Hi, back in mid-April I got a nasty cold after staying in a New Jersey hotel room for 2 days.
I had fever of like 101-102, plus cough, yellow-green phlegm and runny nose. However I got better after 2-3 days, so I never saw a doctor or took any pills besides Tylenol for symptoms.
The problem is, a dry cough has stayed with me ever since this cold. It's an unproductive cough, usually it's like a single cough after talking a lot. If I don't talk much I hardly ever cough.
Another symptom is constant mucous (phlegm) in my throat, this has lasted ever since the cold as well. I feel a lump of phlegm in the back of my throat whenever I swallow. Sometimes it feels thick enough that I bring it out of my throat and spit it out. When spit out, the phlegm is typically clear or white.
Finally I saw my primary care about 3 weeks ago. He said I have a post-nasal drip, and that I should have seen him when I first had the cold. He prescribed a 5-day dose of Zepac (azithromycin), an anti-biotic. About two days into this course of Zepac, I felt a slight soreness in my throat (the kind you feel before you get strep or a cold) that got worse for a day, then disappeared. This soreness was accompanied by a few productive coughs, which brought up yellow-green phlegm.
After I finished the Zepac, the phlegm resumed being clear/white. It is now two weeks after I finished the Zepac, the cough continues and so does the phlegm.
So I go and see an ENT, who does a laryngoscopy, throat culture and chest X-ray. All normal he said, although the laryngoscopy revealed "a little redness in the throa." He believes it could be acid reflux from stress, and told me to take Prilosec Over-the-Counter (OTC). I have been taking Prilosec for 5 days now without seeing any effect. The ENT told me he doesnt believe this is serious, and that this will self-resolve, though no idea how long it will take.
Oddly last night I felt a soreness in my throat again, it was NOT the same type of soreness. It was like a soreness as if I had been struck in the throat. It has lasted a day and is now almost gone. No change in phlegm color or anything accompanied this soreness.
In the interest of full disclosure I have also been worrying about a potential HIV risk (see this post
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/579528), and paranoia keeps making me think this cough is somehow a symptom. Of course I have had the cough well before the HIV-scare, but still. I also am dealing with some type of penile fungal infection (
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/582451) that my urologist believes was sexually transmitted.
So you can see why i'm worked about this long-lasting cough as well. Any ideas or thoughts or similar experiences?