Chronic Cough: Causes and Treatments

A cough that lasts eight weeks or more is called a chronic cough. Even chronic coughs often have a treatable cause. They can result from conditions like postnasal drip or allergies. Only rarely are they a symptom of cancer or other potentially life-threatening lung conditions.
A chronic cough can have a big impact on your life, though. It can keep you awake at night and distract you from work and your social life. That’s why you should have your doctor check out any cough that lasts for more than three weeks.

The most common causes of a chronic cough are:
Less common causes for a chronic cough include:
  • bronchiectasis, which is damage to the airways that causes the bronchial walls in the lungs to become inflamed and thickened
  • bronchiolitis, which is an infection and inflammation of the bronchioles, the tiny air passages in the lungs
  • cystic fibrosis, an inherited condition that damages the lungs and other organs by causing thick secretions
  • interstitial lung disease, a condition that involves scarring of lung tissue
  • heart failure
  • lung cancer
  • pertussis, a bacterial infection which is also known as whooping cough
  • sarcoidosis, which consists of clusters of inflamed cells, known as granulomas, that form in the lungs and other parts of the body

Treatment will depend on the cause of your cough:

Acid reflux

You’ll take medicine to neutralize, reduce, or block acid production. Reflux medicines include:
You can get some of these drugs over the counter. Others will require a prescription from your doctor.

Asthma

Drugs used to treat asthma can include inhaled steroids and bronchodilators, which require a prescription. These medicines bring down swelling in the airways and widen narrowed air passages to help you breathe more easily. You may need to take them every day, long term, to prevent asthma attacks or as needed to stop attacks when they happen.

Chronic bronchitis

Bronchodilators and inhaled steroids are used to treat chronic bronchitis and other forms of COPD.

Infections

Antibiotics can help treat pneumonia or other bacterial infections.

Postnasal drip

Decongestants can dry up secretions. Antihistamines and steroid nasal sprays can block the allergic response that causes mucus production and help bring down swelling in your nasal passages.

Additional ways to manage your symptoms

Research has shown that speech therapy may be effective in lowering the severity of a chronic cough. Your doctor can provide you with a referral to this a speech therapist.
To control your cough, you could try a cough suppressant. Over-the-counter cough medicines that contain dextromethorphan (Mucinex, Robitussin) relax the cough reflex.
Your doctor might prescribe a medicine such as benzonatate (Tessalon Perles) if over-the-counter medicines don’t help. This numbs the cough reflex. The prescription medication gabapentin (Neurontin), an antiseizure medicine, has been found to be helpful in some individuals with chronic cough.
Other traditional cough medicines often contain the narcotic codeine or hydrocodone. Though these medicines can help calm your cough, they also cause drowsiness and may become habit forming.


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