Hacking coughs

– April 29th 2021

Big Steve has had a hacking cough for 2 days. He has been coughing every hour or so. However, this is not a normal cough ….. this cough sounds like a goose honk. We were not sure what to do and were worried about him. If we check his symptom online, it could be anything… it could be simple or serious. However, beside his hacking coughs, he seems like doing okay to me.

He won’t be eating as much since he is coughing, but I think he has an appetite. Although he was not eating, we gave him honey since it seems like honey soothes his throat. We weren’t sure if we should take him to vet at this point, and we called 4 vets yesterday, but they were all booked up. So we made an appointment for the next available time, which was today. So today, we took him to the vet.

The Vet told us that his heart sounds okay and his throat is not bothering him. She couldn’t figured out what is the cause for this. However, she suggested that we can still give him some medicine to treat the symptom.

“Hydrocodone/Homa (gen) 5” (1.5mg) 1/2 to 1 Tablet every 8 – 12 hours for coughing

and

“Doxycycline Monohydrate (gen)” (100mg) 1/2 Tablet every 17 hours. This is an antibiotic drug that can treat and prevent infections. 

She said if the medicine works he will get better within a week. If his cough does not get better, an X-ray might be our next option.

If I remember correctly, he started to cough after he finished his dinner that night. Did the food go to the wrong place and he tried to cough it out? Did that cough trigger his bronchitis?

Anyway, he is 17 years old and we really don’t want him to suffer. I hope these medications work for him.