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Coughing up blood
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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 88439" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>It sounds to me like she's coughing up small flecks of blood in her sputum - this is probably from her throat, which (if she's been coughing a lot) is probably the consistency of raw mince. Or at least feels like it. A teaspoon of honey taken occasionally can help soothe a throat.</p><p></p><p>You can also have blood vessels leak a bit when you blow your nose a lot. With inflammation, blood vessels swell, lymphatic tissue swells, everything feels clogged and to shift air (breathing, plus nose blowing or coughing) the air is forced through a narrower passage and moves faster - can do a bit more damage, hence a little bit of blood.</p><p></p><p>Prednisone - I would avoid it if there is active infection. It suppresses your immune system right at a time when it needs to be kicking bugs. It needs a doctor's OK, anyway.</p><p></p><p>The antibiotics - they could easily be doing the job, it depends entirely on how vulnerable the bug is to it. But if there's no improvement at all after about three days, you can assume that maybe a different antibiotic is needed. Not necessarily stronger, just different. Some bugs could be resistant to a strong antibiotic, but totally vulnerable to a very different but weaker one. Or not.</p><p></p><p>If this continues and she's still panicking about TB, she might be needing a sputum test anyway (to directly test the antibiotics for the sinusitis/bronchitis). Use her paranoia and hypochondria to get her checked out appropriately.</p><p></p><p>My dad had TB. In his case it was a fairly benign form he picked up during WWII and it was dormant for 50 years. He was taking prednisone for shingles when the TB nobody knew about flared up. He was a former smoker and had emphysema as well. He was actually relieved when they diagnosed TB - he thought he had a galloping lung cancer. A sputum test confirmed it and he was put on the TB-specific antibiotics which these days have a high success rate.</p><p></p><p>The resistant strains of TB are mostly found on the streets. People who are unwell for other reasons are often the most vulnerable. And it's still TB - it will still show up on the tests. Then the drug sensitivity tests will show how resistant it is (or not).</p><p></p><p>This does sound to me like a rather bad bronchitis. I think a doctor visit would be a good idea if she doesn't start to feel better soon. They can assess a possible antibiotic change and hopefully set her mind at rest by checking out other things. A professional listening to her chest is always useful to make sure it's not getting nasty.</p><p></p><p>Giving up smoking would be a good start - she might be able to skip the autumn bronchitis attacks in future! The trouble is, she may be scared, but is she THAT scared?</p><p></p><p>Hang in there, Kathy. I think you're doing the right thing.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 88439, member: 1991"] It sounds to me like she's coughing up small flecks of blood in her sputum - this is probably from her throat, which (if she's been coughing a lot) is probably the consistency of raw mince. Or at least feels like it. A teaspoon of honey taken occasionally can help soothe a throat. You can also have blood vessels leak a bit when you blow your nose a lot. With inflammation, blood vessels swell, lymphatic tissue swells, everything feels clogged and to shift air (breathing, plus nose blowing or coughing) the air is forced through a narrower passage and moves faster - can do a bit more damage, hence a little bit of blood. Prednisone - I would avoid it if there is active infection. It suppresses your immune system right at a time when it needs to be kicking bugs. It needs a doctor's OK, anyway. The antibiotics - they could easily be doing the job, it depends entirely on how vulnerable the bug is to it. But if there's no improvement at all after about three days, you can assume that maybe a different antibiotic is needed. Not necessarily stronger, just different. Some bugs could be resistant to a strong antibiotic, but totally vulnerable to a very different but weaker one. Or not. If this continues and she's still panicking about TB, she might be needing a sputum test anyway (to directly test the antibiotics for the sinusitis/bronchitis). Use her paranoia and hypochondria to get her checked out appropriately. My dad had TB. In his case it was a fairly benign form he picked up during WWII and it was dormant for 50 years. He was taking prednisone for shingles when the TB nobody knew about flared up. He was a former smoker and had emphysema as well. He was actually relieved when they diagnosed TB - he thought he had a galloping lung cancer. A sputum test confirmed it and he was put on the TB-specific antibiotics which these days have a high success rate. The resistant strains of TB are mostly found on the streets. People who are unwell for other reasons are often the most vulnerable. And it's still TB - it will still show up on the tests. Then the drug sensitivity tests will show how resistant it is (or not). This does sound to me like a rather bad bronchitis. I think a doctor visit would be a good idea if she doesn't start to feel better soon. They can assess a possible antibiotic change and hopefully set her mind at rest by checking out other things. A professional listening to her chest is always useful to make sure it's not getting nasty. Giving up smoking would be a good start - she might be able to skip the autumn bronchitis attacks in future! The trouble is, she may be scared, but is she THAT scared? Hang in there, Kathy. I think you're doing the right thing. Marg [/QUOTE]
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