What Is Chronic Cough Syndrome, and How Is It Treated?

What Is Chronic Cough Syndrome, and How Is It Treated?

Do you find yourself coughing frequently without a probable cause? Coughing is a natural and common symptom that most people have occasionally throughout their life. In most cases, coughing resolves itself within a couple of weeks. However, in some cases a cough can last six weeks or more. In these situations, it is considered chronic cough syndrome.

What Is Chronic Cough Syndrome, and How Is It Treated?

There are many potential causes of chronic cough syndrome. There may be one or more causes for your cough. Sometimes the symptoms you have in addition to a cough can fit with several different diagnoses. It is important to be completely up front with your doctor so that they can investigate potential causes for your cough.

Allergy testing and pulmonary testing are frequently done in cases of chronic cough syndrome. Allergies and asthma can both cause a chronic cough. Your doctor or allergist may order additional tests to check out your symptoms and try to determine a cause of the cough.

If a cause or causes can be found, treating these specifically will resolve your chronic cough. However, if no cause can be found, you still have some treatment options. Occasionally, a doctor or allergist cannot determine the cause of a cough, and instead the symptom itself must be treated.

There are a lot of different treatment options for chronic cough syndrome. There are medications that can decrease throat sensitivity to decrease the amount of coughing. There are also medications for opening up the airways and relieving coughing symptoms. Some medications are oral, while others are inhalers.

If your cough is recent and has not lasted a long period of time, there could be simpler treatments and causes available. At this time, it is important to note that a dry cough is one of the most common symptoms of COVID-19. If you recently developed your cough, especially if you have recently traveled, you should self-isolate and report your symptoms to your doctor.

If you have had a chronic cough for more than six weeks, we can help run the required testing to find the cause and determine the appropriate treatment. Contact us today for more information or to schedule your appointment.