I have had a similar cough for years! What happens to me is I start coughing and it gets so bad, my eyes and nose run, I start sneezing, and can’t stop the cough. But, what works once I feel the tickle in my throat is to suck on a Hall’s Honey Lemon Cough Drop. The menthol in it stops the tickle and within moments, the cough is gone! For some reason I use them more at work, which I believe it due to dust, so I always have a few in my pocket as once I start the cough, it goes from 0-90 in seconds! When I have the tickle at bed time, I spray my throat with Chloraseptic Sore Throat Spray which holds me out for the night, usually. Again, it is the menthol that helps.
I tried the Zyrtec and Flonase for a 2 month trial which didn’t help, so I stopped.
@snowball, I actually have those Hall’s Honey-lemon cough drops upstairs, unopened. I have no idea why we have them, they’ve been there for awhile. I literally just saw them when I organized my medicine cabinet yesterday. (Oh the things we do to keep busy during lockdown).
@conmama Oh gosh… I don’t remember them all, but a couple were inhalers (similar to, but not Advair, which I do take); one was strictly a few day course of steroids. Two were GERD/acid reflux medicines. I had a blood test for food allergens too, but it didn’t catch any (I might have to try the test on the arm). The final two were muscle relaxants. The idea was to increase the dose to the point the cough stopped, maintain that for three months or so, then try to back off those prescriptions. I never got far with those because they made me too groggy (the second also upset my stomach). I tried over-the-counter stuff like Flonaise mist and bromeline (from pineapple?) too. Nothing has worked.
I honestly thought I was a medical mystery, but from the posts on this thread, this is more common than I thought!
@conmama
I had your exact same problem. I don’t mean to sound gross, but I had so much gunk in my throat that when I laid down an night I almost felt like I couldn’t swallow and that my throat was going to close shut. I coughed for months.
My PC doctor sent me at first to have my thyroid ultrasounded. (Not sure that’s a word). She didn’t think that allergies could be the cause of this feeling that a ball was stuck in my throat. Ultrasound came out fine.
Like another poster said, the next thought was reflux. I saw a gastroenterologist who put me on a Rx strength Pepcid. Zero change after 30 days.
Next step was an upper GI scope. They thought I had a stricture in my throat causing the difficulty swallowing and cough. Came out normal.
Then we moved…from cedar covered Texas to Massachusetts and it all went away. It was allergies the whole time, but no matter what I took it wouldn’t resolve. Allegra, Zyrtec didn’t touch it. I tried Flonase but I ended up losing my sense of taste with it and it didn’t touch the ball in my throat.
Not sure if any of this is helpful, but for me it took completely moving away from my allergy trigger.
Pollen is horrible in our area and it seems something is causing trouble year round. Antihistamines make me too sleepy, so I save those to take at night when I’m feeling especially lousy. Otherwise, I take a Sudafed every evening and sometimes in the morning as well. Publix sells a store brand that works just as well. I hope I don’t run out any time soon because they require customers to come into the store to show ID and sign a big book for each purchase, so I can’t get it at the drive-thru pharmacy.
I have allergies to dust, dust mites and other environmental triggers. I take several nasal sprays—antihistamine Azelastine, ipatripium bromide, and steroid Fluticasone. I also take Pepcid generic for my silent GERD/reflux. I also take 3 different, separate inhalers for my chronic asthma and lung conditions as well as 1/2 to 1 Zyrtec tablet every night. With this regimen I have remained amazingly stable and functional for over 20 years.
I also use my nebulizer to nebulize 3% or 7% sodium chloride once/day and use a mucus clearance device, Aerobika (both of these require Rx).
I did try singular for a month or two but noticed absolutely no difference. D also took Singulair—didn’t help her allergies nor asthma years ago but now she notices an improvement when she takes it. She also uses nose sprays and swears by nasal steroids and the over the counter antihistimines.
My husband deal with spring allergies and we tried several over the counter medicines - the usual ones. Then he spoke with a friend who is a homeopath and she made some suggestions. It took a bit of time but he finally now has relief of his symptoms - and no more hacking cough!!! So we are thankful that it is working. I know some thing that the science of homeopathy is hocus pocus, but I can say that we did first try the usual route for a few months. He then tried the homeopathic remedy without a whole lot of hope, so it’s not working because he wanted it to work. It was very clearly working as the decrease in his coughing was noticeable and then it finally went away.
One of my friends and her D was having bad asthma and allergies for many years. They finally went to a naturopath and were evaluated and told to avoid lactose and gluten. It really worked—allergies and asthma have both cleared up and they’re both healthier than I can remember in ages!
These are all very helpful suggestions! I’m going to look into some of the items you’ve suggested. @bookreader , do you know what homeopathy your H is getting? @HImom , I’m going to start splitting my Zyrtec in half and take take twice a day instead of once a day.
@snowball , the logenzes actually worked and eased the cough! I’d say i took them 3 times over an 8 hour period. I’m not sure that’s a great long term solution, but it’s nice to help relieve the symptoms right now.
@conmama You don’t want to know how many I use in a day A good day when I have my coughing attack is 3 or less a day; a bad day is many many more! My husband complains I smell like a medicine cabinet! I guess I am immune to the smell, but my coworkers say they can smell when I have one in my mouth; of course it is better than listening to me have a coughing fit.
I love Singulair! It is the only thing that totally controls my allergies. Its generic name is montelukast which sounds like someplace you might go for the weekend.
We are all so different. I’m good with Zyrtec. The other antihistamines don’t really work very well for me. The nasal sprays + 1/2 Zyrtec seems to be the sweet spot for my allergies.
@LeastComplicated , I just wanted to let you know the Singulair did the trick! After 3 days on it I felt about 75% better, now after almost a week, my cough has been reduced about 95%! When I feel a tickle, I take the honey-lemon logenze, and have split the Zyrtec , twice a day.
I think the reason the Singulair didn’t work last year was because after 4 month of coughing, the ENT said my throat was very irritated and after 2 months of that it was fall.
But now, before my throat is irritated to that extent, it’s had the effect. I also notice when I use the inhaler, I can Hold my breath much longer without discomfort.
The most effective cough drop I have found is Sambucol, Black Elderberry Pastilles with Honey, 20 Pastilles. They are pricey but work wonders for me, almost immediately. They have elderberry, vitamin C and zinc.
A good day when I have my coughing attack is 3 or less a day; a bad day is many many more! My husband complains I smell like a medicine cabinet! I guess I am immune to the smell, but my coworkers say they can smell when I have one in my mouth; of course it is better than listening to me have a coughing fit.