Swimtaxi234 Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Our 16-year-old daughter returned from a 3-day retreat with a chest cold. She was stuffy before she left, so I sent some Sudafed with her and she thought it really helped her since she was able to productively blow her nose. (She hadn't taken any Sudafed since Sunday morning.) This morning she woke up and said while her head was finally clear, her chest was tight and it was hard to take a deep breath. I will make an appointment tomorrow if she isn't any better, but for today: 1) I am going to have her take a long steamy shower to see if that helps. 2) Hot tea and/or chicken noodle soup - sounds silly but I think the warm liquids will feel good. 3) Should I give her Oscillococcinum or Zicam (I have both in the house)? 4) I wanted to add that she doesn't have a fever, but her entire body aches. The weekend retreat was really really physical and while she is in amazing shape from being an athlete, she said she was sore in places she didn't know could be sore so I don't know how to tell if she has "flu" like or chest cold symptoms other than the breathing part. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 mucinex (store version) is very good for loosening the mucus in the chest. Drink lots of fluids to keep the mucus moist and moveable. I find the good old fashioned vicks is good for the chest (in the vaporizer) and so are the heatable "socks" -- I put them on my chest and head to get things moving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimtaxi234 Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 I wanted to add that since we live in the high desert, we run a humidifier at 35% year round. I just read that a vaporizer is better, but we only have a humidifier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsmith Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I second the Mucinex. Don't get the one with all the added cold medicines. It should just have guifanesin (sp?) in it. Take it with a large glass of water, and drink plenty of fluids throughout the day. This has helped me through quite a few bouts of bronchitis over the years. Luckily I haven't had it in a few years!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMA Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Is she laboring to breathe? If it is hard to breathe, Mucinex is not a big help. It's a big help when you are coughing and trying to loosen stuff. I would take her in to see if she needs albuterol/pulmicort. I would not wait until tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimtaxi234 Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 I gave her a Mucinex, but her chest is rattling a little so I called to make an appointment. No appointments until Thursday so I have a call into the nurse. Crappy military insurance!!! She is too sick and warrants seeing one of their docs, so they want me to wait instead of sending her to urgent care. Fingers crossed the nurse will give me a UC referral Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimtaxi234 Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 UPDATE: The nurse gave me a referral and we went to urgent care. The chest cold wasn't a chest cold after all, it was an upper respiratory infection. That sounds strange to me since her head seemed so clear, but hopefully she will start feeling better soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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