Q. I get recurrent mild cough at night and sneeze in the morning. Why?

Hi doctor,

I am a 33-year-old male. I would like to consult about my recurring mild cough during night time, and sneeze and runny nose in the morning that usually go away before lunchtime. I recently consulted a pulmonary doctor due to a severe cough she gave me antibiotics, an anti-histamine in the morning, Seretide oral spray, and medicine that uses a nebulizer. I have finished it, and the cough, as well as sneezing, and runny nose, went away for a couple of days. Suddenly the mild cough, sneezing, and runny nose came back. I also mentioned the recurring allergic attack to the pulmonary doctor which is why she gave me the anti-histamine because she told me that the cough might be an allergic reaction.

I just take vitamin C tablets and ginger daily. I do not use any medications right now. Last night I experienced a mild cough again, I resorted to using the Seretide oral spray because I experience slight discomfort in breathing. I have no idea what I could be allergic to. I have no food allergies. I usually have a jacket when I sleep because we sleep with the air conditioning on. It is fine if it is just me but I sleep with my partner and a 2-year-old kid in a room. I do not have a fever or any symptoms of Coronavirus. I can no longer consult an allergologist near me due to the lockdown in our area. I hope you can put an end to this recurring problem. Thanks.

Thank you doctor,

Is it possible to get a proper prescription? Apparently, I lost my previous prescription list from the pulmonary doctor. Kindly include how long will I use the steroidal nasal spray and others?

Hi doctor,

Thank you for the reply.

You forgot to mention the concentration of the nasal spray, it has several. Also, we do not have Budesonide inhalers and Albuterol inhalers in my local drug store. Kindly indicate the mg/concentration of the nasal spray. And provide an alternative to Budesonide and Albuterol with complete specs and mg/concentration. We have a nebulizer that we can use if inhalers are not available.

Am I going to stop using the Seretide 25 mcg metered dose inhaler suspension? Or it can be used as an alternative to Budesonide? It is the one I am using in case I experience difficulty in breathing. Seemed like my asthma is coming back after some time because of the mild cough and sneezing. I need to puff once at least daily w/ seretide. As of now, I have not had an attack yet.

Hello, doctor,

I believe the treatment was quite effective since just after three days, I have not experienced any symptoms of the allergy anymore. I have not had the chance to use the nebulizer, because Seretide is enough. I also have not used the nasal spray since I did not have a chance to buy it because of the lockdown. But just a day after completing the medicines (ten days) I began having a runny nose in the morning again. Last night I experienced a mild cough with a bit runny nose but no difficulty breathing. Today, I experienced a runny nose and sneezing again. It went away after a while but is back up again. I did not take any cold drinks and no direct air from AC. I also changed bedding every week.

Thank you.