck to you! Do you know what spurs asthma in a person with no family history?

I'll add the trip to the doctor to my ToDo list for after I start getting paychecks again.

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@littlek,

Pollution.

I first had problems with it in L.A. and my doc there said that some percentage of people (it was a high percentage) who move to L.A. (as opposed to growing up there -- which as I write doesn't make a lot of sense) develop allergies. She cited pollution.

I don't know if I continued to have problems in Chicago or not -- I was just so overwhelmed in general and that was when the kid was small and I was focused on her.

This year I realized "hey, I always seem to have problems talking when school starts" (is that a problem, you cough when you try to project/ speak up?) and made some connections to the past few years.

I'm far more conscientious about sozlet's health than my own... I mean I try to stay healthy but don't think about it much one way or another, so took me a while to find patterns.

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Are you working in a new place? The symptoms sound like a mold allergy. An old, leaky air conditioner can bring it on or just a period of damp weather and rain.

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Soz, patterns. I'll try to make some notes.

Greenwitch - at the moment, I'm not working at all. The summer school definitely had high allergens. There is considerable talk about that among the teachers there (and some students as well). And, I've been at this apartment for 2 years.

Could a trigger sort of sit in my lungs so that when the outside trigger is gone, the inside trigger persists?

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@littlek,

Not that I ever heard of. You usually need a rather tight window of exposure to get the allergy triggered. Start keeping a health journal of the symptoms and what you come in contact with that might be new. It might help you play detective on this.

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@Green Witch,

I know I have mild allergies to dust, pollen and something in dirt. Seems like they are all likely related. I have been checking the pollen count when I feel ticklish in the throat. But, I'll keep tabs on the lungs now too.

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@littlek,

Let me clarify -- I think pollution spurred allergies/ asthma, and then the allergies/ asthma are set off by other things.

I'd guess maybe ragweed for me due to the timing. Dunno.

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@sozobe,

I think I understand that, soz.

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@littlek,

My first thought was allergies, but the stairs thing makes me noivous.

Do yourself (and the rest of us, namely those who care about you) a favor and get it checked.

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@littlek,

Sounds like allergies to me. Probably some new spore or pollen around this year which you have not experienced before.

If it's not causing you much trouble, I suggest giving it a few months to see if it goes away (which would indicate that it was seasonal, and probably an allergy).

I used to have terrible summer allergies, but I started using that Nasonex stuff and this summer has been the most comfortable and allergy-free I've had in years. Nasonex wants you to use the stuff once or twice a day, but I find that once or twice a week works even better (no side-effects).

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Asthma isn't anything to mess around with. Kills young folk regularly. Go talk to a doc.

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@littlek,

Maybe the saline solution is aggravating it. I would discontinue that and let your body fight it for a while. If it worsens even the slightest bit see an ear, nose and throat specialist. Also look in your environment and "smell" if anything is giving off any type of chemical odor (animal, vegetable, mineral). Look for mold in the bathroom use a "diluted" bleach in a well ventilated area to lower any mold growth. Check if anything in your living area is putting off any type or chemical odor. Don't allow water to get in your ears while bathing and examine your teeth for any changes that may have just started up. Stay away from Ibuprofen (inflames allergies) and coffee/tea (disturbs sleep healing patterns). Keep away from dry cleaned clothes, blankets etc. Hope you feel better soon...

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Ah, folks, thank you. But, you can't get blood from a stone. I'll go to the doc when I have money to do so. Let's not get any more into that, ok?

I do quite regularly skip the nasal wash. I forget to do it for a couple weeks at a time unless I am feeling funky. I don't go anywhere near dry-cleaned materials if I can help it. And, unfortunately, I hate bleach. Bleach makes my throat feel raspy and tight. I use ibuprofen very infrequently.

If I were to take meds for allergies or asthma (if it gets there), would it lower my natural ability to stave off these feelings? I always worry about that kind of thing.

My doc, when I brought up allergies in the past, sort of dismissed them. How do I make her respond?

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@littlek,

Are you taking high blood pressure medication? I had a horrible cough which was caused by hbp meds. Changed my meds the cough went away.

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Weird Sinus / Throat Thing Going On

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