CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Questions/Support/Help

Could my cough be linked to pollution?

(13 posts)
  • Started 9 years ago by panyagua
  • Latest reply from gembo
  • This topic is not resolved

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  1. panyagua
    Member

    I have a persistent, irritating (especially to my wife) cough.

    *** Possible TMI alert ***

    Since about May this year it has also been productive - i.e. I cough up "stuff" (which is generally clear rather than yellowish, so probably not due to infection). And this happens quite often - I believe the term is hypersecretion.

    The current heightened awareness around diesel pollution (thanks to the VW scandal) has led me to wonder if there could be a link. Typically I spend about 20-30 minutes each weekday in close proximity with traffic in what I imagine is one of the more polluted areas of the city (Haymarket, West End, Morrison St, Fountainbrige, W. Port), either on my bike or walking to/from the bus (and waiting at the bus stop on Queensferry Street).

    Does anyone else have similar respiratory issues, or (even better) any words of wisdom borne from knowledge/expertise? I wouldn't have thought the time I spend in polluted air would be enough to cause this - others must spend far longer without noticeable effects - but maybe I'm particularly sensitive.

    It doesn't seem to affect my cycling performance in any way - it's just annoying and inconvenient.

    I should probably see my GP, but the sheer volume of wisdom on CCE leads me to think this forum may provide more insight...

    Posted 9 years ago #

  2. stiltskin
    Member

    The wisest thing that anyone on here could say is: 'Go and see a doctor'.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  3. panyagua
    Member

    @stiltskin

    Thanks, you're probably right, but I'd be interested to know if anyone else (particularly anyone who spends a lot of time outside in traffic-choked areas) has noticed any ill effects. I've had persistent coughs in the past, but of course they can have many causes and I've never had much useful advice from the medical profession beyond 'it will probably go away eventually'. Generally it does, but this one does seem more persistent than usual.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  4. acsimpson
    Member

    I find the fumes make me wheeze but it's generally a short term thing. If I am over taken by a cloud of black smoke it can be particularly accute.

    I have (exercise induced) asthma so it's probably all related.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  5. ARobComp
    Member

    I had this for a long while in first year.

    The way it was explained to me was
    1) you start off with a bit of a cough
    2) while you get better from the initial cough you irritate your lungs
    3) this then becomes a persistant cough with permanent irritation of the lungs.

    I had had one for about 8 months by the time I went to the docs, they cleared it up with a steroid inhaler but it led me to need a standard inhaler for sports for about 5 years. I don't need either any more but I am super aware that I shouold have got the cough sorted earlier! I would recommend seeing a doc.

    The polution isn't going to help but it's not the root cause. You just need to let your lungs chillax.

    **NOT A DOCTOR** seriously I once misdiagnosed myself with a serious respiratory disorder and almost went panicked into hospital - turned out I just had whiskey and sport related heart burn affecting my lungs which one gaviscon sorted out.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  6. panyagua
    Member

    Thanks @ARobComp - I've never heard that explanation before, but it does sound plausible. Did anyone explain why the steroid inhaler led to needing the standard inhaler?

    Posted 9 years ago #

  7. paddyirish
    Member

    Not found any discomfort myself, but Doctors will generally say that a cough that lasts more than a few weeks needs further investigation at least.

    If directly caused by pollution, I'd have thought the coughing would be worse while in in areas of pollution than outside them. Do you cough while on the bike and does it get worse as you approach Haymarket?

    It's funny but while cycling I always feel worse as I approach work in the morning and suddenly recover as I put distance between me and the office in the evening. Don't need a doctor to tell me I have work-itis

    Posted 9 years ago #

  8. panyagua
    Member

    @paddyirish

    Ha! Yes, I think I've got that work-itis too.

    No, cough isn't worse in the polluted area - in fact tends to be worse at night/first thing.

    I'll go see a doc..

    Posted 9 years ago #

  9. crowriver
    Member

    "tends to be worse at night/first thing"

    Asthma? Bronchitis?

    See a doctor, please. :-)

    Posted 9 years ago #

  10. ARobComp
    Member

    Didn't describe that very well. The steroid inhaler was the thing that was going to heal everything but the fact that I'd left it so long meant that my lungs were getting irritated during sport (not because of the steroids but because of the stupid lung inflamation) so I had to have a standard inhaler for a while too.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  11. kaputnik
    Moderator

    I don't have a cough but when I commute I do find the back of my throat needs "cleared" more often. Snot Rocket, if you will... I've always assumed it's a night spent lying flat on your back followed by a burst of cardio-vascular exercise in the morning that gets the lungs and airways working and things "moving", combined with the condensation that takes place in your turbinates as you breathe on a cool morning lubricates everything a bit.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  12. paddyirish
    Member

    The symptoms/treatment @ARobComp describes are very similar to what my previous manager had for ~6 months- he wasn't very active and I believe he may have suffered because of that, but he only really improved after starting steroid treatment.

    A friend of someone who I know from an online forum said it, so it must be true...

    ... go see the doctor.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  13. gembo
    Member

    Sounds like pneumonia. I only say that so you will go to your GP. Go soon. I have a member of staff with same presentation and it was pneumonia. It means chest infection but you need antibiotics.

    Will involve x rays etc if it comes to it.

    When I finally went to GP with mine she said, where are the medical students when you need them. I had a very good example of A Crackle. Was still put on useless antibiotics (I had left it too late) I then spent five nights in the respiratory ward of St. John's hospital with a lot of geriatric men who thought I was there to help them despite the tube coming out of my back failing to drain much more pus out of my lungs and I required IV antibiotics. The old men used to pee on each other's heads quite a lot as demented and lost on the short journey to toilet.

    Please go and see your GP

    Posted 9 years ago #

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