Still coughing

You know the hard thing about having a powerful cough after you've had a kid? It makes you wish you did Kegels regularly. If I'm standing up when a cough strikes, I have to cross my legs. I'm doing a helluva job, if you don't mind my saying so, avoiding the disgorgement of anything other than phlegm when I cough. Still haven't barfed or peed my pants. I do sometimes feel a little light-headed right after I cough, though, and it tastes terrible—am I dying, DoctorMama? Should I call my physician?

My client warned me that this is the respiratory virus that gives you a cough that lasts for nearly a month, so I've got about three weeks to go. She also said I should take an antihistamine, which I thought sounded odd, but that recent consensus statement from the pulmonary specialists seems to say not only that over-the-counter cough suppressants are largely useless, but that taking an antihistamine and decongestant may help with an infection-related cough. You know what? I think it does help. So if you get hit with the whammy cough—cough starts first, then the cold symptoms follow—there is hope. Have a Benadryl and a decongestant. If you don't want to sign over your first-born child to score some pseudoephedrine (come on! quit sniffling! you're not sick, you just want to cook some meth! we can see it in your eyes!), try the phenylephrine. It works just fine for me.

Wow. Worst post ever! But hopefully useful if you're coughing.