About Kathleen MacNaughton Expertise As a registered nurse and health educator, as well as a person living with nasal allergies, eczema, allergic asthma, and eye allergies, I can answer questions related to allergy symptoms, triggers, diagnosis, and treatment.
Experience I have lived with severe nasal, eye, and skin allergies all of my life. I also have allergic asthma. In addition, I have been an RN for more than 30 years and have spent the last 10 years as a consumer health educator, both offline and online, specializing in the areas of allergies and asthma.
Publications About.com (asthma), HealthCentral.com (asthma and allergy networks), RhinocortAqua.com, EverydayKidz.com
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Syracuse University.
Every year around late October, like clock work, I get a cold. Or what seems like a cold. Usually my 3 young children have it first, and then I get it about a week later. The problem is, it takes me weeks to get over it. Right now I'm on my 3rd week of a productive cough that won't quit. I cough up thick green mucus all day and night. The same disgusting stuff comes out of my nose. I actually had the cough about a week before the other cold symptoms appeared. I have been running a slight fever on and off as well. I have been to the doctor, and I get the same answers year after year. "It's probably allergies" he'll say, and give me nasal spray. It doesn't work. Then I'll go back. "It's probably a sinus infection". I take antibiotics. It works!, only to come back a few weeks later. "Maybe it's asthma", and he gave me singular. I took the stuff for months last year, while I was very pregnant, and I was so sick I was on the verge of being hospitalized. The last couple of years I've had this tightness in my chest when I breath. I'm not sure if it's actually my lungs, or if it's from coughing so much that my muscles are strained. I've also noticed that I cough relentlessly when I expose my lungs to cold air. I will just cough and cough until I warm up. It's borderline embarrassing! I am totally fine from about the end of May until Mid October. The rest of the year is miserable. I don't want to go back to my doctor and face another dead end, plus be out $20 a shot every time I see the man, plus co-pay for a useless Rx. Do you have any ideas on what this could be? Any suggestions I can make to my doc about this? Thanks so much!!!
Answer Hi Tanya,
I feel for you - sounds as though you've really been miserable, not to mention frustrated. I have to say the chest tightness and the coughing sensitivity to cold air sound like hallmark symptoms of asthma, though not necessarily the allergic kind. Singulair isn't your only option for asthma treatment; in fact, it's probably not even your best one. Experts recommend an inhaled steroid as the first step in treating asthma. It's taken 1 to 2 times daily and prevents symptoms. Then you may also need a quick relief inhaler for when symptoms occur anyway, such as when you go out in the cold.
But, obviously I can't really tell over the Internet whether asthma IS what you have. The congestion certainly makes it sound as though something else is going on. If you're not happy with what your regular doctor has to say, you could benefit from seeing a specialist. Yes, it might cost you, but if you feel better and get the right treatment, isn't it worth it?
I recommend you think about getting a second opinion either from an ear, nose & throat specialist (ENT) or a pulmonologist (respiratory specialist).
