How do we treat chronic cough, difficulty in swallowing, and dark urine in my father?

Question

Hello doctor,

My father has been suffering from a chronic cough for the last three days, and he is not able to swallow anything properly. He has not eaten anything in the last three days. He is having dark urination and is unable to walk too. Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

It appears to be an acute lower respiratory tract infection, and from the clinical details you have provided, your father needs urgent medical attention and maybe admission for intravenous antibiotics and oxygen supplementation. He will also need chest X-rays and sputum culture. At present, it is difficult to comment on the treatment line. Have you done any investigations, such as a complete blood count?

Thank you.

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

If your father is unable to walk properly at this point, he may have low blood pressure. Is it possible for you to get it checked at your house? Also, if you are calling any paramedical staff to the house, please ask them to check saturation oxygen levels. It is a bedside test that can be done with a small gadget. If the saturation levels are below 95 % or 90 %, then I would suggest you get your father admitted to the emergency services at the earliest. His dark urine indicates that he is dehydrated and needs intravenous fluid. Does he have any comorbidities like hypertension and diabetes? If yes, it is important that he be evaluated at an urgent level. It is difficult for me to prescribe any medication without proper evaluation. If he has a high-grade fever, I would suggest you give him a Paracetamol tablet to subside that. Consult your specialist doctor, discuss with them and take medicines with their consent. That is a temporary measure to control the symptoms. If he is breathless, you can consider nebulization, but that is a temporary measure.

Thank you.