Hello and thank you for the query.

I will try to provide you with some good information and recommendations regarding what is going on.

Regarding what you have reported it seems likely that you were suffered from a bacterial bronchitis. This type of infection can cause a significant degree of inflammation of the airways. This can take quite a bit of time to resolve and sometimes several months.

At this point since it is likely that the infection is clear we must focus on helping to decrease the inflammation and symptoms what you are experiencing.

It is certainly important to help your body by resting every day for at least nine hours. This means uninterrupted sleep for nine hours. In addition it is crucial that you maintain good hydration and drink plenty of fluids on a daily basis.

The next category we should discuss is prescription medications which may provide you a significant benefits. The first category would be in hailers. I often prescribed albuterol as a helpful medication to patients who are having a persistent cough and sputum production. The albuterol helps decrease the inflammation and swelling of the airways.

In addition sometimes it is necessary to place patients on medical steroids such as prednisone. The prednisone acts via a different mechanism compared to albuterol to decrease the inflammation within the airways. I think you might benefit from a combination of prednisone and albuterol. I am convinced that you will feel significantly symptomatically better. This of course is something you need to discuss with a physician who can provide you with a prescription.

I thank you again for submitting your question. I hope my response has been hopeful. If you have any additional concerns I would be happy to address them.

Sincerely,

Dr. Robert.

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Hello and thank you for the follow up questions.

Regarding the blockage of your ears this is commonly due to a buildup of wax. Normally we secrete a small amount of wax on a daily basis. This can sometimes become clogged within the ear.

There are several over-the-counter preparations to help soften the wax. The one which I recommend most often is called Debrix or ceramide which is available over-the-counter at any local pharmacy. This is just something that happens from time to time and there is really nothing that I can recommend to prevent it. I would give a trial to using the Debrox drops as directed for at least 10 days.

Regarding fluids what I am referring to is good fluid hydration. The optimal form of fluid hydration comes in the form of water. Drinking at least six or seven glasses of sure water per day is generally quite good for the health. If you cannot tolerate water and prefer something that is flavored you could drink something like Gatorade or a decaffeinated soda.

Often this can help with the amount of fluid you might need to drink on a daily basis. Otherwise as I said before water is the best hydrating beverage.

As far as the x XXXXXXX is concerned I think this is a reasonable study to perform. It is very safe and does not provide any significant risk to you. I am confident that there will be no significant abnormalities on the x-ray and it will confirm that you do not have something like pneumonia. Please keep me informed if possible as to what the x-ray findings are.

I thank you again for submitting your question. If you have any additional concerns I am here for you.

Sincerely,

Dr. Robert.

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Hello and thank you for the follow up question.

This is fantastic news that your x-ray is negative for any worrisome findings. I think it is a fine idea for you to visit with the lung specialist. A specialist opinion will give you a comprehensive review of all of your symptoms and consideration of any types of things which could be contributing to what has happened in the past. I am very optimistic that your experience with the specialist will be an absolutely good one.

Regarding the best way to prevent these types of symptoms from recovering these are mainly lifestyle modifications. The first thing is to maintain a very healthy exercise regimen focusing on exercising at least 4 to 5 days per week. During exercise. It is important that you obtain a good aerobic exercise technique. This means running or riding a bicycle for at least 30 min.

In addition it is extremely important that you eat a well-balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables as well as lean proteins.

The final thing which is also extremely important is getting enough sleep. You should certainly sleep at least eight hours per night in order to allow your body to decompress from the stresses of everyday life. Sometimes with our active lifestyles we tend to place demands on our body including sleeping less than 7-8 hours which can sometimes lead to a detrimental to our health.

I thank you again for submitting your question. I hope you found my responses to be helpful informative and reassuring. If you have any additional concerns I would be happy to address them.

Sincerely,

Dr. Robert.

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