<human>: Hi, I recovered from a chest cold, but the coughing remained. Its now 8 weeks. I have a clear nose, but bad postnasal drip (clear, but very stickey) at night. It actually keeps me awake as I feel the need to swollow all the time. When I cough, I get nausios - it feels as though I m coughing all the way from my toes up. When finished, I can t get air back into my lungs. The gulping for air causes me to burp afterwords. Now, i ve developed a tightness around my abdominal area with specificly being uncomfortabele behind my lower left ribs toward the middle. My upper mid-back also feels stuck . Could this be due to the bad coughing spells? When should I see my dr? What could it possibly be?
<bot>: Hi and thank you for choosing Chat Doctor to post your question. I read carefully your question and my opinion is as follows:Your cough is considered subacute. The most common causes of subacute cough are: 1. Respiratory tract infection with Bordetella pertussis that is a 6-week disease divided into 3 stages, catarrhal, paroxysmal and convalescent stage. Catarrhal stage is characterized by nasal congestion, sneezing,tearing, low grade fever. The paroxysmal phase is characterized by paroxysms of intense coughing and possessive vomiting and turning red with coughing. Convalescent stage is characterized by chronic cough which may last for weeks. In this case antibiotics have little value. In this situation antitussives (such as codeine), bronchodilatators (such as Albuterol inhaler)can help relieve the symptoms.2. Postnasal Chat Doctor. 