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I am a nursing assistant at a local hospital on a Med-Surg floor. I have been coughing up this curdy, cottage cheese like sputum when I first wake up in the morning for about 8 weeks now. It's only a little bit, and I only cough it up when I first wake up, none during the day. I was diagnosed with bronchitis about 3 weeks ago and I took Factive for 5 days to clear it up, but the sputum remains unchanged. I have been having night sweats, but they're very seldom, maybe once every 2 weeks, and I've just attributed them to having nightmares during those nights. I don't have a cough during the day, although I have been having some postnasal drainage recently from my allergies acting up. It's a scant amount, and it comes and goes as the weather changes. I'm worried that I might have TB, but I also was thinking it might be from my allergies at night. Can you help me please?

Optional Information:
Female , Age: 22

Already Tried:
Factive, 5 days, PO, I don't know the dosage.

Customer (name blocked for privacy)

Status: Closed Value: $15

It does sound like this is allergy related so I would recommedn that you shick with an allergy related medication as well as this will help with the sumptoms that you are experieincing.

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You might have candida bronchopneumonia.

Candida are yeastlike fungi frequently found growing in a hospital environment.

I recommend that you have a chest X-ray, sputum gram stain, and culture. You might require a lung biopsy.

After your sputum culture is performed then your doctor should order Diflucan 800 mg (1 time loading dose) followed by 400 mg per day for at least 2 weeks after you have a negative culture or signs of improvement.

If your infection recurs then I recommend an HIV antibody test and tests to rule out conditions that produce immune suppression and diabetes mellitus. If no cause is found, then ask for a referral to an infectious disease consultant to rule out an underlying immune deficiency.

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