Has anyone ever gone to the doctor for a cold that has just stuck around for a long time? I don't like to tie up appointments for colds but 2 weeks is a long time to feel under the weather. Is there anything a doctor can do other than to say "wait it out?"
-
If it was me, I'd be worried about a sinus infection. What are your symptoms? Are they getting better or worse?
-
Honestly, a cold usually lasts at least 2 weeks for me. Always. If I get rid of a cold before 2 weeks, I would be thrilled.
-
I was going to say sinus infection too - I've had 2 this winter from colds that just lingered.
-
i had a cold/cough for over two weeks. if it's just a cold/cough then I just wait it out but i'm not prone to sinus infections while mr. bee is.
-
I would probably go and see if it was a sinus infection since I tend to be susceptible to them. But just an FYI, DH is a nurse and a couple days ago a Dr. was telling him how colds this season seem to be lasting multiple WEEKS on average.
Do your teeth hurt when you run/jump? That's my sure fire sinus infection diagnosing method for myself LOL
-
There's something going around this year that lasts forever - many moms on here have had it, my mother has had it. One of my friends posted on FB that she has had the longest cold of her life this year.
I was sick for most of October. I felt like I had a terrible headcold coming back from a weekend away 10/5, I didn't go to the doctor until 10/31. They tested for everything, strep, sinus infection, etc. but nope, just this stubborn cold that's going around.@BadgerMom: yeah, this year's cold lasts foreeeeverrrr. I didn't feel like death every day but I didn't feel 100% until a good month later. I took over the counter until I saw a doctor. The antibiotics didn't do anything for it. I continued herbal/natural remedies (Umcka, local honey, vitamin boosts, lots of water) until it finally was gone.
Hope you feel better soon!
-
I've got whatever crud is going around and it's turned into a sinus infection. I have immense pressure whenever I lean over and it. is. AWFUL.
To answer your question, yes, if the cold is sticking around or I feel absolutely awful for more than a few days, I go to the doctor. If I let it get too bad, I end up out of work for days on end.
-
If i had a sinus infection, I'd go. But otherwise I'd probably wait if it's just a cold. I can always tell the difference.
Plus, i had a cold, started to get better, got another one..i've basically had one since freaking Thanksgiving.
-
I was sick for most of November, I finally went in and the doctor pulled out the big guns, I ended up with a prescription cough suppresant and an inhaler.
I used to tough it out, but I can't anymore.
-
@blackbird: I have been congested since Thanksgiving, it is crazy! It turned into a full blown cold just over a week ago and the doctor confirmed it wasn't a sinus infection so I am just taking OTC meds and drinking crazy amounts of tea.
-
I had this hacking cough for weeks from a "cold". To the point where the pulmonologists were coming up to me and asking me to get checked out. In my world you are supposed to just suck it up when you have a cold, because you already know there's nothing anyone can do for you.
I finally did go in and it turned out I had atypical pneumonia.Doctor, you suck at diagnosing yourself!
-
I got sick right after Christmas (12/27) and haven't felt back to 100% since then, so definitely three weeks now, though I'm finally feeling like I'm almost better today. I had a midwife appointment in there the first time I thought I was on the mend, only to get worse again the next day--- so it didn't occur to me to ask what i could take, so I've just been suffering, hah. I've been focusing on resting, drinking lots of hot water with honey, lemon and ginger, and using my neti pot to clear out gunk to avoid the sinus infection everyone has been mentioning. I think it helps keep the cough from getting too bad either (because there is less post nasal drip, I guess?). Either way, I hope you start to feel on the mend soon
-
@macintosh: @Madison43: @BadgerMom: @avivoca: @blackbird: definitely not a sinus infection. I've had one of those before and it was soooo painful.
This is head congestion with a cough that comes and goes. I can sleep at night but when I get on a coughing spell, watch out...
@Mrs. Jacks: yeah, my brother is the same way. During his fellowship, he had the flu and he hooked himself up to get fluids throughout the day to stay hydrated while he worked. He got it again recently and told me he went to work because "he wouldn't get any rest at home." (he has a 3 year old and a newborn)
I think I'll wait until next week and if the cough is still bad, I may go in for something....I haven't had a cold last this long in forever.
-
@mediagirl: Yeah, nurses get to go home sick, but the back up systems we have in place aren't great... so we work!
-
@mediagirl: I just got a call from H's doctor (she has similar symptoms to mine: gunky nose, cough, intermittent fever) and it turns out she has STREP. It didn't present the way it normally does and her rapid strep test was negative, so I was blown away when the 48-hour culture came back positive. I hope that's not what you have.
-
my colds last that long. general rule is if it gets worse, go in, if it's getting better but too slow, don't... unless your gut says go in. Then trust your gut.
And my colds always last 2+weeks,
Get well soon! -
this season it seems like colds are lasting forever. I had a bad cold with a terrible cough that was keeping me up at night for 2 weeks. I'm on day 19 now and still have a cough. I went to the Dr at around 12 days because my cough was preventing me from sleeping at all and I also got pink eye. The dr prescribed me something to help the cough at night so I could sleep, but she may have done that only because I was 38.5 weeks pregnant and she needed me to get better for L&D. I think they can give you antibiotics if it is bronchitis as well. Mine and wasn't though.
-
@Mrs. Jacks: My husband had that twice! He just kept coughing and coughing! The whole bed shook at night from his coughing. LOL! You don't suck. You must be an awesome doctor for paying more attention to your patients than yourself. Glad it wasn't anything more serious.
@mediagirl: I'm prone to getting sinus infections when I get a cold so I usually go in to make sure. Hope you feel better soon!
-
@erwoo: hugs! My little one ended up with croup last night-- much easier for me to handle than my own Illnesses!
-
@mediagirl: I had something similar a few months ago. I went in after a month and the dr gave me a nasal corticosteriod. It opened up the nasal passages and allowed all the gook that was stuck in my head to flow out.
-
I'm just now coming out of a cold with a crazy hacking cough that's lasted a little over two weeks. I just waited it out bc it wasn't a sinus infection. This is the first time in a looong time I've had a cold that lasted this long! I usually assume it's a virus and that docs can't do much to help anyway, so it takes a lot for me to go in.
-
@Mrs. Jacks: Oh no! Hope she feels better soon.
-
My colds typically last about 2 weeks, unfortunately. If any other symptoms develop that aren't cold symptoms or it gets worse, I'd probably go.
Reply
Subscribe to our newsletter
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
23 comments