Hi.  Im a 49 year old female smoker (started smoking when I was 8).  I have COPD and asthma.  I have been battling my cough for the past few days and its is getting worse.  Im out of town so seeing my primary or pulmonary docs isnt possible at the moment.  The cough is hollow and seems settled in the chest, but the smell and taste are terrible.  Any suggestions?
Thank you for your question. I read it carefully and what I will suggest if I was your treating doctor is as follows:1Ask help for quitting cigarettes. This is one of the most important steps in a well management of your disease.2 Since you are diagnosed with COPD and asthma I suppose that you have treatment that needs to be used regularly especially during this exacerbation and I would increase a bit the dosage from the baseline but for this I need to know the medicament and their daily dosage.3You wrote that the smell and taste are terrible which make me think that this is a bacterial infection that exacerbated your disease and I would prescribe a course of antibiotic. Hope that these suggestions can be a help to you. Wish you good health