Is this the new normal?
Dry cough and another flu season with climate change.
I got a cold and cough in the middle of December and it is still going on. To be precise, it’s been 23 days today. I got it from my nephew and he got it from his daycare. My whole family got infected in this season.
At first, I thought it was just a viral fever or something like that. But the cough is really painful. I think after the COVID era this is the second time I’m suffering from brutal coughs and sinus congestion.
After self-isolation and taking off some fever relief medicine along with cough syrup, salt water gargling, and steam inhalation, it started to recover after 8 - 10 days. And then out of nowhere, the cough started again along with the pain in the ear. So I went to a primary Healthcare (thought I might need to consult an ENT) and I think all the people from the neighborhood are there! So I went to a different clinic nearby and got some antibiotics and other tablets. I started to recover but after 4 days the cough again started heavily. I got really tired and fatigued. Waking up in the morning is really painful with the sinus, throat, and ear pain.
This time I went to my regular clinic and the doctor was also wondering why it was again triggered especially since I never left home or didn't consume any cold beverages or food. I explained all the history and he also stated that the brutal cough was the main problem in the previous visit too.
He gave me another set of antibiotics and I’m slowly recovering now. The issue is that I’m really tired all the time. I don't know if it is the side effects of the medicines or the recovery process. No appetite. Constantly fall asleep. Can’t concentrate properly.
But now I’m noticing one thing if I talk or laugh the cough will again start and it will give me a sore throat and sinus congestion. But it will go either overnight or after salt water gargling along with steam inhalation.
I’m experiencing mainly a dry cough which is quite difficult and it will not let me sleep peacefully. Based on what I saw in comment sections of some videos and articles I understand that a lot of people are now suffering from this.
The problem with the dry cough is that, you will not get the satisfaction after a cough, it feels like there is another cough coming and you can't concentrate on any other thing. It feels like the heart is coming out. The continuous cough will end up with vomiting, and throat and ear pain.
I didn't take COVID or any other tests as the primary care doctors and urgent care centers usually don't conduct tests for these unless someone experiences severe symptoms requiring hospitalization.
I don’t know if this is another variant of COVID or any new viral infection. I took two shots of the vaccine against COVID but I really wonder at this time is this the new normal? I never experienced a cough like this in my lifetime. This really affects the quality of my life. My whole family and a few neighbors facing this same problem.
I tried to learn more about cough and other respiratory diseases during this time.
The December - January climate used to be my favorite. But everything has changed since 2021/2022 I guess. The median temperature is around 30 all the time. And now it's raining sometimes and the humidity just can’t bear it sometimes.
Where's the winter season?
This climate change and the flu season completely disrupted my holiday season!
I noticed that this cough is now a worldwide issue. Read the HuffPost article about it.
Update 13 Jan 2024
Went to the clinic again due to the heavy cough and sinus congestion. I never went outside or consumed any cold food or beverages.
Right now on a different antibiotic and cough syrup. He also said that many cases are coming with the same issues. He also stated that many patients are diagnosed with Asthma and diabetes. I asked whether is there any study ongoing related to this and he said yes.
I strongly suspect that this has something to do with COVID (the doctor also suspected some patterns, but not sure).
I can't even talk or laugh and it is definitely affecting the quality of life these days.
Update 19 Jan 2024
Almost recovered from the brutal coughs. Finally!
Update 22 Jan 2024
Again cough started at night at a small level. I’m not exposed to any dust and not consuming any cold beverages or anything. Trying to figure out what triggers these coughs. Right now the cough syrup (Grilinctus -Dx) is the only medication I take.