I had a pretty bad cough in November of 2019 that didn’t completely go away until mid-February of 2020. I thought I had COVID before it crossed the ocean. I mean, it’s possible I had an early variant or something. It was the type of dry cough that made your eyes bloodshot, woke you up (if you ever even got to sleep), and made your whole body hurt, and it was hard to catch your breath. I went to ReadyMed maybe 5 times, saw various other doctors another 3-4 times. They checked for flu, pertussis, pneumonia, etc.—all negative. What helped me a bit was a cough med called Tessalon Perles and Azithromycin (Z-pack). After the antibiotics, the cough really began to subside. The doctors initially didn’t want to give me the Z-pack, but I insisted and it worked. A month later, right as stay in place happened, I got the flu. I got COVID last May, and it was very mild—5 days of just feeling blah with a mild fever, though I’m sure being vaccinated helped quite a bit.

Honestly, some coughs can last a month or two, but if it’s severe and impacting your breathing or sleep and OTC meds aren’t helping, ask about Tessalon Perles or getting antibiotics.