Everybody Hurts, Sometimes.

Imagine if your child was coughing about 200 times a day. Not wee, pesky coughs, but big wracking barks, reaching for air, like a crocodile snapping at flies. Imagine if it had been going on (albeit varying) for 75 days, and you were in lockdown.

Oh, that's us. Well, friends, things got worse before they....got here.

Two night ago, I thought Tess was having an asthma attack. Dire. I gave her the emergency treatment of Predisolone (steroid tablets). It was horrible and scary. I could feel my kneecaps physically shaking, as if they were fried eggs, sliding up and down. 

 I chased medical help. GP was very keen to contact our NHS hospital consultant directly by phone, as opposed to Tess going to hospital and 'risking exposure.' 

When the consultant finally called (every minute seemed an hour, as I waited), he took details and patiently came to the theory that she has a 'post infectious cough.' 

Wise, he said, that GP tested for Whooping Cough earlier - it wasn't that, but there may be 'many bugs' that can do similar things. Cousins of whooping cough! Come on in, guys, it's a party.

Now for the kicker: there is no treatment. Yes, we can try the brutal oral steroids (many side effects) and he even suggested 2 weeks of them - just to prove to himself, that they won't help, and then he will know it is the Post Infectious cough as opposed to an asthma flare. Like drowning witches. Damned if you drown, a witch if you swim. 

(By the way, we've already tried anti-biotics to no effect, and every bit of over-the-counter 'throat-soothing' snake oil I could find).

HOW LONG WILL IT LAST? I asked, (in capitals in my head). Politely, in real life.

He wouldn't be pushed on time frame. Not a jot. Wise man. He mentioned other kids who had it - I distinctly heard him say, 'for years'. 

I tried to block that bit out. He tried to encourage me that it will eventually resolve with time. Please, please, please. 

So here we are, in a pandemic, taking steroid drugs that lower immunity, just to prove they won't help, coughing 200 times a day, having fun. Tick!

Don't get me wrong. The NHS dedication is amazing and always gives me a lump in my throat, or makes me cry.

Obviously, I will watch Tess and monitor her closely.

If there's any one out there, whose asthma kid has finally got over a serious, crippling cough lasting months, feel free to send positive stories. 

And I know, I know, there are so many scary stories out there just now, re Covid19 and the global 'war' we are all fighting. Many people are in much worse situations. My heart goes out....

I'll be back on Twitter later, retweeting the true experts and the WHO advice, as opposed to the Herd immunity barbarism that Britain started with. Keep on keeping on, my friends.