Suggest Treatment For Cough With Greenish Yellow Phlegm

Brief Answer:
likely upper respiratory infection.

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Welcome to health care magic,

I have read your query and understand the concern.

Coughing with greenish yellow mucus and throat pain are likely because of upper respiratory tract infection (like pharyngitis) or may be acute bronchitis but it should be evaluated further by clinical examination and various tests since it is from 1 week.

So,in my advise you should go for some routine blood works (CBC),ESR and X- ray chest which will be helpful to make some clear diagnosis whether it is due to viral infection or bacterial (like streptococcal pharyngitis) or some allergic.

However,usually this kind of mucus coughing is likely due to some infection (viral or bacterial) but it should be ruled out by blood and other tests.

Meanwhile,you may take some symptomatic treatment.It would be helpful.

1) Over the counter pain killer like Aleve (naproxen) or ibuprofen 400 mg to reduce pain and further inflammation in throat.

2) Take tablet Mucinex-Dm (available OTC) twice daily which contains Dextromethorphan which is a cough suppressant in combination with Guaifenesin which is an expectorant and helps to loosen congestion in your throat and making it easier to cough out mucus/phlegm.

But it would be better to stop lozenges since they are only cough suppressants or take only if you have severe throat irritation.

3) Nebulizer (with budesonide respules) 3 to 4 times a day will also be helpful to prevent further episodes of coughing.

And continue with steam inhalation which will loosen the cough, making easier to expel out the mucus through mouth.

4) Drink plenty of fluids and avoid cold water or any other cold products like ice-cream etc.

5) Antibiotics (Preferably levofloxacin 500 mg or azithromycin 500) would also be a good choice for at least 5 to 7 days course, if bacterial infection found on tests.

With this symptomatic treatment,your coughing will improve gradually as the inflammation starts to subside. You can see some local doctor or ENT specialist who will perform throat examination with some routine blood works.

Hope this will help you.Let me know if you have more questions.

Thanks and Regards,

Dr.Sandip Kabra

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Brief Answer:
Continue same treatment.

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for sharing blood report and sorry for delayed response.

Your blood counts seems to be fine,so I suspect that there could be some viral infection and for that I would suggest you to continue above mentioned symptomatic treatment.

We may expect to see some improvement within 2 to 4 days with above treatment.

In case,if there is no change or improvement in couple of days,then it is better to see some local doctor or ENT specialist for further evaluation.

Regards,

Dr.Sandip Kabra

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