overview
A chronic cough is a cough that lasts eight weeks or more in adults, or four weeks in children.
- A chronic cough is more than just a nuisance. A chronic cough can interrupt your sleep and exhaust you. Severe cases of chronic cough can cause vomiting, dizziness, and even broken ribs.
- Although it can sometimes be difficult to identify the problem that is causing a chronic cough, smoking, post-nasal drip, asthma, and acid reflux are the most common causes. Fortunately, chronic coughs usually go away once the underlying problem is addressed. Chronic cough Treatment in Hyderabad
symptom
A chronic cough can occur along with other signs and symptoms, including:
- A runny or stuffy nose
- A feeling of fluid running down the throat (post-nasal drip)
- Frequent throat clearing and sore throat
- hoarseness
- Wheezing and shortness of breath
- Heartburn or bitter taste in the mouth
- In rare cases, cough blood
The reasons
- An occasional cough is normal – it helps clear irritants and secretions from your lungs and prevents infection.
- However, a week-long cough is usually the result of a medical problem. In many cases more than one cause is involved.
- The following causes alone or in combination are responsible for the majority of chronic cough cases:
Post-nasal secretions. If your nose or sinuses form extra mucus, it can drip down your throat and trigger your cough reflex. This condition is also known as UACS (Upper Respiratory Cough Syndrome).
Asthma. An asthma-related cough can come and go with the times of the year, occur after an upper respiratory infection, or worsen when exposed to cold air or certain chemicals or fragrances. In one type of asthma (cough asthma), the main symptom is cough.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). In this common condition, stomach acid returns to the tube that connects the stomach and throat (gullet). The constant irritation can lead to a chronic cough. Coughing makes GERD worse – a vicious circle.
Infections. A cough can persist long after other symptoms of pneumonia, flu, cold, or other upper respiratory infections go away. Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a common but not recognized cause of chronic cough in adults. A chronic cough can also occur with fungal infections of the lungs, tuberculosis infection (TB), or lung infection with non-tuberculous mycobacterial organisms. Chronic cough Treatment in Hyderabad
Risk factors
One of the main risk factors for chronic cough is a smoker or a former smoker. Frequent exposure to secondhand smoke can also lead to coughing and lung damage. Chronic cough Treatment in Hyderabad