I'm so glad you're okay! Goodness, how awful...
I once got strep bacteria in my lung and got pneumonia from that. It hurt to breath, good god am I glad I got through that!
The cough was highly recommended to be suppressed -- otherwise, I might separate some cartilage from my ribs. I saw that happen to my sister once. The pain is akin to breaking a rib. So, anything you can do to help is good!
Unfortunately, it's normal for a cough to last a long time when the lung is healing. You know how when a cut heals, it itches a lot while it does? Your lung has some tissues going through the same thing. In fact, your lung's cells are still reacting on high alert to any danger, and might accidentally trigger each other... I won't go into a rant. The immune system is really awesome, but sometimes, counterproductive :tdown:
I sat in a hot shower or with my face over hot tea to soak in the steam, which helped break up excess mucus.
I also kept an inhaler at hand, nearby anyway, just in case, though kept in mind that if I used it, I'd be coughing more for a while. A sad trade off.
I made sure to vacuum, dust, and clean the main house filter for the heating and a/c unit, and kept the fan on. The more you can reduce allergens, the less likely it is that you will have cellular "panics" that result in temporary less healing (as in, the less likely irritated cells continue to burn themselves in order to prevent infection -- cells are very proactive but a little paranoid after serious infections... which is relatable).
If you can stomach them at all, Delsym or cough syrup products with similar drugs will allow you some extra help. I know you can't, but in case you wanted to try one more time.
Otherwise, marshmallows can help, as well as honey, and coconut oil. At least, a little. Not tremendously. Marshmallows contain a bit of actual marshmallow root which soothes mucus membranes. Honey can as well, though not much outside of what it can touch. Coconut oil can also soothe irritation, because it's a mild anti-inflammatory. So are ibuprofen and Tylenol, if you can take those. They won't cure the cough at all, but they may help reduce the amount of swelling and irritated tissue in your lung, giving it help in healing and not "panicking."
When cells are alerted by a neighbor cell that the neighbor cell has been infected, the cells will purposefully hurt the tissue around themselves to make further infection harder (pretty much through inflammatory responses, which are painful). It's that inflammation and healing combined that's making the cough so bad.
I hope you get better soon :)
