• Jun 29, 2020 “An occasional cough is healthy, but one that persists for weeks, produces bloody mucus, causes changes in phlegm color or comes with fever, dizziness or fatigue may be a sign you need to see a.
  • Coughing happens to everyone at some time; if you have a mild chronic cough or experience the occasional coughing fit, it’s likely not a cause for concern. However, if your coughing becomes worse or becomes chronic, then you should go see a doctor to rule out any other or possibly more serious health conditions.

Coughing is a natural response to irritation in your throat or airways. “To put it simply, receptors in the throat, trachea, and lungs respond and lead to activation of the “cough center.

Short-term coughs

Common causes of a short-term cough include:

  • an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) that affects the throat, windpipe or sinuses – examples are acold, flu,laryngitis,sinusitisorwhooping cough
  • a lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) that affects your lungs or lower airways – examples are acutebronchitis orpneumonia
  • anallergy, such asallergic rhinitis orhay fever
  • a flare-up of a long-term condition such asasthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)or chronicbronchitis
  • inhaled dust or smoke

In rare cases, a short-term cough may be the first sign of a health condition that causes a persistent cough.

Persistent coughs

A persistent cough may be caused by:

  • a long-term respiratory tract infection, such as chronic bronchitis
  • asthma – this also usually causes other symptoms, such as wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath
  • an allergy
  • smoking – a smoker's cough can also be a symptom of COPD
  • bronchiectasis – where the airways of the lungs become abnormally widened
  • postnasal drip – mucus dripping down the throat from the back of the nose, caused by a condition such as rhinitis or sinusitis
  • gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) – where the throat becomes irritated by leaking stomach acid
  • a prescribed medicine, such as an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE inhibitor), which is used to treat high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease

In most cases, a doctor won't worry whether a cough is dry or chesty, but will need to know if you are producing much more or darker phlegm than usual.

Rarely, a persistent cough can be a symptom of a more serious condition, such aslung cancer,heart failure, a pulmonary embolism (blood clot on the lung) or tuberculosis.

Coughs in children

Coughs in children often have similar causes to those mentioned above. For example, respiratory tract infections, asthma and GORD can all affect children.

Causes of coughs that are more common in children than adults include:

  • bronchiolitis – a mild respiratory tract infection that usually causes cold-like symptoms
  • croup – this causes a distinctive barking cough and a harsh sound known as stridor when the child breathes in
  • whooping cough – look out for symptoms such as intense, hacking bouts of coughing, vomiting, and a 'whoop' sound with each sharp intake of breath after coughing

Occasionally, a persistent cough in a child can be a sign of a serious long-term condition, such as cystic fibrosis.

For centuries, doctors and care givers have listened to the different types of cough in search of clues to help diagnose underlying disease.

Coughs are a valuable diagnostic tool, but how do you know if you've got a relatively harmless cough, a coronavirus cough – or something else altogether?

An occasional cough is healthy, but one that persists for weeks, produces bloody mucus, causes changes in phlegm colour or comes with fever, dizziness or fatigue may be a sign you need to see a doctor.

Cough questions

If you've gone to see a doctor about a cough, he or she will want to know:

  • how long has the cough lasted? Days, weeks, months?
  • when is the cough most intense? Night, morning, intermittently throughout the day?
  • how does the cough sound? Dry, wet, barking, hacking, loud, soft?
  • does the cough produce symptoms such as vomiting, dizziness, sleeplessness or something else?
  • how bad is your cough? Does it interfere with daily activities, is it debilitating, annoying, persistent, intermittent?

COVID-19 cough: dry, persistent and leaves you short of breath

The most prominent symptoms of COVID-19 are fever and fatigue, and you may feel like you have a cold or flu. Cough is present in about half of infected patients.

Considering that COVID-19 irritates lung tissue, the cough is dry and persistent. It is accompanied with shortness of breath and muscle pain.

As disease progresses, the lung tissue is filled with fluid and you may feel even more short of breath as your body struggles to get enough oxygen.

Occasional Coughing Spells

Wet and phlegmy or dry and hacking?

Occasional Coughing Of Blood

A wet cough brings up phlegm from the lower respiratory tract (the lungs and lower airways, as opposed to your nose and throat) into the mouth.

Coughing

The 'wet' sound is caused by the fluid in the airways and can be accompanied by a wheezing sound when breathing in. The lower airways have more secretory glands than your throat, which is why lower respiratory tract infections cause a wet cough.

A dry cough doesn't produce phlegm. It usually starts at the back of the throat and produces a barking or coarse sound. A dry cough does not clear your airways so sufferers often describe it as an unsatisfactory cough.

Nose and throat infections cause irritation to those areas and produce a hacking dry cough with sore throat. These types of cough are often seen in flu or cold.

Sometimes a cough can start off dry but eventually turn wet.

For example, the lung infection pneumonia often begins with a dry cough that's sometimes painful and can cause progressive shortness of breath. As infection progresses, the lung air sacs (alveoli) can fill up with inflammatory secretions such as lung tissue fluid and blood, and then the cough will become wet. At this stage, sputum becomes frothy and blood-tinged.

Occasional Coughing Up Blood

What about whooping cough?

Whooping cough is caused by bacterial infection that affects cells in the airways and causes irritation and secretion.

Symptoms include coughing fits that end in a loud, 'breathing in' noise that often sounds like a long 'whoop' and leaves you gasping for air. Mucus is often expelled.

Prolonged, forceful coughing can damage your airways, or cause rib fractures or muscle tears – so it's important to know when medical help is required.

So whatever your cough sounds like, keep an eye on it and see a doctor (either in person or via a telehealth appointment) if it doesn't go away or gets worse.

Maja Husaric, Lecturer, Victoria University and Vasso Apostolopoulos, Adjunct Professor and Sessional Academic, Victoria University.

Causes Of A Cough

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.