chest infection?

Question

i have been bad all week with cold and had a really bad pain in my side due to coughing i went to the doctors and she said that i must have pulled the muscles in my side. last night i was took to hospital due to the pain as i could hardly breath they said that i have a chest infection i didnt realise you could be this bad.who has experianced this and how long did it take you to feel better???

Answer 1

Hello,

The problem with colds, and other upper respiratory conditions or infections such as flu, is that normally doctors cannot give you any specific treatment that will cure the symptoms. (i.e. there is No! cure for a common cold,etc). Normally an ordinary cold will just burn itself out as it were, a GP or nurse will just advise you to take a couple of paracetamol and go back to bed for one or two days.

The problem with this situation, is that if your bodies immune system is unable to shake off the cold then it can develop into something else. When a cold has dropped down into the chest, the diagnosis of a chest infection would be correct.

Where this happens its probably caused by a viral based infection and unlike a common cold, if you have a viral based infection then you will probably need to be given a course of antibiotics or penacillin to combat the symptoms & help the immune system flight off the infection.

**If you are given antibiotics or penacillin the the whole course of treatment must be taken or completed and thats very important.

**The course of antibiotics will depend upon the type & strength of the viral infection, so its hard to give precise time scales. But last time I had a similar experience to yourself it took about x3 weeks to fully recover & return to work.

Hope you feel better soon, regards!

IR

Answer 2

I know the feeling. I am prone to infections and suffer from chest infections at least once a month. It depends on the person as to how long it takes you to recover. Some people take a few days, some people take a few months. I can understand the chest pains too. If it doesn't get any better, I suggest you go back to your GPs or to your local A&E as I think it could be a bout of Pneumonia. Good luck and let me know how you do. My e-mail adress is:
[e-mail]

Answer 3

Chest infections are bad and can lead to pnumonia if left untreated.

Cough up all the nasty slime you can and do the bowl of boiling hot water & Vicks with a towel over your head (& the bowl) this will make you cough up more of the nasty stuff. (this stings your eyes so keep em closed) you can use inhalation oil instead of vicks

if the stuff you cough up is clear, then it's ok, if it is yellow or a greeny colour then get some antibiotics (as it's infected)

make sure that you do the steam & vicks before bed as it will give you a better nights sleep,

Chest infections are usually bad in the morning, (cough up the worst yak) so keep some tissues / kitchen roll by your bed


My wife had Pnumonia and it is no joke, she only didn't go to hospital as i knew how to care for her at home (I'm asthmatic)

If you can get prescribed an asthma inhaler for short term use it provides relief, although it makes some people cough (but it still helps) try to get the "easy breathe" model inhaler as they are easier to use than the manual ones.

Answer 4

it depends on the sought of infection you have to how long it takes to clear up.
i suffer from emphysema and have recurring pleurisy which is so pain full that it has put me in hospital 3 times this year alone. which is treated with antibiotics and steroids in my case each time.
you must take care of your self when you get these chest infections so that they do not lead to other more serious conditions,
your GP may not be able to diagnose chest infections correctly so they normally treat with a general antibiotic which should start clearing your infection within 24 to 30 hours and may well take up to a week to clear up completely you must finish the course of antibiotics prescribed for you.
take care of your self and hope you feel better soon.hippie.

Answer 5

the time it takes for you to feel better depends on the type of infection and how fast you respond to it, i.e.did you go to the doctors straight away/ did the doctor prescribe antibiotics/ are you taking them as prescribed. are you aware that if they say you have a chest infection what there really saying is that youve got pnuemonia! this even when treated can take anything from one week to three months to clear. did the hospital take an x-ray or did they listen to your lungs with a stethescope?
Dont want to worry you but i can go on for quite a bit longer. my remedy along with the antibiotics is liquids (i have tomato soup) dont think i makes any difference but it makes me feel better.

Answer 6

Sorry to hear you aren't very well at the mo...I've suffered with chest infections most of my life. Thankfully over the past 5 years I haven't had one, I thank the flu jab for that!
Take it easy, the steam from a hot bath loosens the mucus in the lungs. Put Vics vapour rub on your chest at bedtime and try and sleep upright. Plenty of Vit C and sleep. You will feel better soon.
Take care :-)

Answer 7

had a bad bout of bronchitis once that took around a month. a friend ended up with pneumonia after ignoring a chest infection and spent 3 weeks in hospital. generally they clear up reasonably quickly.

Answer 8

i have depending on the infection it can take 2-4 weeks to be fully well. but if you pulled a muscle in your chest which i also have it takes ages to heal beccause you cant rest chest muscles mine took at least 2 years because i keep repuling them and it made many sleepness nights

Answer 9

youd be surprised at how bad you can feel with a chest infection.i've had really rotton ones. with anti biotics and plenty of rest you should feel better in a week or so.

Answer 10

i have had this sereval times. took me about a week to feel fully better. hope you feel better soon