Chronic cough

What is chronic cough? Coughing has a purpose. It’s an important way to keep your throat and airway clear of material that should not be there. Your vocal cords come together with force when you cough to propel foreign bodies or irritants away from the lungs. Sometimes a cough can become a chronic condition. Constant irritation and trauma to the voice box can cause a pattern of overreaction of the vocal folds with more easily triggered cough response and the chronic feeling of needing to cough when there isn’t actually anything to cough out. Chronic cough is usually defined as a cough that lasts for eight weeks or longer. When this occurs, it’s important to evaluate and manage all the possible causes. Chronic cough may be caused by any of the following: • Medication side effects (especially certain blood pressure medicines) • Lung issues like • Environmental • • Chronic Cough Diagnosis Chronic cough may be brought on by conditions of the lungs, sinuses, allergy issues or reflux. Following evaluation by your otolaryngologist (ENT) you may be referred to a pulmonologist or gastroenterologist to evaluate these underlying causes. Chronic Cough Treatment Treatment for chronic cough involves identifying the contributing factors and managing them with medication, lifestyle and behavioral changes. Your treatment team will discuss different treatments with you, including medicines that may suppress the trigger to cough. In addition, a speech language pathologist who has experience ...

Overview Cough into your arm to limit the spreading of viruses and bacteria into the air. What is a cough? A cough is a natural reflex that is your body’s way of removing irritants from your upper (throat) and lower (lungs) airways. A cough helps your body heal and protect itself. What are the types of cough? There are many types of cough. Some of the names for coughs describe how long they last, while other types describe how they feel or sound, and other types are actual conditions. Types of coughs may be related to how they last • Acute cough begins suddenly and lasts for two to three weeks. • Subacute cough is one that stays around after you’ve had an infection and lasts three to eight weeks. • • Refractory cough is a chronic cough that hasn’t responded to treatment. Types of coughs may be related to mucus • A productive cough, or a wet cough, is a cough that brings up mucus or phlegm. • A non-productive cough, or a dry cough, doesn’t bring up mucus or phlegm. Types of coughs that have distinct sounds and are related to specific conditions • Whooping. Pertussis, or whooping cough, is an infection that causes a cough that sounds like a “whoop.” • Barking. A cough that sounds like barking can be a sign of croup. • Wheezing. This type of cough often happens when you have blocked airways. It can be associated with an infection, like a cold, or chronic conditions, like Types of coughs related to when you cough • Daytime cough. • Nighttime (nocturnal) cough. • Cough with vom...

A chronic cough is a cough that doesn’t go away. Common causes for chronic cough include asthma, postnasal drip and acid reflux. Treatment depends on the underlying cause. If you’re an adult with a cough that’s lasted more than two months or if your child’s cough lasts more than four weeks, you should contact a healthcare provider to find out why. Overview What is chronic cough? Chronic cough is a How common is chronic cough? Chronic cough affects 10% to 20% of the U.S. population. It’s one of the most common reasons why people visit their healthcare providers every year. What are the symptoms of chronic cough? Some chronic cough symptoms are more common and less likely to be serious, such as: • A stuffy or • Postnasal drip (tickle in the back of your throat). • • • More serious chronic cough symptoms include: • Weight loss without effort. • • • • A drenching Call a healthcare provider right away if you develop any of the symptoms listed above. Possible Causes What does chronic coughing indicate? Chronic cough can develop alongside a number of other health conditions. People who • • • • • • You can also develop chronic cough from exposure to dust and chemicals or as the result of hypersensitivity in your airway. What causes chronic cough? The most common chronic cough causes include asthma, postnasal drip and GERD. These conditions account for up to 90% of all chronic cough cases. Other chronic cough causes include: Respiratory conditions Respiratory conditions that can ca...

Diagnosis Your doctor will ask about your medical history and perform a physical exam. A thorough medical history and physical exam can provide important clues about a chronic cough. Your doctor may also order tests to look for the cause of your chronic cough. However, many doctors opt to start treatment for one of the common causes of chronic cough rather than ordering expensive tests. If the treatment doesn't work, however, you may undergo testing for less common causes. Imaging tests • X-rays. Although a routine chest X-ray won't reveal the most common reasons for a cough — postnasal drip, acid reflux or asthma — it may be used to check for lung cancer, pneumonia and other lung diseases. An X-ray of your sinuses may reveal evidence of a sinus infection. • Computerized tomography (CT) scans. CT scans also may be used to check your lungs for conditions that may produce chronic cough or your sinus cavities for pockets of infection. Lung function tests Spirometer A spirometer is a diagnostic device that measures the amount of air you're able to breathe in and out. It also tracks the time it takes you to exhale completely after you take a deep breath. These simple, noninvasive tests, such as spirometry, are used to diagnose asthma and COPD. They measure how much air your lungs can hold and how fast you can exhale. Your doctor may request an asthma challenge test, which checks how well you can breathe before and after inhaling the drug methacholine (Provocholine). Lab tests I...

A chronic A lasting cough may be a sign of many things. Here’s why it may not be getting better and when to see a doctor to find out the cause and the treatment. Postnasal Drip “Your nose is one of the first touch points between your body and the environment. Every infection and allergen, like Also called upper airway cough syndrome, “The most abundant cough receptors in your body are in the airways and around your vocal cords,” Galiatsatos says. “If anything gets in there, your body’s first response is to cough to get it out.” Asthma When you have Infections Even after your “During that time, the Pertussis, or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease How can a “It doesn’t have to be a massive reflux in the back of your throat; it’s actually the acidic fumes in your stomach -- they’re really potent,” Galiatsatos says. “Those fumes constantly come out of your stomach and, when you Blood Pressure Drugs “ When Hill sees a patient who has a persistent cough and takes an ACE inhibitor, “it’s sort of an easy win,” he says. “With a slight change in medication, the cough almost always goes away.” COVID-19 COVID-19 is the illness caused by SARS-CoV-2, the “The prolonged cough from COVID-19 is no different than any other virus that affects your lungs,” Galiatsatos says. “The injured parts of your lungs are trying to clear out the infection and heal.” Smoking Smoking damages your lungs (and the rest of your body). You may also have heard of the “smoker’s cough,” which happens because chemical...

Chronic cough is when you have a cough that lasts for eight weeks or longer. The treatment depends on the cause. A home remedy may be sufficient, or you may need to see a doctor for medical treatment. Most coughs are short-lived. You may catch a virus, cough for a few days or weeks, and then you’ll start to feel better. Less often, a cough lingers for several weeks, months, or even years. A cough that lasts 8 weeks or more is called a chronic cough. Coughing might sometimes be uncomfortable, but it actually serves a useful purpose. When you cough, you bring up mucus and foreign material from your airways that can irritate your lungs. Coughing can also be in response to Even chronic coughs often have a treatable cause. They can result from conditions like A chronic cough can have a big impact on your life, though. It can keep you awake at night and distract you from work and your social life. That’s why you should have your doctor check out any cough that lasts for more than a few weeks. The most common causes of a chronic cough are: • asthma, especially • acid reflux or • upper airway cough syndrome, which is sometimes related to • nonasthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis, which involves inflammation in your airways • • • environmental triggers, such as dust or animal dander • bacterial Other causes include: • • • • inhaling a Rarer causes for a chronic cough include: • • • • • • Along with the cough, you might have other symptoms, depending on the cause. Common symptoms that ...

Common causes of a chronic or persistent cough include postnasal drip, asthma, and acid reflux due to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). A post-infectious cough can also last for some time after an infection goes away. A chronic cough is when a cough In this article, we take a close look at the causes and symptoms of a chronic cough, ways to treat it, and when to see a doctor. Share on Pinterest When an adult has a cough that persists for more than 8 weeks, it is considered a chronic cough. Some of the more common causes of chronic cough include: • Asthma. Asthma occurs when a person’s upper airways are especially sensitive to cold air, irritants in the air, or exercise. One type of asthma, known as cough-variant asthma, specifically causes a cough. • Bronchitis. Chronic bronchitis causes long-term • Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). GERD occurs when acid comes back up from a person’s stomach and into their throat. The result can be chronic irritation in the throat that leads to a cough. • Lingering after-effects of infection. If a person has had a severe infection, such as • Postnasal drip. Also known as upper airway cough syndrome, a postnasal drip is the result of mucus dripping down the back of the throat. This irritates the throat and triggers a cough reflex. • Blood pressure-lowering medications. Medications known as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors can cause a chronic cough in some people. These medications end in -pril and include benazepri...

What's that nagging cough, and what can you do to cure it? Cough for a minute or two, and you may think something has "gone down the wrong pipe." Cough for a day or two, and you may think you've picked up a cold or For many people, chronic coughing raises the specter of What is a cough? Although folk wisdom views coughing as a grave portent of illness — What did one casket say to the other? "I hear you coffin" — the cough is actually a vital player in the body's defense against disease. Coughing expels mucus, microbes, and foreign particles from the respiratory tract, protecting the lungs from infection and inflammation. The cough begins with an initial gasp that draws air deep into the lungs. Next, the glottis snaps shut, putting a lid over the trachea, or windpipe. The third step is the forceful contraction of the muscles of the chest cage, abdomen, and diaphragm (see figure). In normal breathing, these muscles push air gently from the lungs up through the nose and mouth. But when the glottis is closed, the air can't move out, so tremendous pressure builds up in the air passages. Finally, the glottis swings open and the air rushes out. And it is quite a rush; in a vigorous cough, the air travels out at nearly the speed of sound, creating the barking or whooping noise that we call a cough. Anatomy of a cough A cough can be a conscious, voluntary act or an uncontrollable, involuntary reflex. In the latter case, stimulation of nerves in the larynx ("voice box") and respirat...