End of Cold or Possible Walking Pneumonia?

It could just be that when you lay down all the mucus just sits. Try the teas that Carmen suggested and put a wet wash cloth in the microwave for about 2 minutes, then put that (with a dry towel) on your chest. That should help break up/dry out any mucus in your chest.

You can also put the essential oils with water on the wash cloth that works even better.

It also wouldn’t be a bad idea to have your doctor listen to your lungs and rule out pneumonia.

My daughter got several bouts of walking pneumonia. The cough may be dry at first, but will become "productive" and get bloody (at least, hers did--- the first time they called from school saying she was coughing up blood... OMG, was I scared!)

As for being worse at night... I am pretty sure that is common with everybody with even regular coughs. We lie there and and want to sleep, but the mucous just settles in there "tickling" at us to cough it up... over and over and over... ugh!!! And yes, regular coughs can linger for weeks and even months. And the reason we are so increasingly tired is that we not only are expending energy coughing, it is keeping us awake!!

I love the OTC cough medicine - Delsym ("Delete Symptoms") - for nighttime, but it doesn't work for my younger daughter. When we get tired of coughing and absolutely NEED SLEEP... and trials of various over-the-counter cough medicines, decongestants, antihistamines, and a week of nasal/sinus irrigation have not done the trick.... that's when it may be worth going to a doctor and getting prescription medication for the cough... even a regular cough... so we can SLEEP!

It probably depends on what type of cough it is...is it a dry hacking cough, or are you coughing up mucus, etc.

Coughing is actually good if it is getting stuff out, if not, it might just be irritating to your lungs.

sometimes, when colds hang around, you can get a secondary infection.

If it goes on another week, I'd see someone.

Frankly, I would check it out...... I don't think it is pneumonia, but the doctor CAN give you a script for a stronger cough medicine that will let you sleep at night. It may be the post-nasal drip that is irritating things and making you cough. (btw... when we first moved to Texas (1992), I ended up with pneumonia TWICE in 2 weeks... almost ended up in the hospital with it... and this was in August/September! The first was mycoplasmal pneumonia, and right after I finished the antibiotics for that, I ended up with bacterial pneumonia.....wow, what an experience!)

Just about every fall, I get a cough that lingers for weeks...... for me, I think it is allergy related..... if I would learn to go in when it first starts, it wouldn't lead to laryngitis for 2 months, but I tend to be stubborn and not go in to the doctor when it starts.

Walking pneumonia would have you coughing all day long, not just at night.
Sleep with a humidifier next to your bed.
When I have a chest cold I love Vick's Vapor Rub on my throat and chest (the on the feet thing and socks never did anything for me except make my feet soft).
A heating pad on low on your chest and throat can help (people use to use mustard plasters - you still can but be careful of burning your skin).
Before bed, take a hot steamy shower and cough as hard as you can to cough up as much as you can - it should clear you up enough for at LEAST a few hours good sleep.
Mucinex (or Robitussin - anything with guaifenesin) will help to keep the mucus thin so it's easier to cough up.
Stay well hydrated (echinacea tea, water, soup broth, etc) - stay away from dairy until your cold is finished since it can thicken up the mucus.
Rinse your nose out with warm saline using a neti pot as often as you want.
Gargle with salt water.

I had a cough that held on for 8 weeks once.
My ribs were getting sore from all the coughing.
I did take it to the doctor eventually and I'd been doing everything right (he said so) and it wasn't anything but a lingering cough.
He did give me a prescription for cough medicine with a little codine in it, but no antibiotics were needed.
I don't think you need to see a doctor yet.

Hi R.,

I hope you're feeling better. definitely check it out. you can also try a few things. any chance the laundry detergent is not agreen with you and when you lay your face on the pillow case it irritates your lungs, etc?
now to tackling that cough.... try some teas at bed time:
first prep this to make it easier to make the tea:
1 TBSP chamomile (or 2 teabags)-- (if you're not allergic to ragweeds),
1/2 tsp ginger,
1 TBSP thyme,
1 tsp oregano

blend for about 1 minute with 1 cup of water.
strain it and put it in a jar.
before bed time, heat up 1 cup water and add 1 -2 spoonfuls of the mixture to make "tea" -- add honey if you want.
the oregano wil lhelp with the cough.

also get some essential oils (peppermint, eucalyptus, basil) you can put a couple of drops of each on a tissue and put it next to you at bed time.
Good luck and I hope you feel better.
avoid dairy products as you'll produce more mucus and have more stuff to cough up. Get well soon!
~C.~

I would go get checked. It probably isn't pneumonia, but you might be able to rest better if you KNOW that, AND you can get some ideas and medication that might help you rest better at night. Prescription cough meds can help you sleep when NOTHING over the counter will do the trick. And sometimes, rest (or lack of it) can be the thing to make it linger longer.

I had walking pneumonia for about 2 months before I went to the doctor. Every night my cough would start and sound wet and I would think I will go to the doctors tomorrow. Then I would get up in the morning and I would be tired but the cough would be gone so I wouldn't go to the doctors. Once I went to the doctor he told me to take a deep breath so he could hear my lungs. Even without the stethoscope I could hear the weeze in my lungs. I felt really foolish for waiting so long but honestly I thought I would have felt at least a little sick with walking pneumonia but I didn't.
If you can hear a weeze when you take a deep breath, get it checked out.

I'd go get it checked if it meant that much to him.