Chronic Cough
Learn about the pulmonary condition of Chronic Cough including its common causes, symptoms, and treatments.
What is Chronic Cough ?
A chronic cough is a cough that does not improve after eight weeks in adults and four weeks in children.
A chronic cough typically goes away once the underlying cause is treated.
Symptoms of Chronic Cough
Symptoms of Chronic Cough may include:
- A runny or stuffy nose
- A feeling of liquid running down the back of your throat (postnasal drip)
- Frequent throat clearing and sore throat
- Hoarseness
- Wheezing and shortness of breath
- Heartburn or a sour taste in your mouth
- In rare cases, coughing up blood
Possible Causes of Chronic Cough
Some possible causes of Chronic Cough may be:
- Postnasal drip
- Asthma – can appear seasonally, after an upper respiratory tract infection, or exposure to certain irritants
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) – stomach acid flows back into your esophagus
- Infections – pneumonia, flu, a cold or other infection of the upper respiratory tract, pertussis (whooping cough), fungal infections of the lung, or tuberculosis (TB)
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Blood pressure drugs (ACE inhibitors)
- Aspiration of food or foreign objects
- Bronchiectasis – damaged, dilated airways
- Bronchiolitis – inflammation of the small airways of the lung
- Cystic fibrosis
- Laryngopharyngeal reflux – stomach acid flows up into the throat
- Lung cancer
- Bronchitis
- Sarcoidosis – inflammation of the lungs
- Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis – chronic scarring of the lungs
Risk Factors of Chronic Cough
Risk factors of Chronic Cough may include:
- Smoking
- Exposure to secondhand smoke
Complications from Chronic Cough
Complications from Chronic Cough may include:
- Sleep disruption
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Vomiting
- Excessive sweating
- Loss of bladder control
- Fractured ribs
- Passing out
How to Prevent Chronic Cough
While you may not be able to prevent a chronic cough, you can try some remedies at home to help ease your cough, such as:
- Drink fluids
- Use cough drops
- Take a spoonful of honey or add honey to tea – do not give honey to infants under one year old
- Use a cool-mist humidifier or take a steamy shower to moisturize the air
- Don’t smoke and avoid secondhand smoke
Learn about the Smoking Cessation program at Oneida Health.