Are you aware of these important reasons for the long lasting or chronic cough??
Posted on: 04/Apr/2022 9:45:56 AM
Are you aware of the fact that 4% to 10% of the adult population experiences chronic cough for about 8 weeks or more?
In children, chronic cough could last for atleast 4 weeks. Immediate medical attention might not be needed for the chronic cough, but when it is accompanied with fever, shortness in breath, chest pain, blood etc then it must be treated immediately. This might be due to a serious underlying medical issue in the person. The important information is that chronic cough would go away once the underlying health condition gets treated.
Various reasons for the chronic cough are
Asthma:
In some persons, airways would become inflamed and narrow and would produce extra mucus and this is an asthma or chronic condition. The person would show symptoms like wheezing, shortness in breath, chest tightness, coughing etc. In children, asthma would occur and the kid would just have a cough only. This asthma is termed as cough variant asthma.
Upper airways cough syndrome or UACS:
Chronic cough could also be due to upper airway cough syndrome or UACS. It is also known as post nasal drip syndrome. It is believed that uncontrolled sinus and nasal congestion could make some of the mucus to drip back behind nose to throat and this could lead to cough receptors getting triggered.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder or COPD:
The airflow from the lungs gets obstructed and there would be difficulties in breathing, This issue is called COPD or a group of lung diseases. The lungs might produce excess mucus and it could lead to continuous coughing.
Certain medications:
Not many would be aware that chronic cough could also be because of consuming certain medicines etc. Persons who consume medicines like Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors or ACEI for high BP and heart failure etc would have chronic coughing.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD:
In some persons, stomach acid travels from the stomach up to the esophagus and causes irritation of the esophageal lining. This could lead to chronic cough also. It must be noted that GERD is a severe form of acid reflux.
Chronic and eosinophilic bronchitis:
A type of COPD that would lead to irritation and inflammation of airways is chronic bronchitis. Inhaled irritants like air pollution or smoke can lead to this. The person with chronic bronchitis would also have other symptoms like chest tightness and wheezing etc. Increased presence of eosinophils or a type of white blood cell would lead to eosinophilic bronchitis. This could cause chrononic coughs also.
Bronchiectasis:
Airways dilate and lose the ability to clear mucus out and this would lead to bronchiectasis. Those persons above the age of 75 would get this issue. Various other symptoms are chest tightness, wheezing etc.
Other infections:
Common causes for cough could be due to bacterial or viral infections also. The cough associated with bacteria get resolved when they are treated. It must be noted that after recovering from viral infections there would be cough for 3 weeks and this is post infectious cough. This post infectious cough can be due to cough receptors in the body having more sensitivity.
