Lung Blog

Hello amla,
I was in Sanantonio, Texas on Kelly USA in building 1536 from 9/26/05-10-13-05 setting up a ARC medical clinic treating Katrina-Rita residents. A runny nose, cough and tiredness started 10-10-05 and has persisted. The nasal drainage is clear as well as anything coughed up. I was self treated with tetrecycline for 10 days starting on 10-11-05 with no change in symtoms. I have a Dr. appt. 10-11-05 for eval and rx. Can you help me with any info. I have no preexisting lung problems. Thank you for your help.

Thank you for your question. The American Lung Association has an email based resource that allows us to process medical questions such as yours in a timely and professional manner and provide you with information and resources that will be useful. Visit http://lungusa.kintera.org/askala to email your lung health question or call our Lung HelpLine at 1-800-LUNG-USA. We wish you the best of health!

Gulfport, MS, has a service that goes out into the community each year. Memorial Hospital provides flu shots at no cost to residents of Harrison County. I got my shot at a local K-Mart shopping center in Orange Grove-Lyman area.

I worked on the coastal region of Mississippi from september 15 up until october 28, when i had to come home. I had a terrible sore throat, which moved to my chest and I have now been home for 3 weeks with Pnemonia. I have really been sick .

I was diagnosed with COPD (emphysema) in 1995 and was told that I had had it for the past 10 years. My previously physician had never told me. I had stopped smoking five years earlier. Once I knew, I did my research and found outthat taking my inhaler, getting my flu and pneumonia shots and doing my exercises could prolong my life. I have a very positive attitude and I am very careful, when I get a cold, to see the doctor if the phlegm turns yellow or green, so that I don't get bronchitis or pneumonia. I volunteer at my local hospital and got the flu shot there this year.

I KEPT CHECKING ON COMP MY DOCTOR FINALLY CALLED AND SAID COME IN
I HAVE ASTHMA AND COPD .I TRY TO BE AS NORMAL AS I CAN TO DO THINGS IM ON OXYGEN ALSO MY ADVICE TO ALL DONT SMOKE.
GOD BLESS HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Great articles,keep them coming!

im in the military and just came back to my home town of kenner, LA. dec 19th from jacksonville, NC. and my first symptoms lasted for a period of about 5 days total the symptoms were weird, sort of flu like but not, cant really explain, i suppressed it with cough and cold meds and even some anti histamines, well long story short, all the symptoms went away except for this cough, every so often i get this irritation in my throat that causes me to cough uncontrollably , then i drink water and it goes away and comes right back a few mins later, i found out today about the so called "katrina cough" so im in the process of scheduling an appt asap!

I visited Alabama during Christmas and came down with sore throat, cough, low grade fever--101, sore glands, headache, vertigo, high blood pressure. I've been sick since 12/27 and am doing better after being on antibiotics but am not yet back to normal. I think I caught this from my daughter in law who has similar symptoms. Does anyone have something like this illness? Is it katrina cough? Please respons asap.

I have a compromised immune system anyway but in January I had an opportunity to ride along with relatives to visit my parents who live outside Biloxi, MS. I already had a chest cold when I arrived but my coughing worsened during my stay. I've been on 3 prednizone prescriptions, antibiotics and an inhaler since I returned and I'm not any better. It seems that as soon as I get to the last one or two doses of medication, I start feeling my lungs fill with fluid and my coughing returns. My ribs are so sore from coughing for 3 months that I feel like I've been kicked by a horse. My doc says after this last round of prednizone, if I still don't show any improvement, she's sending me to a pulmunary specialist. Whatever it is in my chest is stubborn and all the coughing has left me so weak.
WHAT IS THIS STUFF?!?! And what are the doctors down South doing to treat the Katrina Cough? I need to know so I can pass their treatment methods along to my Midwest doctor (who's the best) but antibiotics, prednizone and my inhaler isn't doin' the trick!!

Oh my gosh. I just heard someone talking about the Katrina Cough this evening on the new. Hence is why I am here.
At the end of June this year, our area was hit with a massage flood. The sewage treatment plant as well as septics, oil, gas, diesal and everything else was washed into the Susquenhanna River. Our town, as well as others around it were so flooded that they had to use boats to get around. Our house was spared, but, many were not.
For the past 5 weeks I have been extrememly sick. I am on a nebuliser, prenisone, azmacort, fexodine, singular, albuterol every day. I returned to work last week, very very exhausted, can't talk, wheezing and short of breath.
This happened right after right after I had a bad reaction to an allergy shot! I thought it was bronchitus (er treated at that point with zpack) because I also was running a low grade fever.
My doctor thinks it is from the flood and that it will most likely subside when we get a few freezes to get rid of the germs.
Do I have the "katrina cough". And. Is it something I have to just deal with. Will it ever get better???
Thank you.

so I'm reading a lot of these comments and I'm wondering the same thing. I did relief work in New Orleans in January 2006 and have had a cough since I got back. I don't cough uncontrolably just 5-6 times a day and cough up thick whitish phlem. I have since developed nodules on my vocal chords from coughing so I've almost completely lost my voice. My doctors keep trying new stuff. First they thought I had acid reflux, then alergies so I've been on Nexium, Claritin and FloNase for the last three months. I'm finally going to see a Pulmenologist next monday so hopefully they will be able to help. I'm convinced I've just had problems because of working in all those houses down there. If anyone can tell me how they've been treated for the "Katrina Cough" and what has been successful I would really appreciate it.

-Brittany, Seattle, WA