Cough and Acid Reflux
A 78-year-old female presents with allergies, asthma, and acid reflux that comes with a productive chronic cough. These symptoms started 30 years ago after a move to CA.
Main Signs/Symptoms:
Productive cough with clear, thick phlegm
Wheezing when cough is incessant
Acid reflux, especially at night
Runny nose
Bloating post-meal
Patient also presented with:
Gas, bloating
Bruising easily
High blood pressure
Edema
Loss in kidney function
History of mold exposure
History of gallbladder removal
Dates of treatment:
2nd & 3rd appointments: Sleeping better due to reduced coughing. Draining a lot of phlegm in the back of her throat.
4th appointment: She had acough yesterday after walking the dogs twice outside. Much less coughing the days/nights before. Still sleeping great.
Bruising on arms has decreased significantly - her partner also noticed.
5th appointment: thinks her cough is mostly related to acid reflux as she sometimes feels food come up and the cough comes on mostly after eating (dairy especially).
Is on Pantoprazole but still has reflux.
6th appointment: No coughing throughout the night still. Feeling good, she has had a lot of energy since coming.
7th appointment: Stopped taking Pantoprazole this week. We recommended a product for digestive function and acid reflux.
8th appointment: Coughing is less, sleep is deep, energy is up.
Notices arm bruises only when she takes aspirin but they are healing up much quicker since coming.
10th appointment: Only had acid reflux one time since stopping acid blockers and starting the digestive aid supplement. This bout of reflux was due to eating Chinese food late at night.
11th appointment: Coughing is much less since coming, but when she does cough, she has clear mucus that is solid/forms a blob.
12th appointment: Wheezing has been down significantly, and no asthma attacks since starting treatment. Cough is mostly at night after eating dinner late or eating dairy. High energy, feeling sharper, mentally. Gas, bloating, and edema have resolved.
This was over 1.5 months. Reducing phlegm production is our main focus moving forward.
Key takeaways:
Sometimes a chronic cough can be connected to acid reflux if those signs/symptoms are also present.
Digestive function can be an important factor in immune health, coughing, and phlegm production.
There’s a lot that can be done with lifestyle tools/practices and herbs for those who cannot make it to weekly acupuncture.