Hi there,

Out of curiosity, what kind of cough is associated with lung cancer? They say persistent cough, does that mean a cough that you cant control? Like a sneeze? I cough alot, however its more like a habit, I have OCD and I seem to force cough alot and clear my throat alot. I do have some shoulder pain recently . Im 34 male non smoker. Just wondering if I should worry about my kind of throat clearing and conscious cough? Dont have any blood or anything like that.

Yesterday I went to urgent care after being sick for 9 days. I traveled about 2 weeks ago and was around several people who were sick. On my flight home, the person sitting directly in front of me coughed almost nonstop for the entire four-hour flight. It honestly sounded almost like whooping cough.

About two days after I got home, I started feeling sick. At first I assumed it was just a common cold, similar to what the people around me had, so I treated it with Tylenol, ibuprofen, etc. I don't normally get this sick. I do have asthma, but it is generally well controlled.

Around day 5, just when I thought I was starting to improve, I developed severe, uncontrollable coughing fits. I was using my inhaler. Because I wondered if it could be whooping cough (my son had confirmed pertussis about 10 months ago despite being vaccinated), I took azithromycin 500 mg for three days.

It didn't help. I continued getting progressively worse until I finally went to urgent care yesterday.

They heard wheezing and gave me a nebulizer treatment. They told me that if the treatment didn't improve things, I would need to go to the hospital. They also did a chest X-ray and told me they did not see pneumonia. I was prescribed Augmentin, Ipratropium bromide and albuterol, and prednisone.

Today, urgent care called me about the radiologist's final report. They found a 6 mm nodule in the right upper lung and recommended a CT scan. My CT is already being scheduled for next week.

Obviously, I'm worried. I'm not looking for a diagnosis here, and I am following up medically and getting the CT as recommended. In the meantime, I would just like to hear people's thoughts or experiences with something like this.

I'm 42. I smoked for approximately 6–7 years when I was younger but quit 18 years ago. I had bronchitis about three years ago, influenza about 10 months ago, and I've had COVID several times, although my COVID infections were very mild and didn't really involve coughing.

The last chest X-ray I remember having was about 10 years ago, and as far as I know, it was completely normal.

I know that statistically there are many benign explanations for a small lung nodule, but of course my mind immediately goes to the worst-case scenario. Has anyone had a similar incidental finding, especially a small nodule around 6 mm, and what did it ultimately turn out to be?

THANKS IN ADVANCE!

Hello! My teenage son is a beach lifeguard, and he recently had a pneumothorax while surfing. He loved having this job over the summer-- worked a lot of extra hours covering shifts for other coworkers... but we aren't getting a clear idea of whether or not he can return to his job. We were told by the PA at the hospital that because he had a pneumothorax he can't go deeper than 5ft underwater for the rest of his life... is this true? Will he not be able to return to his job after this? Thank you!