Help with endless post viral inflamation/infection?

[Anonymous]

I'm starting to lose it after having been sick for nearly 6 weeks. Started with fever which resolved after 4 days, then developed terrible cough and laryngitis as a result, then post nasal drip. Lungs clear throughout, bloodwork normal. Cough has lingered and voice is mostly back to normal. Was negative for Flu A, B, Covid, RSV....Saw PCP twice during this time- went on prednisone, Amoxicillin (not even sure if it was bacterial but went ahead and tried), nasal spray, inhaler. Some improvement but then nearly 2 weeks ago developed awful sinus congestion and ears became fully blocked. Just finished round of doxycycline and having some improvement (a bit less congestion, facial pain, ears now popping some) but still have ear fullness and continued congestion. Saw ENT after PCP thought it was time for further work out. ENT did scope and said everything "looked better than she expected based on my symptom description"- no active sign of sinus infection, voice box looking normal. Saw her after had been on doxycycline for 5 days so either that is working or it has been viral the whole time.

I have NEVER had an illness like this go on for this long and I'm beginning to lose my mind. How long is this sinus/ear stuff going to last? I'm doing all the things- saline rinse, humidifier, steroid nose spray, lots of sleep. Any other ideas or experiences with this? Do I need to just be more patient? Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Wow I am having almost exactly this problem.

I am prone to sinus and ear infections. Right when we had the terrible snow (1/24-26) it started with my ears and throat feeling off. Usually, just a saline nasal spray can fix this. It didn't and then developed a sinus/ear infection.

2/8 got augmentin. This always clears up the problem for me. I thought it was working great. Improving until about day 8/9 and terrible rebound congestion. Ear pain and sore throat came back. Felt terrible, almost worse than before.

Previous ENT had recommended Neil Med Sinus pressure bottle. About a week ago added that 2x a day. Also nasal steroid spray. Finally seeing some improvement.

Systemic steroids would probably help, but I am steroid sensitive and end up with a lot of side effects.

The steroid nasal spray will help with the inflammation in the Eustachian tube. This will let the fluid drain and your ears will feel better. It takes several days to get any improvement.

I also took some Covid tests in throughout this illness and all negative.

I think the extreme dry air indoors and outdoors exacerbated my sinuses. Looking at a humidifier for next winter.

Very prone to sinus and ear infections, late 40s female. Maybe had this happen 1 other time in my life.

[Anonymous]

I think, regardless of what infection you are battling - COVID, flu, viral etc -

Get in the habit of frequent salt water gargle with warm water, especially after meals and before going to sleep. Make this a daily habit.

The salt water will suck out pathogens through osmosis.

For younger kids...a habit to rinse their mouth with salt water after meals, brushing their teeth, before going to sleep...is also helpful.

[Anonymous]

OMG I can't even believe this post! I am also dealing with a lingering virus, sinus issues, horrible ear popping, dry never ending cough, etc!! This is my second bout of a virus since mid-January!! I am losing my mind.

Been on 2 different antibiotics, ENT says sinuses look great, etc, etc.

OP - do you feel better during day and worse as day progresses? Have you gotten low-grade fevers late in day?

[Anonymous]

Same situation here OP! The post nasal drip is waking me up having to hack things up, but nothing is coming out the front of my nose like it's not running. Then both ear constantly are popping in or out. I can't hear a thing when I'm trying to eat. Does anyone have any suggestions for this? Did anyone get the ear popping to stop?

[Anonymous]

well definitely hope you don't end up like me after weeks of infections - shingles. get enough rest.

[Anonymous]

Just here to say I'm in the same boat. Got sick mid-January and the post viral symptoms keep going. I had over 4 weeks of a wretched cough and laryngitis. Agree with PP upthread that dry and extremely cold air didn't help things.

[Anonymous]

PP here - I have not had bloodwork but have requested it. Although won't my WBC be off since I have been dealing with all this on and off for over a month???

I am already freaking out there is something else wrong with me so all I need is wonky white blood count numbers!

[Anonymous]

My DH sounds like he had the same along with fluid in one ear. A round of steroids seemed to help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here - I have not had bloodwork but have requested it. Although won't my WBC be off since I have been dealing with all this on and off for over a month???

I am already freaking out there is something else wrong with me so all I need is wonky white blood count numbers!

OP here- I too was and still am concerned that it has take me so long to recover from this and my health anxiety is really activated. I had my bloodwork done several weeks ago when I first popped fevers (with no other symptoms hence my doctor running blood work). While it was normal then, I certainly wonder if after all these weeks of being ill, my counts would be off. I hope you feel better soon!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG I can't even believe this post! I am also dealing with a lingering virus, sinus issues, horrible ear popping, dry never ending cough, etc!! This is my second bout of a virus since mid-January!! I am losing my mind.

Been on 2 different antibiotics, ENT says sinuses look great, etc, etc.

OP - do you feel better during day and worse as day progresses? Have you gotten low-grade fevers late in day?

I'm SO sorry you have been dealing with this too. It's unbelievably taxing to feel so unwell for so long. Yes- I do often feel worse as day progresses. Fatigued, more congestion, ear pressure and more hoarse. I have not had low grade fevers late in the day for several weeks. While I'm glad your ENT and mine didn't find anything, it's kind of crazy making when these symptoms persist and feel so bad to be told "everything looks great!"

Wishing you recovery soon!

[Anonymous]

This happened to me about 7 years ago. My entire family got sick and it me took months to get back to 100%. Nothing helped, and because I was mid-30s and otherwise healthy, doctors ignored the problem. Nights were horrible; being horizontal made me cough more, so I was exhausted and sick and miserable. Eventually I was tested for asthma but was negative. Heck, I even tried acupuncture.

What’s odd is that many of you have the same issue. When I was sick, I ran into a few friends who complained of the same symptoms: a flu followed by an unrelenting, months long cough.

It was 2019. The next year was covid. Sometimes I wonder if we were very early covid cases. Who knows.

[Anonymous]

I think I had this from about September to November. But it did eventually get better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think, regardless of what infection you are battling - COVID, flu, viral etc -

Get in the habit of frequent salt water gargle with warm water, especially after meals and before going to sleep. Make this a daily habit.

The salt water will suck out pathogens through osmosis.



For younger kids...a habit to rinse their mouth with salt water after meals, brushing their teeth, before going to sleep...is also helpful.

What?

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately this is why I wear a mask in public now OP, and rinse my sinuses with a neti pot (distilled water) every single night to protect against allergies and sinus infections.