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Suggest Treatment For Headache And Cough In An Elderly Person
Question: yes. I am a single, 59 and thought I had a cold. No congestion in sinuses but fluids in my chest and headache from coughing. Had a really bad day yesterday and a friend came over. Over imbibed with vodka drinks. Had a little fever yesterday and felt hotter today. Can't find thermometer. Neighbor lent me hers. She is european...hers is celsius. Says 39. Looked it up. Thats 102. I took a hot bath earlier with epsom salts to clear the vodka from my system...and have been drinking a lot of cold water. I know that was dumb... I have been home alone for several nights so was glad to have company. My new obamacare insurance co has not sent me my member card yet. I am financially very tight right now anyway. Can I just take tylenol and keep drinking cold fluids?
XXXXXXX
Brief Answer:
an assessment is required...
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I'm afraid there is no 'easy' answer for your question. Of course you can keep taking fluids and using tylenol (avoiding to use too much) because they will help you to feel better and protect your kidneys from dehydration but an assessment is necessary. Cough and high fever may be signs of a simple viral infection but they may also be the sole symptoms of pneumonia which is a much more serious infections than most of the common respiratory tract infections.
The doctor can distinguish between pneumonia and the rest of infections with auscultation although sometimes a X-ray is needed. Drinking shouldn't have played any role unless you drunk too much and passed out and perhaps also vomited. Vomiting in an unconscious patient may cause aspiration of gastric contents into the lungs (and pneumonia...). Otherwise drinking couldn't have caused this problem.
Treatment is different when it's a serious infection like pneumonia or 'simpler' infections. Therefore medical assessment is recommended. You can use tylenol and drink fluids until then. Tylenol can be taken at a dosage of 500mg up to 6-8 times per day (every 3-4 hours) or 1000mg up to 3-4 times per day (every 6-8 hours).
I hope you find my comments helpful!
Please contact me again, if you'd like any clarification or more information.
Kind Regards!
an assessment is required...
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I'm afraid there is no 'easy' answer for your question. Of course you can keep taking fluids and using tylenol (avoiding to use too much) because they will help you to feel better and protect your kidneys from dehydration but an assessment is necessary. Cough and high fever may be signs of a simple viral infection but they may also be the sole symptoms of pneumonia which is a much more serious infections than most of the common respiratory tract infections.
The doctor can distinguish between pneumonia and the rest of infections with auscultation although sometimes a X-ray is needed. Drinking shouldn't have played any role unless you drunk too much and passed out and perhaps also vomited. Vomiting in an unconscious patient may cause aspiration of gastric contents into the lungs (and pneumonia...). Otherwise drinking couldn't have caused this problem.
Treatment is different when it's a serious infection like pneumonia or 'simpler' infections. Therefore medical assessment is recommended. You can use tylenol and drink fluids until then. Tylenol can be taken at a dosage of 500mg up to 6-8 times per day (every 3-4 hours) or 1000mg up to 3-4 times per day (every 6-8 hours).
I hope you find my comments helpful!
Please contact me again, if you'd like any clarification or more information.
Kind Regards!
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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