When to seek help for a lingering cough?

When to seek help for a lingering cough?

When to seek help. If your only symptom is a lingering cough and you feel otherwise healthy, keep an eye on how long it lasts. Any cough that lasts longer than eight weeks is a reason to contact your doctor. Schedule an appointment with your doctor if you have additional symptoms, such as: bloody mucus when you cough.

How does a doctor diagnose a post viral cough?

Your doctor will take a thorough history including onset of your cold, as well as characteristics of your current cough. A post-viral cough is diagnosed by excluding other causes of a chronic cough. Depending upon your history, your doctor may need to rule out these other causes of a chronic cough: 2 

What kind of Medicine DO YOU take for a lingering cough?

Depending on the severity of your symptoms, you will be prescribed one or more of the following types of medications: 1 Inhaled glucocorticoids 2 Inhaled bronchodilators 3 Leukotriene receptor antagonists 4 oral prednisone More …

When to know if you have a chronic cough?

A lingering cough or a chronic cough not brought on by a recent cold can be an indicator of a more serious condition. Coughs that last longer than eight weeks for adults, or four weeks in children, are considered chronic.

Why do so many people go to the doctor for a cough?

Chronic coughing is common, so frequent that it rates as one of the most common reasons for seeing a doctor. In addition to worry about the cause of the cough, patients experience frustration and anxiety, especially if diagnosis and treatment stretches out over weeks, which is often the case.

What to do if you have a cough and chest pain?

Along with conventional therapy, home remedies can help relieve symptoms. If a nagging cough causes chest pain, treating the cough may ease chest discomfort. Drink warm fluids. Warm water or tea can soothe your throat and bronchial tubes, easing a persistent cough. Honey can also act as a cough suppressant, so add 1 or 2 teaspoons to your drink.

Your doctor will take a thorough history including onset of your cold, as well as characteristics of your current cough. A post-viral cough is diagnosed by excluding other causes of a chronic cough. Depending upon your history, your doctor may need to rule out these other causes of a chronic cough: 2 

What causes a cough and tightness in the chest?

It includes emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and refractory asthma. The main symptom of COPD is breathlessness. Smoking and long-term exposure to poor air can cause this disease. Inflammation in the lungs increases mucus production, causing a chronic cough and chest tightness. 6. Asthma With asthma, inflammation causes narrowing of the airways.