constant chest infections

dogsmother, I am not being judgemental. sazzi needs to be told. It is just mad what she is doing. Are you not concerned? Her GP may not know that she is still smoking and if he does not , he should be judgemental him/her self.

I pay my taxes - so I walked into A n E and said I feel I am going to collapse. I got the full treatment. Do you think politicians have to wait? (ps - I looked in to see if there was serious cases ... life and death, so to speak, before I asked for my treatment.

Travelsafar
Quote 'some sort of heart scan'.? This could be an ECG. and am sure your doctor knows what is best for H.
The fact you believe he needs more antibiotics may not be what the doctor believes so hence an inhaler and see that he USES it .That he is able to remove the 'stuff' when coughing is good for H. Make sure he has PLENTY of fluids, and water should be his main intake. He must not become dehydrated. As a hospital apt is due then be patient but in the event your husbands condition become much worse then do not hesitate in contacting the emergency services.

Johno In fact, despite your thoughtfully looking to see whether those waiting were in great need, the triage or decision making process done by the medics when people arrive would have picked up those in urgent need, so don't worry.
I hope you are feeling better.

travelsafar I feel a bit guilty because I'm here and not able to add anything helpful. Please take note of what has been said. Maybe show it to your husband? Be extremely strict. Make an appointment - tell the Receptionist he needs to come straight away! Don't give him any time for excuses.

Oh dear, I know it's all very well for me to say that. I used to sit outside the men's loos for hours knowing that my dear friend had serious trouble. Would he get his prostate checked? Did he leave it too late? Is he alive today? You know the answers. Can you guess his profession? Probably; Consultant Hospital Doctor in Neurology.

But you are his wife so be very forceful. Wishing you the very best of luck.

sazz1
You're very honest about smoking. I haven't met a smoker who doesn't want to give up (there probably are some) so I am assuming you were expecting a lot of shocked responses and tellings off!

I'm just saying thank you for the bleach alert! I didn't know and I've just used some! It does make me feel wheezy too! Fortunately for me I haven't had any chest infections.

I'm very reluctant to say anything because you haven't asked for it, but as I'm here and won't get another opportunity, may I tell you of a little trick I used to give people for giving up smoking? (I'm a retired Psychologist).

I do not, generally, like so-called hypnotherapy, although it is used to good effect by some good people. But I use methods of mind changing. I say to the person, who I ask to stand up, that I assume you want to be a non smoker? You want to be a person who does not smoke? They'll say yes. Then I say, from the moment you sit in that chair, you will be a person who does not smoke. (I never say 'given up smoking' and prefer to say 'does not smoke' to non-smoker).
Then they sit down and I say hello and "I understand that you do not smoke." I talk about how nice it is when we do not smoke, not the heavy stuff but the money saved and having to find a shop when you run out and going outdoors to do it and smelling of it. I make it light-hearted. I then take them through their average day, which they have already told me about, and each time when they would pause for a cigarette I say, "Oh - I forgot - I don't smoke!" and laugh about it.

So every time you think of having a cigarette you say to yourself "Oh! I forgot! I don't smoke!" and find it rather amusing.

If it is not the right time to do it now, just try to remember this and one morning soon you will wake up and remember that you don't smoke!

Please do not think I am getting at you or telling you what to do! It is none of my business to tell you what to do! Quite honestly I am not the best example of healthy habits being by no means the most healthy eater! - I do not believe in lecturing people on what they do. What you do is up to you, and I respect that.

In passing on what I used to do when people asked me to help to change them into people who do not smoke, I am not telling you what to do. I'm just letting you and others have this in case you find it interesting or want to try it some time. I'm not telling you to do it unless you want to!

I only mention my non smoking idea for the reasons I gave - because this is an opportunity to do so, in case it's any help either now or later, to you or anyone else.

Good luck with the COPD and thanks for the bleach advice.

Please could I make people (especially those with bronchiectasis) aware of a mycobacterium that is like a non-contagious form of TB. If you feel unwell, have lots of mucus and maybe lose weight that could be the cause. These mycobactium (if you are interested look up NTM) are everywhere but especially in water and soil.

I used to have an allotment with a compost heap and used to go to the gym and then swim and use the steam room. All these things that I thought were healthy were not, after all, good for me! After 18 months on 3 antibiotics every day, I am 'stable' and feel much better. My treatment on the NHS, when I was eventually properly diagnosed, has been fantastic.

Liz 46

I too am an avid gardener and have been aware of the use of compost and I wear a mask now when potting my containers as I am concerned about Legionnaires' disease and Aspergillosis which have been connected in part to soil and compost ' amongst other factors' for the benefit of not scare mongering.

Vitamin D may be good to boost the immune system but I don't think it would get rid of an infection if one is present.

Can you ring the surgery surreptitiously - they may not discuss his case (probably will not) but may advise you to make sure he does make an appointment. Waiting for a hospital appointment could take a while.

I've heard about the bacterial infection from compost, Liz46. I don't use a mask but I do hold my breath if shaking compost around!

It matters not now if travelsafar's DH was a smoker - we know more now than we did years ago about its effect and he needs help now. There are many causes of COPD, many of them industry-related or we may have had whooping cough as children, before there was a vaccine available.

POGS and Liz46

Is this the compost that you get in a bag from the garden centres or home made stuff? I sort of assumed that had been heat treated or something to get rid of any nasties ....?

travelsafar he is an adult but is risking far more serious issues if he doesn't get it treated - think about waiting for a hospital appointment when he is lying on a trolley in a corridor in A&E for 8 hours while they try to find a bed should he end up with pneumonia! It may have not been the correct anti-biotic in the first place, so if nothing else please get him to spit some sputum into a sample bottle and take it in so they can send it to the lab and check?

EllanVannin and sazz1 I too am a smoker and don't get coughs and colds etc, but my circulation is also a bit dodgy peripherally ....

Annaram1 as smokers we DO know the risks and dangers, but we ALL have to die of something and I can think of worse ways to be honest! With my deteriorating health which began slowly in 1998 before I was even 40 - I can no longer have sex, eat what I want, drink what I want or even do what I want, so my remaining vice and pleasure is having a ciggie!! Although Tillybelle I will bear your advice in mind just in case I do wake one morning and suddenly desire to be a non-smoker!

Hi, I had a terrible cough for over 2 years and last summer had pneumonia and since then had s few bad chest infections. I do not have COPD. I was convinced my symptoms were caused by silent acid reflux and I was aspiring acid into my lungs. I had every examination under the sun, barium swallow, endoscopy, CT scan all of which showed everything as normal. After much persistence I finally had a 24-hour pH test which proved I have significant acid reflux through the lower sphincter and occasionally the upper sphincter so I was getting aspiration pneumonia and chest infections caused by silent acid reflux. I could write lots more but instead recommend a book called The Acid Watcher Diet by Jonathan Aviv which is just amazing and helped me lots (Amazon have it). Unfortunately GPS do not have much (if any) understanding SAR and the connection with a persistent productive cough and just want to prescribe anti-acid tablets and send you packing but meanwhile the silent acid can still cause major problems. You should say to your husband that if it were you who was poorly would he want you to get checked at the doctors, hopefully it'll make him have a rethink about not going.

MadeinYorkshire

Aspergillosis
Aspergillosis is a condition caused by aspergillus mould. There are several different types of aspergillosis. Most affect the lungs and cause breathing difficulties.

How you get aspergillosis
Aspergillosis is usually caused by inhaling tiny bits of mould. The mould is found in lots of places, including:

soil, compost and rotting leaves
plants, trees and crops
dust
damp buildings
air conditioning systems
You cannot catch aspergillosis from someone else or from animals.

Information:
Most people who breathe in the mould do not get ill.

Aspergillosis is rare in healthy people
You're usually only at risk of aspergillosis if you have:

a lung condition – such as asthma, cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
a weakened immune system – for example, if you have had an organ transplant or are having chemotherapy
had tuberculosis (TB) in the past"
--

I cannot stress enough I am not trying to scare or remotely insinuate aspergilloses is likely to happen and wearing a mask is probably OTT but I prefer to do so when in close proximity to bags of compost when potting up etc.

Fungal spores are everywhere so it's probably a case of the Old Lady who piddled in the sea and said ' Every little helps ' when it comes to my wearing a mask when potting. ?

Made in Yorkshire, you and other smokers are aware of the risks and dangers of smoking, and think there are worse ways of dying than of smoking. Lung cancer is a terrible death, Perhaps if you gave up smoking your general health would improve and you would be able to do a few more things. I am very strongly against smoking as I believe it exacerbates any illness you have and gives you others, as nicotine and tars fill up the little alveoles in your lungs and therefore makes it difficult to breathe properly. Perhaps you should google the effects of smoking. It takes at least a year after giving up to clear your lungs and enable you to breathe properly again. It is sad that poisoning yourself with little white sticks is your only pleasure. What about reading, visiting friends and family, sitting out in the garden or a nice park and listening to the birds, looking at the flowers, just generally enjoying the summer and the fresh air? Sex is over rated and there is a huge range of food and drink available and I am sure you could find something you enjoy if you try... but you won't will you, because you are in denial. All the best anyway.

I now keep my bag of compost in the corner of the garden instead of using it in the garage. I pour some water into the bag before I dig some compost out so there is less 'flying about'. Peat is very bad for dodgy lungs.

Here we go again, DH has yet another suspected infection, usual symptons, coughing up brown phlem finding it harder to breath he has just gone to the GP who were fab fitting him in this morning.Hoping the results of the scan he had done last week are back so the gp can see if there is anything to worry about.It is almost like he has a week of feeling unwell then a week of antibiotics and steriods, then he has a good week and then the cycle starts all over again.

I am sorry to hear this travelsofar. These buggerations as we get older are very worrying. I hope the doc can sort him out.

Do you drink,Annaram1 ?

travelsofar

Annoying isn't it.

I hope having had his scan the results are not serious.

Can I ask re his COPD which of the problems that come under the umbrella of COPD goes he have?

Hi thanks for words of care.He is back on two weeks of antibiotics and steriod tablets, the scan showed no fluid round heart thank goodness but did show infection inboth lungs.He has another appointment after finishing meds this time to discuss the way forward in dealing with his issues. I belive it it is the one which sounds like bronchitis, can think of its name at the mo.

travelsofar

Is it Bronchiectasis, which some GNetters have, including myself?

That is really good news re no fluid around his heart

I too have bronchiectasis, it was caused by years of chest infections.
I am on prophlyactic antibiotics for life and an extra inhaler, called Relvar Ellipta, the highest dose available.
Since starting this regime, I have had less chest infections and definitely less steroids.
I hope your husband begins to feel better, Travelsafar.