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What Caiuses Dry Cough?
Question: I have ( since November 2013) had a mild, dry cough. The cough produces nothing. No phlegm or anything. I am 60 years old. I had a case of bronchitis about a year or two ago and this cough hung around for a while after that and then in november of 2013 I had what we call around here the crud. That lasted about two weeks, but the cough has lingered since then. I am on no medication at all. I take
niacin and garlic daily to keep my cholesterol down. I do not drink at all.
I drink a lot of coffee. When I exercise, I experience no noticeable shortness of breath that is more than I would experience before the bronchitis. In fact, when I exercise I don't seem to cough as much. My exercise consists of 20 minutes of cardio and mild weights. I never wheeze. I do have constant nasal drip from allergies. I have taken a decongestant and that seems to help sometimes. Took a decongestant today and it didn't help. It is a mild cough, an involuntary reaction. My throat and upper esophagus ( I am guessing here) feels mildly irritated all the time. Sometimes slightly worse than others . I don't cough at night. I sleep fine. I just cough during the day for no apparent reason. Mildly and a lot. Particularly when I am talking on the phone or conversing with others. I live in New Mexico in the mountains. High and dry compared to most places. Other than this cough, I feel fine. Just curious what it might be and what I could do to deal with it. Thanks
Brief Answer:
Descriptive
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for the query.
From your history, two possible reasons for your cough can be thought of. First is post nasal drip irritating your throat and producing cough, second, reflux of acid from stomach into the throat and producing cough. Allergy as a reason for cough is vary important in your case but you have written nothing suggestive of that in history presently.
I suppose that your chest is normal as examined by a physician/pulmonologist, as you have not written any finding related to chest. If there is some finding like slight occasional wheezing or more coughing on exposure to allergens, a combination of mucolytic with bronchodilator in consultation with GP will help.
Please take steam inhalation and mucolytics and that should help in clearing the post nasal drip over a period of 2-3 weeks. If it does not, see an ENT and you may need to go for an XRay Para nasal sinuses (PNS) or a CT scan PNS depending upon the need. An endoscopic examination of nose as an outpatient procedure will also clear things more.
Also please take for three weeks a proton pump inhibitor in consultation with your GP and that should take care of your reflux.
Also you have history of allergy and taking precautions to avoid exposure to allergen helps.
Feel free to ask another query.
Regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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