Nightwriter
New member
I used to ALWAYS have colds go into my chest. And my FEV1 would go down. The dripping down the back of the throat going down into the chest, causes the asthma component of CF to kick in. Inflammation increases and in response the lungs produce more mucus. With the airways now swollen, the mucus with bacteria gets trapped. And after that, you are on your way to an excerbation either from inflammation or infection.
It pretty much never happens anymore in my case for two reasons. 1) I keep the asthma component as well controlled as I can (I slip up sometimes) 2) I take my own cold remedy concoction of available OTC supplements and treatments which include Airborne, Zinc lozenges, Zicam, Dristan 12 hr. spray, and nasal rinses. And I add extra breathing treatments with the Flutter. I haven't had a "real" cold in years.
The worst scenario would be mild symptoms --slight cold feeling but no runny nose or cough for a day or two. Or at very worst for a few days (rarely). My FEV1 might temporarily go down a bit and I might get a little short of breath. I might feel that effect for a week or two. But that's nothing compared to the bronchitis or pneumonias that I used to get.
It pretty much never happens anymore in my case for two reasons. 1) I keep the asthma component as well controlled as I can (I slip up sometimes) 2) I take my own cold remedy concoction of available OTC supplements and treatments which include Airborne, Zinc lozenges, Zicam, Dristan 12 hr. spray, and nasal rinses. And I add extra breathing treatments with the Flutter. I haven't had a "real" cold in years.
The worst scenario would be mild symptoms --slight cold feeling but no runny nose or cough for a day or two. Or at very worst for a few days (rarely). My FEV1 might temporarily go down a bit and I might get a little short of breath. I might feel that effect for a week or two. But that's nothing compared to the bronchitis or pneumonias that I used to get.