Chronic Cough

What is a chronic cough?

A chronic cough lasts four weeks or longer in children and eight weeks or longer in adults. Not only are chronic coughs annoying, but they interrupt your sleep for weeks on end, leading to exhaustion. Severe chronic coughs can cause lightheadedness and vomiting. Sometimes, they can even fracture ribs.

What causes a chronic cough?

The most common causes of chronic cough are:

• Smoking
• Postnasal drip
• Acid reflux
• Asthma

There are less common causes of chronic cough, too. You might have a lingering cough if you’ve recently had pneumonia, the flu, or an upper respiratory infection. A chronic cough can also result from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), typically in people who are or were smokers. Blood pressure medication can cause a chronic cough in some people.

More severe but very uncommon causes of chronic cough include lung cancer, inflammation of the small airways of the lung, and cystic fibrosis.

When your doctor treats the underlying medical problem causing your chronic cough, it tends to disappear. If your cough isn’t getting better and it’s been several weeks, make an appointment at ENT & Allergy Specialists of VA, PC. Their team will diagnose and treat the underlying cause and finally get rid of your cough.

How is chronic cough treated?

How a chronic cough is treated depends on what’s causing it. In some cases, you could have more than one underlying medical condition causing your chronic cough. The ENT & Allergy Specialists of VA, PC team will discuss your symptoms and determine the cause of your cough to develop an effective treatment.

If you smoke, they can help you stop smoking. If you take blood pressure medications, your doctor can prescribe another medication that doesn’t list chronic cough as a side effect.

Chronic cough treatments include:

• Antihistamines
• Decongestants
• Asthma inhalers
• Antibiotics
• Acid blockers

You can also reduce symptoms with home remedies, including:

• Increasing your fluid intake
• Taking a teaspoon of honey
• Using a cool-mist humidifier

While home remedies, cough suppressants, and over-the-counter cold medications can reduce symptoms, they don’t treat the underlying medical condition that causes the chronic cough. If your cough lasts more than a few weeks, schedule an appointment with ENT & Allergy Specialists of VA, PC for a diagnosis and treatment.