Mr HJ just turned 60. He is on treatment for diabetes and hypertension. He is a non-smoker and there is no family history of asthma. He has a good appetite and no problem with weight. There is no complaint of fever or sweating at night. Neither was there a history of food allergy though he did report that he was allergic to grass and once in his twenties, he collapsed following an injection of penicillin.
So with that background, Mr HJ comes to the clinic complaining of persistent dry coughs that he describes as irritating for the last six weeks or so. The coughs occur throughout the day and at nights occasionally disturbing his sleep.There has never been fever to indicate an infection, either viral or bacterial.
Looking at Mr HJ with his well coiffured hair, I was encouraged to ask whether he had been using a hairspray to set his hair which he admitted he used for many years without any ill-effects. Then I asked whether he had changed the brand of his hairspray recently. Yes, according to him he did, about a couple of months ago, he bought a small canister of hairspray of unknown brand in a small town near to a seaside resort where he went for a meeting and had forgotten to bring along his usual hairspray ( a well known brand). He has been using this new hair spray ever since and yes ,he has also been coughing ever since!
I told him to wash and shampoo his hair thoroughly and stop using the hairspray when he showed the canister which states the content to be polyvinyl pyrrolidone which is a known respiratory irritant. He followed my advice and about a week later reported that his coughs had miraculously gone!
I was reminded of a lady patient of mine, Ms NS who worked in a salon. She had always been having dry irritating coughs which had caused her many sleepless nights. She looked depressed and thin. Anti-histamines only gave a temporary relief. I surmised that her condition had something to do with her workplace, those hair spraying ,shampooing and manicuring , somehow had affected her health. After almost a year, she stopped work and decided to follow her family to the pilgrimage. When she returned, she was healthy looking and a lot happier and of course she attributed this healthy change to her pilgrimage.
I mentioned to her to please do justice to her pilgrimage by not returning to work in that salon!
So with that background, Mr HJ comes to the clinic complaining of persistent dry coughs that he describes as irritating for the last six weeks or so. The coughs occur throughout the day and at nights occasionally disturbing his sleep.There has never been fever to indicate an infection, either viral or bacterial.
Looking at Mr HJ with his well coiffured hair, I was encouraged to ask whether he had been using a hairspray to set his hair which he admitted he used for many years without any ill-effects. Then I asked whether he had changed the brand of his hairspray recently. Yes, according to him he did, about a couple of months ago, he bought a small canister of hairspray of unknown brand in a small town near to a seaside resort where he went for a meeting and had forgotten to bring along his usual hairspray ( a well known brand). He has been using this new hair spray ever since and yes ,he has also been coughing ever since!
I told him to wash and shampoo his hair thoroughly and stop using the hairspray when he showed the canister which states the content to be polyvinyl pyrrolidone which is a known respiratory irritant. He followed my advice and about a week later reported that his coughs had miraculously gone!
I was reminded of a lady patient of mine, Ms NS who worked in a salon. She had always been having dry irritating coughs which had caused her many sleepless nights. She looked depressed and thin. Anti-histamines only gave a temporary relief. I surmised that her condition had something to do with her workplace, those hair spraying ,shampooing and manicuring , somehow had affected her health. After almost a year, she stopped work and decided to follow her family to the pilgrimage. When she returned, she was healthy looking and a lot happier and of course she attributed this healthy change to her pilgrimage.
I mentioned to her to please do justice to her pilgrimage by not returning to work in that salon!
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