Claudia, United States
Actual patient with chronic cough
What is chronic cough?
What can start as a tickling sensation in your throat could turn into coughing fits that may impact your daily life.
Weeks
In adults, chronic cough is a cough that has lasted more than 8 weeks. If this sounds like you, talk with your health care provider.
Affected
About 10% of adults worldwide may have chronic cough.
Age
The typical person with chronic cough is a woman in her 50s and 60s, and it affects twice as many women than men.
A tickle in the throat
A dry cough that doesn't bring up much mucus
Uncontrollable coughing fits
A cough that disturbs sleep
You may have a strong urge to cough from things that don't normally cause others to cough. You may also be more sensitive to certain irritants that do cause cough.
Things like:
Changes in temperature
Dry air
Laughing or talking
Perfume, strong smells
Aerosols, secondhand smoke, and dust
Chronic cough can be annoying. It may also affect you physically, mentally, and socially:
Sleep disturbances
Loss of bladder control
Dizziness, headaches, and tiredness
Feelings of depression
Anxiousness
Embarrassment and frustration
Interruption of social activities and hobbies
Problems speaking
Annoyance to friends and family
Chronic cough is commonly associated with other conditions, such as asthma, postnasal drip, or acid reflux. But for others, a persistent cough could be another type of chronic cough called refractory or unexplained chronic cough.
Refractory chronic cough
A cough lasting more than 8 weeks in adults that doesn't go away after being treated for other conditions connected with cough.
Unexplained chronic cough
A cough in adults lasting more than 8 weeks with no condition found that is connected with cough, even after thorough investigation.
When your nose or sinuses produce extra mucus, it can drip down the back of your throat and trigger your cough reflex.
This type of cough can be caused by reflux of acidic stomach contents.
Asthma
A condition with airway swelling/narrowing, as well as the production of extra mucus.
Cough-variant asthma
A type of asthma where cough is the main symptom.
Airway inflammation not caused by asthma.
Chronic cough can occur as a (known) side effect in people taking medication as instructed by their health care provider.
Conditions such as lung cancer and cystic fibrosis, as well as other lung diseases, e.g. interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), are all associated with chronic cough.
Take the cough questionnaire to be prepared to discuss your cough.