My successful experience treating cough/chest congestion

[Jingthing]

Just now, sawadee1947 said:

Maybe you're living on a country side and don't know how to ask or articulate? Have a good day

There are exceptions. I was talking about the general culture. Sometimes it's really bizarre. One time while I was still a tourist I came down with something quite mysterious and severe in Trang. The "doctor" wouldn't get within 20 feet of me. What kind of physical exam can you do without touching a patient? He gave me a bag of pills, They refused to even tell me what the pills were. That's an extreme case of course. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Interesting.

I'd never heard of that stuff before.

I don't need it now though.

 

NAC long is a standard pharmacy prescription here for chest congestion. My U.S. doctor in BKK recommended it and said it's relatively safe to use, even for extended use.

 

It costs about 180-200 baht for a tube of 10 fizzy tablet that you dissolve into a half glass of water. The active ingredient is Acetylcysteine. Usually use once or twice a day, depending on the degree of one's congestion. Made in Germany by Temmler Pharma.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

37 minutes ago, sawadee1947 said:

 But even in Thailand you can ask the Docs all your questions. No problem. He will answer. And in addition the pharmacists here are well trained and will have support by their computer systems.

 

Don't agree about that at all.

 

In my experience, the doctors often don't like to be asked a lot of questions (even though I do). And when it comes to medications, typically at even the better private hospitals in Bangkok, the doctors there will order medicines for you without actually telling you what they're ordering, why they're ordering them, or any potential side effects. The typical comment is, OK, I've ordered medicine for you, pick it up at the pharmacy. And that's all a lot of them typically ever say. In my case, I always insist that they explain to me during the appointment all the details of what they're planning to prescribe. But they almost never do it voluntarily.

 

As for pharmacists, as I believe Sheryl noted in another recent thread, the people behind the counters at private pharmacies here, even those wearing white coats, aren't necessarily trained or licensed actual pharmacists. Just store staff selling stuff.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

14 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I don't really consider it a treatment for asthma but rather to get mucus out. 

The oil is sold at pharmacies here and it's not expensive either. 

 

 

This is a really good, helpful product, usually about 90 baht or so for the large 56 cc size bottle at most any pharmacy.

 

I've never used it for chest congestion. But I have used it for years for sinus congestion, and it really helps a lot for that, in terms of loosening up the mucus.

 

Put a few drops into this kind of steamer, and then inhale for 10 mins or so until the liquid has steamed away.

 

Unfortunately, I've never found this steamer or anyone like it available for sale in Thailand, so I get mine from the U.S.  The blue plastic cone that fits on top of the steam is greater for either nasal or chest inhaling, because your face fits up against it and thus concentrates the steam.

 

Note: Unfortunately, the Conair steamer I'm showing below from the U.S. comes with a 120V model only, not 220v. So here, I have to use it with a step down transformer.

 

I've never seen a 220V equivalent product.

 

Edited March 6, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

NAC long is a standard pharmacy prescription here for chest congestion. My U.S. doctor in BKK recommended it and said it's relatively safe to use, even for extended use.

 

It costs about 180-200 baht for a tube of 10 fizzy tablet that you dissolve into a half glass of water. The active ingredient is Acetylcysteine. Usually use once or twice a day, depending on the degree of one's congestion. Made in Germany by Temmler Pharma.

 

I did look it up. It does sound useful but what I read said a quite significant percentage of people have an anaphylactic reaction to it. That's no joke. Not sure how you would know before trying it though.

 

https://www.webmd.com/allergies/anaphylaxis#1

 

To add, I also read that some people get asthma attacks from Eucalyptus oil.

Edited March 6, 2018 by Jingthing

[sawadee1947]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

There are exceptions. I was talking about the general culture. Sometimes it's really bizarre. One time while I was still a tourist I came down with something quite mysterious and severe in Trang. The "doctor" wouldn't get within 20 feet of me. What kind of physical exam can you do without touching a patient? He gave me a bag of pills, They refused to even tell me what the pills were. That's an extreme case of course. 

"doctor" wouldn't get within 20 feet of me.

  maybe it was your smell....! Honestly speaking it depends on you how you ask and what you ask the doc. And of course you can ask what kind of medicine is in the bag and what is the name. Same with the pharmacists. They got an equivalent education to EU. Sometimes however their English is not the best. 

[Jingthing]

Just now, sawadee1947 said:

"doctor" wouldn't get within 20 feet of me.

  maybe it was your smell....! Honestly speaking it depends on you how you ask and what you ask the doc. And of course you can ask what kind of medicine is in the bag and what is the name. Same with the pharmacists. They got an equivalent education to EU. Sometimes however their English is not the best. 

Honestly, we just don't agree. Thanks for sharing. 

[sawadee1947]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

Honestly, we just don't agree. Thanks for sharing. 

Have a nice evening 

[tifino]

Looking back, there are (were) a couple of Posts that brought up( no pun) mucus

 

Congestion related mucus

and Asthma related Mucus are totally different

 

Not wanting to go into colourful detail about the Congestion/ie bacteria type Mucus...

 

Astham musus will be that clear gunk. It's so sticky and tacky, you could build a bridge with it!

 

Anyhows, Congestion, and Asthma have gone hand in hand with me for over 20 years. Usually the Congestion simply makes my asthma just that much worse, through complications...

 

Mnay of my subsequent Drs over the years all agree, that in the Case of you presenting that Clear Mucus; the best first thing to help yourself with is to significantly increase you water intake. That excessive Clear Mucus is a sign of dehydration in an Asthamtic

 

When a bout of the white/yellow then progressively more green mucus arises, one of the relieving methods one of these Drs came up with, was to make sure you sleep on your front, with no pillow, but a towel under your face (to catch whatever is being ejected when your cough etc whilst asleep.

 

I found that until I used this sleep method above; I actually found ( in one of many times) myself in Hosp for 3 days recovering from the Asthma complication from all that green gunk that had flowed down throat, from nose to lungs, because I had usually been sleeping on my back

 

I copped the Asthma during my much earlier 5 years in Malaysia

 

I now use Seretide and Ventolin, after 20+ years of prescription changes, in the search for my best combination

Edited March 6, 2018 by tifino

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

I did look it up. It does sound useful but what I read said a quite significant percentage of people have an anaphylactic reaction to it. That's no joke. Not sure how you would know before trying it though.

 

 

You might need to distinguish between the potential different kinds of side effects, depending on the method of administration -- IV, inhalation, oral:

 

Quote

 

The most commonly reported adverse effects for IV formulations of acetylcysteine are rash, urticaria, and itchiness.^[12] Up to 18% of patients have been reported to experience anaphylaxis reaction, which are defined as rash, hypotension, wheezing, and/or shortness of breath. Lower rates of anaphylactoid reactions have been reported with slower rates of infusion.

 

Adverse effects for inhalational formulations of acetylcysteine include nausea, vomiting, stomatitis, fever, rhinorrhea, drowsiness, clamminess, chest tightness, and bronchoconstriction. Although infrequent, bronchospasm has been reported to occur unpredictably in some patients.^[44]

 

Adverse effects for oral formulations of acetylcysteine have been reported to include nausea, vomiting, rash, and fever.^[44]

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetylcysteine

 

I've used NAC long periodically, and never had any adverse reactions to it.

 

The above Wiki site also noted:
 

Quote

It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most effective and safe medicines needed in a health system.^[9] It is available as a generic medication and is not very expensive.^[10]

 

 

 

Edited March 6, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Mansell]

I have found Doctors here in hospitals will give medications without any directions at all....I always check them on line to see the dosage, side effects, and some drugs need to be taken with food, or an hour before eating.....none of this information is passed on. They gave my Thai lady a drug for her to take with some others....when I did my research it was banned in the USA and the U.K., and some of the side effects were right up there with things like suicide etc. Friends in Phuket took their baby girl to Bangkok Hospital with severe eye irritation.....the medication the doctor gave them came very close to blinding the baby......very scary stuff. So I don't trust any of them, and ask lots of questions for myself and my lady. Remember they are working for you in those moments in time, you are paying them, sometimes they need to be reminded. I had a friend in the USA went to the doctor and had to wait for an hour and a half before he saw the doctor......he presented the doctor with a bill for his time saying, "My time is as precious as yours." He never got paid, but  he made his point.

[Mansell]

Two years ago I had a bad cough for three months.....two doctors in two different cities at two different hospitals and assorted drugs, and no change. Friend on Phuket told me to buy the Chinese herb stuff below at a pharmacy.....cough gone in two days. Runs 50 baht a bottle and works for me, and him.

[Jingthing]

Funny you mention that. 

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/27/chinese-herbal-cough-syrup-has-taken-new-york-storm/

 

The Chinese herbal cough syrup that has taken New York by storm

I looked into that a little and found it's not the same ingredients as the Thai herbal cough syrup I tried. I hadn't realized you could buy the Chinese stuff in Thailand.

 

 

Edited March 6, 2018 by Jingthing

[connda]

6 hours ago, sawadee1947 said:

you should always ask your pharmacist about side effects..he's the specialist...Most doctors don't know anything

Anytime my doctor gives me a new drug, the first thing I do is look it up online and review all the literature.  At the end of the day, I'm the one who will decide what goes into my body or not.  Doctors tend to over-prescribe imho.

Edited March 6, 2018 by connda

[Suradit69]

On March 5, 2561 BE at 3:05 PM, Jingthing said:

remembered in the past I've cleared things up by breathing in eucalyptus oil steam.

Bought a bottle this morning and realized at first whiff that eucalyptus was a major component of Vicks Vaporub. Probably cheaper than Vicks. I have used Vicks and hot water for inhalation. Usually helps.

Edited March 6, 2018 by Suradit69

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

Must be one of the oldest sinus relief remedies ever, but it works.

Another interesting use is to stop the itch from mosquito bites.

Use the spray directly on the bite. Itch gone in a few minutes.

[ancharee]

23 hours ago, Pinot said:

If I get occasional persistent congestion, I've found that an inhaler knocks it out in a couple of days. I haven't found anything else that even close to as effective.

 

It's the Seretide Accuhaler inhaler. I need to use it a couple times a year for a few days. It works and it's fairly inexpensive. Sometimes after a chest cold, I can't get rid of the cough, this works. 

 

See the online instructions for how to use it. If you still have a cough after a week, something else is going on. 

 

 

Can you buy it in Thailand, or could you put a photo of it on the post, thanks

[NewGuy]

I've been using NAC Long for years (have copd); it's fast acting after fizzing up a glass of water, time release and one per day is fine - heavy congestion days are helped by two or three doses. The principal ingredient is widely available from VN to Surinam but you need to take a lot to get an equivalent dose to NAC Long, although you can get the tunes in a lot of places. I was speaking to a friend's md here and he takes NAC Long daily as a preventative.

[Jingthing]

I've been using NAC Long for years (have copd); it's fast acting after fizzing up a glass of water, time release and one per day is fine - heavy congestion days are helped by two or three doses. The principal ingredient is widely available from VN to Surinam but you need to take a lot to get an equivalent dose to NAC Long, although you can get the tunes in a lot of places. I was speaking to a friend's md here and he takes NAC Long daily as a preventative.

I will definitely consider trying NAC next episode hopefully not anytime soon. On the other hand the Eucalyptus oil works so well for me that would be my first thing.

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Pinot]

On 3/7/2018 at 9:00 AM, ancharee said:

Can you buy it in Thailand, or could you put a photo of it on the post, thanks

Available everywhere.