Lungs
Sickly lungs run in my family. Right at the end of last year my father ended up in the hospital for pneumonia. I have been battling bronchitis most of my life. I had a pretty bad bout last year. I only recently got over another cough. That is the trick though, I never really get over the cough. Just ask any one who hangs out with me. I cough all the time. I've noticed several people around me who do the same thing. My friend says he and I have the same sounding cough. I have isolated it to the diaphragm cough. That is the one where you take in a big breath and let it fly with a burst of air while constricting the throat. This is different from a normal cough only by intensity and the distinctive sound of someone's head nearly flying off from pressure.
This last time I went to the doctor, I got a chest X-ray. My lungs looked relatively clear. The top of my lungs looked over expanded according to the doctor. I think that is a symptom of coughing your whole life. He says it sounds like I have asthma when he listens to my lungs, but my breathing test shows I have plenty of capacity. My lungs are not knotted up enough to diagnose asthma. My body is reacting to some kind of allergen. Heaven knows what.
So, I'm on a new batch of pills and a powder based inhaler. They are antihistamines. No antibiotic or steroid this time. That is a good thing. I think the inhaler is doing the trick. The pills are not doing anything I don't think. I heard on NPR the other day that doctors are starting to recommend that people flush their nasal passages with a salt solution designed for the sinuses. Not nasal spray, the kind that flush the area. That sounds disgusting, but it sounds like what I need. When I get my check next month I'm going to look for the stuff they talked about and give it a shot. it doesn't sound pleasant, but I'm up for it. Besides, it might work. One of my friends said it worked for them. I'm sure I'll blog about it.
Nat and Elle keep coming down with a cough too. It has got to be Houston. We have crappy air here. I've been coughing since I was a kid. I moved here when I was a kid. It comes and goes. It is amazing how tired it makes me. I wonder if the treatment above will help the snoring any.