Cystic Fibrosis Coping with the CF Cough: Coughing like a Pro

Unfortunately, coughing is a fact of life for most of those who have cystic fibrosis. And for those who have this disease, coughing is encouraged. But sometimes coughing causes pain, discomfort and embarrassing situations. There are a number of ways CF patients can deal with this.

Practice coughing with a covered mouth. Of course common courtesy dictates this, but if you have ever dealt much with cystic fibrosis, you will know that a good hard cough is done much easier with an open mouth. This can be done when alone or in the privacy of a bedroom.

Practice coughing into a tissue or handkerchief. Not only will it be polite and look nice, the tissue can help catch mucus that has been coughed up.

Have a comfortable chair, like a recliner. Sometimes episodes of coughing hits at night, and the person with cystic fibrosis cannot rest in bed. A recliner will allow them to recline enough to rest, yet be elevated enough not to choke.

The person with cystic fibrosis should know that it's okay to keep bottles of water with them, no matter where they are. Even in church, this person should feel comfortable enough to take water if it is necessary because of coughing. If the coughing doesn't cease with water, they can always leave. A lot of times, leaving and going to an area where they can walk around slowly for a little while will help the coughing to cease.

Let me share what one of my son's teachers did once when J. (not real his name) started coughing in class and couldn't stop. Usually she would just nod her head, and he would leave the room for a few minutes. This time was different. All of a sudden she announced that they were going to have a coughing contest, and whoever coughed the hardest and the longest got the prize: 15 minutes of free time on the class computer. She thought J. would win, but he didn't; a little girl did. J. was able to stop coughing, and he didn't get embarrassed. When talking to the teacher about this later, she told me she had a two-fold reason for doing this. The first, of course, was to help J. out, and the second reason was to teach the class about the coughing cystic fibrosis can create. She said later on in the day, some of the kids said they had sore tummies. She was able to explain to them that kids with cystic fibrosis had that feeling a lot. Without anything else ever being said to the kids in the class about J's disease, whenever he coughs, kids go out of their way to see if he needs anything.

As long as you can keep the coughing under control, be thankful. Be thankful that the CF sufferer is coughing and it's helping to clean the lungs out.

Don't make an issue of the coughing. I know that sometimes the incessant coughing can be bothersome and irritating to those who don't know the circumstances. But I am always thankful for the cough.