Virus Du Jour

There's some sort of ugly virus going around. It seems to mostly affect the upper respiratory system, particularly the throat, although there are signs that it might eventually move to the bronchi. I had an explosive, uncontrollable dry cough all day. I thought it was allergies. But tonight my throat became sore and I lost my voice. I also had a rasping wheeze for most of the night. When this disappeared it actually freaked me out a bit. I think this is due to the fact that 5.5 years ago I had pneumonia. The combination of the coughing and being on inhaled steroids for several months eventually caused a severe laryngospasm and I ended up in the emergency room with severe stridor. I tried to tell the ER attendants that my lungs were filling up just fine, it was my throat that was the problem (felt like breathing through a cocktail straw) but they treated as for asthma. The albuterol only made my throat tighten worse. I told them this was the case and they gave me epinephrine, which dilated the tissues and blood vessels, providing relief. It turns out that the tissues in my larynx were so irritated that the cold air caused my larynx to constrict. Although not as severe, tonight's sensations reminded me of that frightening incident and I started having a panic attack. Luckily I was able to to stop it using homeopathic and herbal means, in this case Hylands Calms Forte and Kava. I don't like to take Valium if at all possible. It makes me feel funny and kind of fuzzy. But I like going to the ER even less.
At this point I'm trying not to cough because it will only cause worse irritation to the tissues in my throat and unwanted choking sensations. At this point the cough is semi-productive although there isn't any discomfort in my lungs, i.e. bronchitis. So far I'm pretty sure this is a virus and not strep. My throat isn't that sore and I'm not running a fever.
If you find yourself having to cough constantly, particularly an explosive dry cough, do what I should have done and nip it in the bud with some cough syrup so your throat doesn't end up as irritated as I let mine become. Normally I let minor cold and cough run their course, but I would have been advised to stop this one. Now I need to allow my throat to heal and deal with the unsettling gagging sensations that come with having irritating the tissue with so much coughing.