Not used to having severe cold/infection do I go to docs?

[bhandley]

I have had a severe cold type thing for over a week now and wondering whether my symptoms are normal as when I get a cold its usually mild - I get the snivells and it clears in about 4 days.
I started off having a dry patch in my throat for about 2 days last thursday, then on saturday it progressed into a sore throat and dry cough which lasted maybe two days or so.
Then the sore throat and hoarseness/ dry cough disappeared and was replaced by what I think is a sinus infection as I had a faint headache, a little pain behind the eye, pain up the nasal passage when breathing through it - when it wasnt blocked that is - blocked nose, runny nose and sometimes blood when I blow my nose and one time where the blood was quite a bit, sore gums and a hell of a lot of thick mucous running down the back of my throat when sniffing back. This has lasted a few days aswell and last night I felt like I had a blocked ear and I could hear myself swallow really loudly in that ear.
The today I still have the minor sinvels but the sinus infection seems so much better like its on the mend with only a little mucous left however now I have a chesty cough with mucous on the lungs which rattles every now and then and is coughed up to the throat and a sore throat again when coughing sometimes.

So what the hell is going on? I have never known a cold to symptom hop from throat to nose to chest to throat etc. Does this warrant a trip to the docs?
I have massive cancer fears... does this sound at all like a cancer thing? Should I be worried that my immune system isnt breaking it like it normally does?
Do respiratory tract infections spread around from nose to chest and such? Do I need to get antibiotics? Does it sound like its just running its course?
I would appreciate any advice please, I am so unused to having something as severe as this and have no idea how colds and such are meant to behave.

[sixpack]

colds can go to the ears/throat/chest etc. there are 1000's of different kinds of colds that vary in intensity just based on the virus.  AND some people can have the same cold but react differently to them.

this happens all of the time.  Typically, with my kids or me,  a doc trip is warranted IF it lasts 2+ weeks, a cold gets better then all of sudden gets worse and/or when fever shows up.  Now the fever thing---some of my kids run a low grade temp with colds.  I don't.  So when I pop a temp I almost always have an infection that needs a round of anti-b to get rid of.  Fever, with my kids, I look at the temp of 101 or more added to the other "conditions" I mentioned above.


CANCER-----  drop the cancer angle.  remember just  fearing cancer will neither cause you to get it OR prevent you from getting it.

a cold is just a cold don't go getting catastrophic worrying about your immune system and cancer and such. 

[vardnas]

So what the hell is going on? I have never known a cold to symptom hop from throat to nose to chest to throat etc. Does this warrant a trip to the docs?
I have massive cancer fears... does this sound at all like a cancer thing? Should I be worried that my immune system isnt breaking it like it normally does?
Do respiratory tract infections spread around from nose to chest and such? Do I need to get antibiotics? Does it sound like its just running its course?
I would appreciate any advice please, I am so unused to having something as severe as this and have no idea how colds and such are meant to behave.

Well let's see. I had a cold the other month that started in the chest and migrated up, so symptoms can definitely hop around. Mine also lingered for more than a week, so of course I worried about that, because I NEVER get sick, and never for that long, but then a friend of mine told me it's good to get sick every once in a while because it gives the immune system a good workout. Plus, all the anxiety you've been dealing with more than likely means your immune system has to work harder than normal—but it's still working!

Don't go to the doctor for a cold. So many are so eager to throw antibiotics at things that are viral, and you don't need to take unnecessary antibiotics, especially not with the digestive issues you seem to have. Give it another week and see how you feel. If it's truly an infection, it will still be going strong and then you can go to the doctor.

Right now is the time to REST and also a great time to practice counteracting your anxious, catastrophic thinking. Tell yourself this is the only thread you'll post about this topic and if you need to, talk yourself off the ledge.

[bhandley]

Thanks this all does help, I will try and wait it out.
Sixpack - I actually did feel better for a day but it was not fully gone and then the next day I was much worse, the sore throat and dry cough got better for a day I felt alright like on the mend then the next day severe sinus issues. I also think I was running a low grade fever, I didnt take my temperature or anything I dont even have the equipment to do that but my body temperature was high in comparison to other people when I touched them for example and my step dad felt my head and said it felt pretty hot. Does this all sound normal and does this change whether I should wait it out do you think?

Vardnas thanks for the advice as always, I am super stressed at the moment because of getting sick over christmas and generally being sick has increased my anxiety, on the run up to christmas I had a lot of abdominal tenderness and spent days worrying about it but as usual this has cleared up and I havent had any abdo symptoms for about 2 weeks now, plus I was all worried that omeprazole wasnt working like it did first time round, again this is fine now.
Also I know this is bad but ive been drinking alcohol everyday despite being ill, bad excuse but I know I have to quit in the new year because of my past addiction problems and they seem to be creeping in with alcohol again, so ive been drinking over the holidays since I feel it my last chance. So maybe that might be lowering my immune system.

I swear I have a slightly enlarged occipital node but im hoping this is all related.

Thanks so much for the responses :)

[bhandley]

I know this is bad and I cant believe I am saying this but I keep thinking that my slighty productive cough isnt going to go away and that its a symptom of lung cancer.
Do any of you know how long it takes to clear a sinus issue/really bad cold?
Also lung cancer doesnt present like a really bad cold right?

[kindablue]

I went through this last summer, even posted on here about it.  I had this cough, no other symptoms, for a few weeks.  That was freaky.  Turned into a full blown cold, that just wouldn't clear up, even for 2 weeks.  Went to the doctor's and got some antibiotics and even then, it took the full course and then another week to get back to normal.  Even THEN, I still had some sinus congestion, but I felt fine.  A few weeks later I was all good.  I'm not saying that what happened to me is normal, but I am saying that I didn't die, and completely recovered. I'm sure you will as well.