Happy new year, I have the flu but can hardly breathe esp when I've been coughing, I walk around taking little breaths and it is so painful, should I go to urgencias, I don't really want to. I've taken a flu capsule and spoon of buttercup.
Why don't you phone NHS 24. It may be pneumonia or a chest infection that you now have and is needed to be treated. Do you have anyone with you at the moment. If you do, then perhaps they could phone for you..
anne....it seems reasonable to be short of breath after persistent coughing, which she describes as "taking little breaths."
Flu is a debilitating condition.
"I walk around taking little breaths and it is so painful" If it is still painful in the morning I would consider getting medical attention. Flu shouldn`t be painful.
By pain, I mean painful to breathe. I know flu is painful. It tends to set into the weakest point and hurt there. The last time I had flu, I had been swimming and it set into the muscles I has used whilst swimming 100 lengths. It hurt for about 3 days.
I see what you meant now, well I did indeed have pain on breathing, both in and out - that obviously varies person to person. I recall quite horribly even my teeth and fingernails were painful too.
Do you have any underlying conditions such as asthma?
I caught a horrible chest infection bug which was going round work, it flattened me and it took two lots of antibiotics, was given stronger ones as the first ones had no effect, and some oral steroids to shift it (also increasing my asthma meds and steroid inhaler). I had problems with breathing and pain in my chest. Others who had it had to have to couple of rounds of antibiotics to shift it too.