Any still sick from the Dec 5, 2017 cruise. Looking for help

Why are people saying go to the ER? If the person has already been seen by several physicians they probably do not need to go the ED unless they're experiencing a sudden worsening of symptoms. And even then, they should try the after hours service with their PCP unless they believe it's a life threatening and immediate emergency.

 

An ER is the last place you want to go to get help with a lingering problem, for one they're prioritizing life threatening problems over a cough, second follow up care is very difficult to coordinate if you go to the ED unless you're admitted for observation/treatment, and third an ER visit can be very expensive especially if you're not admitted.

 

An Immediate Care/Urgent Care center might be one option for after-hours treatment, depending on the location. However most primary care/family care practices have multiple physicians, so you could get a 2nd (3rd) opinion from them. As was mentioned, pulmonologist would be a respiratory doc that I'd probably start thinking about over an ENT.

 

You may want to ask about a PPD test just to be certain (assuming you weren't vaccinated for BCG).

 

I assume you also had a chest x-ray done and that was negative for anything unusual? Did they prescribe an albuterol inhaler and did that help (e.g., Ventolin)?

 

Added in Edit: I came home with a nasty cold this past Feb. Between the stress on your body from travel, the exposure to a lot of infectious agents especially ones that don't normally circulate where you live I have to imagine that odds of getting sick go up for a few weeks whenever one travels. Hope you feel better soon!

I agree with the above, the ER is not the place to be diagnosed or for follow up. It's for emergency care. So go if you are in respiratory distress but it is better going to your doctor and then specialist like a pulmonologist and infectious disease doctor.

I caught a nasty cough right after a 2 week Canada/NE cruise on Summit. I finally went to my dr after two weeks of not getting better. He prescribed a Z pak and sent me on my way. Two weeks later and no better I went back to the dr. By then I had pulled a muscle in my stomach or diaphragm from coughing so much. The dr prescribed a much stronger anti-biotic, which made me sick to my stomach for the week I took it. Two weeks later and not any better I went back to the dr. The dr decided to send me for a chest X-ray. At this point my "cough" has turned into something that was making me fear for my life. So two days later I checked myself into the ED because I self diagnosed appendicitis. I was right and spent the next week after emergency surgery recovering from a massive infection. So don't dismiss the idea of going to the ED if your dr can't help. Definitely go to a different dr and get another opinion. Most important thing is don't wait like I did as I almost didn't make it to write this post.

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you can develop something after a uri called chronic pneumonitis, and that sounds like what you have. Basically it's a imflamatory process in the lungs and antibiotics won't really help. Unfortunately if you got the er or a doc in the box, you will likely get more abx and it will likely not improve your symptoms. I agree the above recommendations, er is not really helpful, you aren't dying that's not the place for you.

I would probably move up to a pulmonologist. You can call your family practice doc for a recommendation. Typically these guys are board certified in pulmonary and critical care.

Usually treatment is a brochodilator and inhaled corticosteriods for awhile, but certainly ppd needs to be done, CXR, possibly more, especially if you were a smoker in the past.

I had a good friend develop this after a trip to Rome, man it drove me crazy just listening to him cough all day long, lasted for probably 6-9 months. I'm imaging that it bothered him more than me.

We left Buenos Aires on 12/5/17. I, and many other passengers got an upper respiratory infection by the next wee. It is April 25 and I am still having problems. Been on antibiotics, prednisone, and other over the counter stuff. Still coughing. Does anyone have answers?? What is this? I would appreciate any help.:eek:

We were on Infinity 3/5 to 4/2. Both DH and I got respiratory grunge second week. Coughing was the worst symptom. This was a pain but we were still able to enjoy our trip. Saw doctor after we got home as our flights pushed us over the edge and we got really sick. The doctor prescribed antibiotics and I use an inhaler at times normally. All symptoms are now gone but still coughing some. Ships and planes are germ factories and Infinity has had issues for months.

I'm glad that the "don't go to the ER" people spoke up.

So many run to the ER and then they wonder why medical costs are so high.

And no, you probably won't get the care in the ER that you need. That is not the purpose of the ER. If someone has been ill since December, that does not constitute an emergency.

Your primary care doc can refer you if he/she thinks you need to see a specialist.

And if you don't think your primary care doc knows enough to do that, you need a new primary care doc.

On a personal note....

I rarely get sick. I don't run to the doctor for a cold because I know that it is viral and I don't want to take antibiotics unnecessarily.

About 3 weeks I got a cold. I usually am only sick with a cold for about 3-4 days. I still have a cough. I'm getting better each day, but this bad boy has been the longest I've ever been sick. There are some sturdy bugs out there!

OP, I hope you feel better soon.

PS If I thought I had appendicitis and my doc couldn't see me, I would go to the ER. Well, probably an Urgent Care associated with a good hospital would be my first choice.

On the Silhouette TA in November there were quite a number of people who were impacted by a horrible bug (viral or bacterial - who knows). For some of us, the illness persisted for months following the cruise. The common symptom was a horrific cough. At some point in transit, crew were observed chaniging airfilters in some hallways - probably due to the upcoming US inspection, but worth mentioning,

It is worth seeking more info from fellow cruisers in hopes of finding a clue to a remedy or diagnosis (which by no means is a substitute for your doctors care).

I hope the OP finds relief. FWIW, most of us just had to wait it out.

Just a shot in the dark here, but since you mentioned changing of the air filters, I wonder if OP has been screened for Legionnaires Disease. It's a type of pneumonia that is transmitted via water droplets in the air.

OP, I hope you're feeling better soon.

Some lung infections are fungal, instead of bacterial or viral.....the OP needs a new work up, just in case!

I caught a nasty cough right after a 2 week Canada/NE cruise on Summit. I finally went to my dr after two weeks of not getting better. He prescribed a Z pak and sent me on my way. Two weeks later and no better I went back to the dr. By then I had pulled a muscle in my stomach or diaphragm from coughing so much. The dr prescribed a much stronger anti-biotic, which made me sick to my stomach for the week I took it. Two weeks later and not any better I went back to the dr. The dr decided to send me for a chest X-ray. At this point my "cough" has turned into something that was making me fear for my life. So two days later I checked myself into the ED because I self diagnosed appendicitis. I was right and spent the next week after emergency surgery recovering from a massive infection. So don't dismiss the idea of going to the ED if your dr can't help. Definitely go to a different dr and get another opinion. Most important thing is don't wait like I did as I almost didn't make it to write this post.

Sorry to hear that you went through that, Mark. So glad that you are OK. And what a bad way to end our cruise.:( I too caught a cold on that trip. it was the very last day and we stayed in NYC for 2 more days. Not fun, and neither was the plane ride home.

Caught another cold from my grandchildren in early February. It took weeks to go away! I never went to the doctor. My daughter (not the children's mother) also caught it and she had it longer than me. She did have to get a round or two of antibiotics and have breathing treatments. Bottom line is that the cold "bug" has been nasty this past winter! Flu, too!

10 years ago I had a cough that won't go away after months. Tried antibiotic and didn't work and my doctor recommended a natural remedy, Black Elderberry Concentrated syrup. It is super concentrated and tasted like alcohol but after a few days the coughing completely went away. Since then my whole family has been taking it whenever we got a cold or coughing and it never last more than a few days. It doesn't hurt to try unless you are diabetic then you have to watch your sugar because it does have natural sugar from the elderberries.

Here is the one that I order from Amazon, some others are cheaper but they are not as concentrated:

https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Answer-Alcohol-Free-Sambucus-Extract/dp/B0017QPM6S/

Why are people saying go to the ER? If the person has already been seen by several physicians they probably do not need to go the ED unless they're experiencing a sudden worsening of symptoms. And even then, they should try the after hours service with their PCP unless they believe it's a life threatening and immediate emergency.

 

An ER is the last place you want to go to get help with a lingering problem, for one they're prioritizing life threatening problems over a cough, second follow up care is very difficult to coordinate if you go to the ED unless you're admitted for observation/treatment, and third an ER visit can be very expensive especially if you're not admitted.

Yes, yes, yes.

Thank you.

The Dylaness

(a doc who hates to see people go to ER for non emergencies!)

Yes, yes, yes.

Thank you.

The Dylaness

(a doc who hates to see people go to ER for non emergencies!)[/quote

 

If you were a "doc"....(no way) you would not be stating this. This woman has had a severe cough for almost FIVE months. Something major is wrong (and I will not give my professional opinion). I, myself went to the ER for something and it turned out to be a life threatening ordeal and had to be heli-ported to another hospital. All of you people that state she should not go to the ER....have no idea what you are talking about. I am a TBI RN and had I not gone to the ER with my problem, I would not be here today.

Yes, yes, yes.

Thank you.

The Dylaness

(a doc who hates to see people go to ER for non emergencies!)[/quote

 

If you were a "doc"....(no way) you would not be stating this. This woman has had a severe cough for almost FIVE months. Something major is wrong (and I will not give my professional opinion). I, myself went to the ER for something and it turned out to be a life threatening ordeal and had to be heli-ported to another hospital. All of you people that state she should not go to the ER....have no idea what you are talking about. I am a TBI RN and had I not gone to the ER with my problem, I would not be here today.

Just wondering what you would expect the ER staff to do to identify the cause of the cough that the two GPs and one ENT missed? This sounds to me like something that definitely needs to be pursued, but I'm not sure that the ER is a better choice than a pulmonologist.

Yes, yes, yes.

Thank you.

The Dylaness

(a doc who hates to see people go to ER for non emergencies!)[/quote

 

If you were a "doc"....(no way) you would not be stating this. This woman has had a severe cough for almost FIVE months. Something major is wrong (and I will not give my professional opinion). I, myself went to the ER for something and it turned out to be a life threatening ordeal and had to be heli-ported to another hospital. All of you people that state she should not go to the ER....have no idea what you are talking about. I am a TBI RN and had I not gone to the ER with my problem, I would not be here today.

 

You have no idea if this person is a doctor or not - let's accept at face value that he/she is telling the truth, as I will accept at face value that you are really an RN.

 

Of course if one feels in a life threatening situation one should go to the ER. Not one single person is debating this! And after five months of course that person should be seeing specialists and so on. But if you have been coughing for five months, and you are not having difficulty breathing, fever, or other urgent care situations (this part is key!) then you should not be heading to the ER, you should be escalating your health care to other doctors and specialists. I can't even imagine the backlogs at the ER if people with chronic problems starting heading over there for care.

We left Buenos Aires on 12/5/17. I, and many other passengers got an upper respiratory infection by the next wee. It is April 25 and I am still having problems. Been on antibiotics, prednisone, and other over the counter stuff. Still coughing. Does anyone have answers?? What is this? I would appreciate any help.:eek:

Got my coughing and wheezing bug on Silhouette over two weeks ago.

My single malt is a great cough reducer and overall relaxant.. feeling the pain... sort of.

A friend picked up the same malady on the west coast. She also went to the doctor.

Anti-biotics won't kill virus ailments.

I used to get the Connie Cough on a yearly basis. Avoiding people who are already sick is impossible when sharing the air with 2,000 people.

We left Buenos Aires on 12/5/17. I, and many other passengers got an upper respiratory infection by the next wee. It is April 25 and I am still having problems. Been on antibiotics, prednisone, and other over the counter stuff. Still coughing. Does anyone have answers?? What is this? I would appreciate any help.:eek:

Urgent

To all these who share this condition.

The only doctor to see is a pulmonary specialist. I cannot emphasize this enough as antibiotics

may sometimes be prescribed but not be the preferred medication. Lungs are not to be fooled with

or procrastinated. SEE a pulmonary!