5. WHAT IS A CHRONIC COUGH?
A chronic cough is commonly triggered by one, or a combination of, the following:
- Cough variant asthma (CVA), a type of asthma that only expresses itself by a cough.
- Upper airway cough syndrome (UACS) (previously called postnasal drip syndrome), often triggered by nasal allergy and sinus disease.
- Gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) or laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). This is a chronic digestive disorder that occurs when stomach acid (or even stomach content) goes up into the esophagus (food pipe). The acid backwashes the throat and then irritates the cough receptors, triggering a cough.
- Irritation of the airways that lasts after a respiratory infection resolves.
- Chronic bronchitis (especially in smokers).
- Blood pressure medications called angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI).
- Pulmonary fibrosis, also called interstitial lung disease, consisting in progressive scarring of the lungs.
- Cancer of the lungs.
- Fungal infection of the lungs.
- Tuberculosis.
- Habit cough (psychogenic cough), a cough that may occur after a cold, leading to a vicious cycle (cough--throat irritation--cough), that typically stops once you fall asleep.
- Bronchiectasis (damage of the airway).
- Cystic fibrosis (inherited disorder causing severe airway damage).
- Bronchiolitis (viral infection in infants and young children).
- Sarcoidosis (collection of inflammatory cells in the lungs).