Causes of Persistent Cough

Persistent cough is quite a common occurrence in infants, children, adults or elderly and they all suffer a lot because of this problem. Read this story to know about the causes of persistent cough and possible ways to get relief from it.

When you have a cough that lasts for eight weeks or more it is often referred to as persistent cough. It is also known as chronic cough. Some of the causes of persistent cough are not that serious. However, it is a frustrating experience for people of all age groups.

Several bouts of cough drains out all the energy. Coughing at night often disturbs the sleep. You feel irritated, angry and lose interest in eating because of the constant nagging cough.

A persistent cough is triggered due to many different reasons. Sometimes, it is because of some environmental irritants. At other times, it is a symptom of some serious underlying health problem. The main possible causes of persistent cough are given follows:

We all know that this is one of the most prevalent causes of a persistent cough. The common cold virus attacks the upper part of the respiratory tract and causes inflammation there. This part remains inflamed for a long time even after the infection is gone.

So, the annoying cough continues for many weeks while other symptoms such as runny nose, sore throat, fever, etc. subsides within a few days.

This is a respiratory problem where the air passage gets inflamed and irritated. Asthma patients, young or old, tend to get persistent cough seasonally when they are exposed to low temperature conditions during winters.

Similarly, it may happen after an upper respiratory infection or exposure to environmental irritants. This persistent cough could be dry or wet and is accompanied by breathing difficulty, wheezing and tightness in chest.

This disease causes inflammation in the lungs and leads to widening up of the bronchial tubes that persist for a long time. As a result, the bronchial tubes fail to clear up the mucus from the lungs properly. This condition induces cough which is accompanied by discolored sputum or blood.

Many of you will be surprised to know but it's a fact that this digestive problem causes cough. In this condition, the throat get irritated by the stomach acids that back flows through the esophagus. The accompanying symptoms of this cough are heartburn or a burning sensation in the chest and sour taste in mouth.

This is a highly contagious bacterial infection that mostly affects the lungs. One of the key symptoms of this bacterial attack on lungs is persistent cough. These patients often spit out bloody mucus while coughing. Too much of cough may even lead to chest pain and breathing difficulty.

This is commonly known as whooping cough. It is a form of bacterial infection of the respiratory tract that triggers uncontrollable coughing particularly at night. It is a common occurrence in small children and infants. Whooping cough in children may last for 2 - 3 months.

Those people who are prone to allergies tend to get persistent cough due to regular exposure to environmental allergens like dust, smoke or pollution. It can be a side effect of some medicines that you are taking. Smokers develop this problem because of chronic bronchitis where the bronchial tubes are damaged by the smoke and are chronically inflamed.

Most of the causes of persistent cough and phlegm are treated with cough expectorants. A dry persistent cough is often treated with cough suppressant which can check the cough reflex. However, these medicines are ineffective for whooping cough.

Children with whooping cough are often hospitalized and treated with antibiotics and oral corticosteroid medications. Other bacterial infections such as pneumonia and tuberculosis are treated with suitable medicines.

Asthma patients are given oral anti-inflammatory medicines and bronchodilators for inhalation that can reduce inflammation of the respiratory tract. GERD patients need medicines like proton pump inhibitors that can control production of excess acids inside the stomach. Allergy related cough is treated with antihistamines and decongestants.

Before I conclude this story, I would like to tell you that those of you who are smokers and are suffering from persistent cough must quit the habit as soon as possible. This is because tobacco smoke worsens the problem further. If you are a non smoker, you must ensure that you are not exposed to secondhand smoking.