Coughers

I have a very bad asthmatic cough which I is always with me. If I get at all run down or tired, the coughing becomes worse. It has no virus background, and cannot be 'caught' by anyone.

However, it gets worse each winter and I sometimes feel that I should have tattooed on my foreheat "This cough is NOT infectious".
I have people offering me sweets such as 'Fishermens friend' etc. They will do no good or help whatsoever.

Oh, coughing🤭I misread the OP as cougars and thought yippee that sounds interesting.

Marydoll

Mogsmaw

My sister has a chronic asthmatic cough. She said sometimes she feels like a leper. Offers of sweets are well meaning but can feel degrading.

Ditto.

I have COPD and have had my latest barking and relentless cough for two years, I rarely socialise now, the dirty looks in restaurants have spoiled many an outing.
My cardiologist, in December 2023, said I needed an urgent respiratory appointment. I am still waiting. 😡

I have COPD and can sympathise with you Marydoll
I had a violent coughing fit in a cafe toilet once.Unfortunatly it was during the Covid epidemic, and two ladies with a little girl were present by the washbasins while I was trying to wash my hands.At the sound of my cough they made a quick exit with the child.I apologised to them outside, trying to explain the reason for the coughing but I do not think they believed me.
The one good thing about COPD is that it is not contagious.

I have post-nasal drip & chronic rhinitis. What this means is I cough all year round. 90% of the time I'm not infectious, it's allergic catarrah irritating my throat.
For the 10% of the time that I have got a bug, 90% of this time I am aware of this & won't be out at a restaurant.
So if you heard me coughing behind you, there is only a 1 in a hundred chance you would catch anything off me. & there are lots like me, allergic rhinitis
& PND are common,
So I agree the woman in question should have shielded her cough, but I think she may have been aware that the fact of her coughing was the reason for your hasty departure, & that's a bit judgemental when there's a fair chance she is someone who just coughs a lot, & knows she's not going to spread any bugs at that point.

Marydoll

Downtoearth, even I am annoyed by my cough! 😂

There is absolutely no need to apologise. 💕
I am just seriously annoyed at being written off by clinicians and my inability to get an appointment with the Cystic Fibrosis consultant. 🤬

I do identify with you Marydoll. DH has severe COPD and people can be very unkind moving away and giving him disapproving looks. Actually he takes it all in his stride but I feel angry on his behalf. We can no longer go to the cinema or theatre because of the reactions of others and even going on the bus to hospital appointments has its problems. It is a disability that is not obvious.

Martydoll I am truly sorry, we all have find a place to fit in, and I am not intolerant of others.

Life for you sounds very restrictive and I can understand your limitations.

My feelings stem back to being a child with an elderly grandfather who came to lunch every sunday and would hawk and spit and often miss the fireplace he was aiming for, mostly when we where eating our sunday lunch it has never left me.

I wish you well and hope that you are doing well in the weather we are having and that you are able to have some respite to enjoy an outing or two

downtoearth

Marydoll I have read and understand that you have many health issues and I understand that you need to go and have a social life too and I am sorry if my post has upset you.

I dont go out for lunch very often either and I did feel for the person who had this problem.

We where all sitting in close proximity to each other.

I couldnt help the way I felt anymore than the person who was coughing

I understand that Downtoearth, which is why I try not to inflict my cough on other diners. I just don't go out for meals anymore.
However, it still doesn't stop me feeling like a leper, especially when there is no cure for it and I come across a thread like this.

Perhaps there should be a designated, closed off section in a restaurant, especially for the persistent coughers.

Marydoll I have read and understand that you have many health issues and I understand that you need to go and have a social life too and I am sorry if my post has upset you.

I dont go out for lunch very often either and I did feel for the person who had this problem.

We where all sitting in close proximity to each other.

I couldnt help the way I felt anymore than the person who was coughing

There's currently a flu epidemic so I don't blame you a bit, I'd have walked out.
Yes I know some people have chronic coughs/ can't help it but statistically it's far more likely the person had a virus that you don't want to catch

downtoearth

I hate being anywhere near a very wet sounding productive cough where you can hear the mucus rattling along with the productive rattling throat clearing, we sat near this when my friend and I where out eating lunch.

Put us off our food completely.

I hope you never have to experience one, then.

I hate being anywhere near a very wet sounding productive cough where you can hear the mucus rattling along with the productive rattling throat clearing, we sat near this when my friend and I where out eating lunch.

Put us off our food completely.

How quickly people have forgotten the lessons learned during the Covid pandemic. Maybe they think that covering their mouths was only necessary when thousands were dying....

Frankly, I think we all should ask people who cough, sneeze or yawn without covering their mouth and nose to do so.

And that we should all remember this basic courtesy and cover our mouth and nose when coughing etc.

This woman's cough may not have been infectious, but other people cannot know that.

Happened to me recently in the theatre, just could not stop coughing. I did cover my mouth with a tissue and really wanted to go outside until I recovered but I was in the middle of a row and would have disturbed even more people. I did apologise to my nearest neighbours at the interval but was definitely given the cold shoulder.

I can't understand why the wearing of masks hasn't stayed with us after Covid. Some people do wear them and obviously they aren't 100% effective but if you have a cold or a cough then it's good manners to make some effort for other people's sake. Both my DH and I wear them in hospital settings or on public transport. With a huge population such as the UK has, surely we should do all we can to help ourselves and others.

I read the title as cougars🤣🤣🤣

I had a chronic cough for seven + years. A new doctor witnessed an 'attack' and solved it by changing one of my blood pressure pills.
If it applies, it might be worth mentioning .... ?

People who are really concerned they might catch something from others coughing and sneezing may benefit from wearing a mask themselves.

Although I do try to cough into my elbow etc sometimes a cough can take you by surprise.

Research has shown that masks are more effective at protecting against infection and not as effective as preventing them from being caught.

We just can't avoid other people's germs or lack of manners either.

Mogsmaw

My sister has a chronic asthmatic cough. She said sometimes she feels like a leper. Offers of sweets are well meaning but can feel degrading.

I have asthma too and am bothered by my chronic cough. I also often feel like a leper.

I have Bronchiectasis - my medication has been changed and it’s brilliant - it’s not a ‘productive’ cough anymore, which was awful, especially in a social setting. The new medication means my cough is fairly dry and ok to deal with.

I have had a ‘cough’for about the last 60 years. Despite many investigations no cause has ever been identified. I know certain things and conditions can start it off so try to avoid them. However I have a life and I can assure you it affects me more than others around me. However I have I always use a hanky to cover my mouth and leave the room if I am able. Just good manners.

Nanna Completely agree!
I have a nasty cough just now and have cancelled two appointments - one a restaurant reservation, not because I feel ill but because I have no desire to pass this on to anyone! Also I know there may well be people around me with an underlying condition who do not need my cough / cold to complicate their lives.
Having said that am aware that a cough can suddenly develop at the most inconvenient time !

Yes. It’s not always the cough that’s the problem, it’s the people who cough without trying to cover their mouth. DH and I were in the waiting room at a vet in France to have our dog given her worming tablet before coming home to the UK. The chairs were sitting round a table. A woman came in with her 3-4 year old child who pottered about the room coughing his wee lungs up. The problem was the mother let him wander about, coughing over everything. He came and sat on the table facing us and I said to DH that I hoped it wasn’t catching! But, guess what? A couple of days later I felt it coming and I was laid up for a good fortnight after I got home, feeling lousy, with a rotten cough. I didn’t blame the child but I do think the mother should have kept him beside her.
I think we’re all more aware of coughs since Covid - I know I am.