The Puffer Forum

mucinex doesnt work for me and now the robitussin (walgreens brand-cheaper) doesnt seem like its going to work either... ive been trying to cough it up from my chest for the past 2 days and hardly getting anywhere i dont have health insurance so i cant go to the doctor(without paying out of the nose). but i can make an appointment with the health services clinic at school when they open back up in a week or so. im hoping to be done with it before that though. anyone know of a good expectorant that wont cost a lot?

You may need antibiotics. Make the appointment. Keep with the Mucinex & use a Netti Pot. Are you taking any immune enhancers, like echinacea?

i thought neti pots only work for nasal things? its all in my chest. my nose is fine. everything basically is fine except im coughing to try to get rid of the mucus left from a cold. i dont have mucinex, but ill keep taking the liquid robitussin. im not taking any inhancers either, but i do have vitamin c pills... should i take one of those every day?

oh and i had tried something similar to the neti pot before and hated it! i just couldnt take that feeling of water going into my nose. luckily, i was able to return it for a refund at walgreens.

NPs clean the bacteria out of your sinuses/throat & will help your immune system. I felt the exact same way about the thing & returned mine too. Heard more good stuff about it & now I love it.

Get the Mucinex. 1000mg VC 3x/day.

ok thanks

It really is hard to self medicate and if you think it has stretched to over days already, I suggest that you make an appointment with your physician already as self medication is as bad as taking in nothing.

Though if you think that it is not that big of a deal, you can try mucosolvan which is supposed to act as a softener for the mucus but you will tend to cough and sneeze it out, a lot.

Do you get Karvol where you are ?? ........works wonders

+1,000 to the Neti Pot. I used mine all the time while I was deployed in Afghan - you wouldn't believe what a difference it made, what with the sand and dust and everything. But, even when you're not pounding sand in the desert it still rinses out dust and bacteria, re-hydrates your sinuses, plus the baking soda in the mixture lowers the pH of your sinuses, creating a hostile environment for infectious bacteria. Just BE SURE to use distilled bottled water for your neti; DO NOT, under ANY cirumstances use tap water!!! It ain't clean enough for sinus irrigation.

I'm kind of dealing with the same thing myself, my sinuses are draining for some reason, making me cough. At night it drains down my windpipe, giving me plenty of goo to cough up during the day. Fortunately mucinex works for me. I don't think it's anything serious though. I'll live.

That's not baking soda in there, just table salt.

LoL i am in the same boat-- no health insurance and I have a sinus infection that I have to stick out until school starts up again in two weeks. = / I feel your pain =(

thanks for all your replies, im finlly coughing up the mucus and not coughing nearly as much as i was a few days ago. i think maybe my asthma just made it worse because i kept forgetting to take my qvar at night. its nice that the colleges(well here at least, not sure about other states) have 'free' health services with nurses that can help you! and that birth control is also free if you dont have insurance!

Over here national insurance is taken straight from your wages. So healthcare is provided from that. Except dental which costs a bomb. And any medication after being told you need it you have to pay for it

The neti pot mix packets I have say that they contain Sodium Chloride (salt) and Sodium Bicarbonate (which is baking soda.) If your packets don't list Sodium Bicarbonate as an ingredient, then you're not using the good stuff.

Pufferpunk wrote:That's not baking soda in there, just table salt.

Once I used up the packets, I just started using salt.

Ok, time to chime in late on this. Latest research is showing that pure non-pasturized honey helps decrease congestion, mucus production, and cough. There are ongoing studies in to possible natural antibiotic like effects too. Take a full undiluted teaspoon full every 6-8 hours and see if it helps.