A chronic cough is a cough that has lasted more than 2 months in adults, or 1 month in children. In adults, chronic cough is most often caused by smoking and tuberculosis. While in children, most often caused by asthma.
Depending on the cause, a chronic cough may be accompanied by phlegm and sore throat. A chronic cough can interfere with daily activities and make it difficult for sufferers to sleep. Drinking more water and quitting smoking can help prevent a chronic cough.
Causes of Chronic Cough
A chronic cough or cough that doesn't go away can be caused by one or more of the following conditions:
- Smoke.
- Infections, such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, or whooping cough.
- Asthma.
- Gastric acid reflux disease.
- Inflammation of the respiratory tract (bronchitis).
- Side effects of drugs for hypertension type ACE inhibitor, for example captopril.
Although rare, chronic coughs can also be triggered by:
- Bronchiolitis disease
- Bronchiectasis disease
- Disease cystic fibrosis
- Sarcodiosis
- Interstitial lung disease
- Lung cancer
- Heart failure
Symptoms of Chronic Cough
Chronic cough is a symptom of a condition or disease that has been mentioned above. In addition to a cough that lasts a long time, other symptoms that appear depend on the cause. Symptoms that can accompany a chronic cough include:
- Runny nose and stuffy nose
- Phlegm in the throat
- Sore throat
- Hoarseness
- Cough
- Heartburn
- Mouth tastes bitter
Immediately see a doctor if a chronic cough appears accompanied by the following symptoms:
- Sweat at night
- Fever
- Weight loss
- Chest pain
- Coughing up blood
- Hard to breathe
Diagnosis of Chronic Cough
To find the cause of a chronic cough, the doctor will ask about your symptoms and perform a physical examination. Then to determine the cause, the doctor will run several follow-up examinations, including:
- Imaging test, such as chest X-rays and CT scans, to see the condition of the lungs.
- Lung function test, to measure lung capacity.
- Sputum test, to check for possible bacterial infection.
- Stomach acid test, to measure the level of stomach acid in the esophagus.
- endoscope, to see the condition of the respiratory tract, or esophagus and stomach.
- Biopsy, or the removal of tissue samples from the respiratory tract, for examination in the laboratory.
Chronic Cough Treatment
Chronic cough will be treated according to the cause. Below are some types of drugs that doctors can prescribe to treat chronic cough:
- Antibiotics, such as azithromycin and cefuroxime.
- breath lozenges (bronchodilators), such as theophylline.
- Antihistamines, such as cetirizine and fexofenadine.
- Corticosteroids, such as budesonide and fluticasone.
- Decongestants, such as pseudoephedrine.
- Proton pump inhibitors, such as esomeprazole and lanzoprazole.
- H2 antagonists, such as cimetidine and famotidine.
- Antacids.
If the cough is very bothersome, the doctor will prescribe medication to reduce coughing, such as dextomethorphan or codeine.
PPrevention of Chronic Cough
Besides being able to help relieve symptoms, the following steps can be taken to prevent chronic coughing:
- Do not smoke and avoid smoking environments.
- Avoid overeating and do not lie down for at least 3 hours after eating, if you suffer from gastric acid reflux (GERD).
- Use medications for asthma as directed by your doctor.
- Consult again with your doctor about the benefits and risks of ACE drugs inhibitor.
Complications of Chronic Cough
Chronic cough should be treated immediately. If it doesn't go away, a chronic cough can be very annoying and lead to a number of complications:
- Hoarseness
- Throw up
- Hard to sleep
- Depression
- hernia
- bedwetting
- Rib crack