You Got Sick Weeks Ago--Why Are You Still Coughing?

Ever notice that coughing is often the symptom that hangs around the longest after a cold or other respiratory infection?

To make things worse, you're feeling fine but that lingering cough makes you feel like you have to keep apologetically announcing, "I'm not sick, this cough just won't go away..."

Coughs demand patience

It's not uncommon for a cough to last up to 8 weeks. People often think they need an antibiotic at around week 6. So they take the antibiotic and within the next couple of weeks the cough goes away.....but the cough probably wasn't due to infection.

Something else was at play....

Coughing is often an inflammatory response

Viral infections cause inflammation. When we’re sick, that inflammation increases the sensitivity of airway nerves, causing them to overreact.

That hypersensitivity can remain once you're well, causing you to cough when you take a deep breath (as when you exercise) or when you're trying to sleep or experience any number of other triggers.

Scientists have found this hypersensitivity to be linked to specific inflammatory chemicals and receptors on airway nerves.

I'm prone to this hypersensitivity on the rare occasion I get a chronic cough. It feels like a little pinprick in the back of my throat that makes me cough and to my great horror, I CAN NOT STOP.

It's beyond embarrassing. Tears stream down my face.

Several years ago, I was in the midst of one of those episodes and the brilliant diagnostician, Lillian Israel, said, "Sounds like you need Tessalon Perles."

The result was like magic! It worked by calming the cough reflex, which broke the inflammatory cycle in no time. The only downside is that it's only available by prescription.

When to talk to your doctor

Coughing is the result of a host of factors. Post-infectious cough usually resolves in 2-3 weeks. If your cough lasts more than 8 weeks, or if it's accompanied by other symptoms like fever, shortness of breath, bloody phlegm, or weight loss, you need to be seen by a medical professional.

A chronic cough can be exhausting. It can cause tremendous sleep disruption, in addition to dizziness or fainting, headaches, leaking of urine, and vomiting.

People have broken ribs from coughing! It's a greater risk for those with low bone density but occurs in people with normal bone density, too.

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While coughing can be frustrating and annoying, understanding what you're dealing with makes it easier to manage....and be patient... 😊