Chronic Cough

Chronic cough is a common medical problem with many different origins. Chronic cough is defined as a cough lasting at least 4-6 weeks. A chronic cough can lead to exhaustion and weaken your body by disrupting sleep. Sometimes a chronic cough can be caused by a more serious disease. When a chronic cough becomes severe, it can induce breathlessness, fracture ribs, urinary incontinence, damage to vocal cords, vomiting, exacerbate vertebral disc and nerve pain, and even cause dizziness and fainting.

What are major causes of chronic cough?

Major causes for chronic cough in both adult and children are postnasal drip secondary to allergies, sinusitis, asthma, tobacco use and acid reflux disease. Unfortunately, chronic cough in current smokers or patients who have smoked previously can be a sign of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

When should I have my chronic cough evaluated?

Prolonged cough over 4 weeks should be evaluated. If your coughing disrupts your sleep, work, normal activities or school, then it should be evaluated. Additionally, if the cough leads to additional symptoms-shortness of breath, wheezing, chest pain, or chest tightness, then it should be evaluated. If a patient has blood associated with their cough, then an immediate medical evaluation needs to be made.

How is chronic cough treated?

Generally, coughing is a symptom of another disease: asthma, COPD, allergies, sinusitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease or a possible adverse medication reaction.  Our office can help evaluate and treat your chronic cough. By treating the underlining cause, the cough is reduced and/or eliminated.

Using a detailed medical history and physical exam along with appropriate radiography studies, we can help to find a treatment plan that will relieve your chronic cough. Breathing tests like spirometry and pulmonary function tests may be helpful for making a diagnosis and a treatment plan. Allergy testing can determine if allergies are a cause of coughing. It is very common for patients with chronic cough to have more than one source for their cough, such as having allergies and gastroesophageal reflux disease.  Both problems will need to be treated simultaneously to prevent reoccurrence of the cough. Patients with chronic cough due to allergies, asthma and or sinusitis may find allergy desensitization treatment helpful.