How to Spot a Chest Infection and Ease your Symptoms
A chest infection is an infection that attacks the lungs or large airways. Some chest infections are not that serious and don’t require any medication to clear up. Nevertheless, there are severe cases that can be life-threatening. If you are suffering from a chest infection, we are here to help. Keep reading to find out how to treat a chest infection in Chelmsford.
What are the symptoms of a chest infection?
Chest infections follow colds or flu in most cases. The symptoms are usually:
– A chesty cough with green or yellow mucus
– Chest discomfort or pain
– Wheezing and breathing difficulties
– Headache
– High temperatures
– Tiredness
– Aching muscles
These symptoms can make your life very unpleasant, but they normally go on their own within 7 to 10 days. The cough and mucus can go for up to 3 weeks.
How do you ease your symptoms to treat a chest infection in Chelmsford?
If you get sick with a chest infection:
– Have plenty of rest
– Drink lots of water to dilute the mucus and make it flow out more easily
– Take painkillers to reduce the fever and ease muscle pain and headaches
– Drink honey and hot lemon to relieve a sore throat
– Support your head with extra pillows while sleeping to clear your mucus from your chest, as well as make breathing easier
You can talk to your pharmacist to provide you with decongestants to loosen mucus in your lungs. This makes coughing it up easier and helps in clearing the infection from the lungs.
See a pharmacist to treat a chest infection in Chelmsford if you have a chest infection and:
– You feel very sick, or your symptoms keep getting worse
– When symptoms last for more than 2 weeks
– Cough up blood or blood-stained mucus
– Are 65 years or above
– Are pregnant
– Have a weak immune system due to reasons such as undergoing chemotherapy or having a health complication such as diabetes
– Have a long-term health condition such as lung, kidney, or heart complications
How to prevent spreading chest infections
To avoid spreading the chest infection to the people around you:
– Cover your mouth when sneezing or coughing
– Wash your hands frequently
– Dispose of any used tissues immediately
How to protect yourself from contracting a chest infection
If you get chest infections regularly or you fall under groups with higher risk, such as if you have a severe long-term health complication or you are over 65, you should:
– Talk to your pharmacist about the yearly flu vaccine. Check if you are eligible for a free flu vaccine
– Check if you should receive the pneumococcal vaccine, which helps prevent pneumonia
– Avoid alcohol intake
– Stop smoking if you are a smoker
How to treat chest infection in Chelmsford at our pharmacy
The kind of treatment you’ll receive will depend on what caused the chest infection.
It’s usually caused by:
– Viruses (such as viral bronchitis) – this normally goes away on its own after a few weeks, and antibiotics will not do any good
– Bacteria (like pneumonia) – antibiotics may be prescribed in this case. It’s recommended that you finish the whole dose as prescribed by your GP or pharmacist, even if you feel much better.
Antibiotics are usually used in the treatment of bacterial chest infections. They are not applicable in cases of viral chest infections, such as flu or viral bronchitis. This is because antibiotics are not effective when it comes to viral infections.
Visit our Private walk-in clinic to get the treatment you need today!
This blog post was written on behalf of Colecross Pharmacy by Pharmacy Mentor.