Chronic Coughs: What Causes Chronic Coughing?

Contributing Factors to Chronic Coughing

Jae Jones
A chronic cough can be very annoying and it can actually be quite scary. There are numerous of causes why a person may have a persistent chronic cough. Some causes are not serious while others can be quite serious. Chronic coughs are coughs that linger around and do not go away it can actually get worst.

Smoking can lead to persistent coughs that will not go away. It is actually the number one reason individual may develop a chronic cough. Usually, individuals that have chronic coughs do not cough up anything such as phlegm; it is usually just a dry annoying cough.

Acid reflux or stomach acid can contribute to contents into the esophagus. Acid in the stomach can eventually make its way back into the esophagus, causing most individuals with this problem to experience coughing; this is usually because some of the contents have aspirated into the lungs. This can be dangerous and can cause lung tissue damage.

There are also specific types of medication that will cause chronic coughing. I experience this first hand with my high blood pressure medicine. I kept coughing and had no idea why. I was not coughing up anything, and did not have a cold. I asked my health care provider and was told it could be the high blood pressure medication, we decided to switch the medication to see if it was truly causing the coughing. I have not had a problem with it since. Before coming off the medication it just constantly felt like something was in my throat. I would have never guessed a medication could have such a side effect, but it did.

Individuals with sinus problems may also experience chronic coughing; this is due to the postnasal drip to their throats. Postnasal drip can be quite annoying and can cause a lot of coughing.

Some individuals, who have asthma, may also experience an aggravated cough. Some individuals may only suffer from coughing as their main symptom of having asthma.

Chronic coughs are usually a sign that something else is going on with the body. Individuals, who experience a persistent cough and do not know why, should seek the medical advice of a health care provider; it may be that once they get the underlying condition under control the chronic cough will subside. Individuals may be treated for the chronic cough, or told what to do to help alleviate some of the aggravation from the cough.

Resources:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/chronic-cough/DS00957/DSECTION=causes
http://www.medicinenet.com/chronic_cough/article.htm

Published by Jae Jones

Jae is a published author and freelance writer. She has a background in health care (nursing) and early childhood education. Her enjoyments are writing about a variety of different topics and reporting the n...   View profile

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