You cough when your body needs to expel an irritant from your airways. That could be anything from dust or smoke to a pathogen such as bacteria or a virus.
Coughs are often part of an allergy response, too. So when you start coughing and just don’t stop, you might wonder why and what, exactly, your body is trying to get rid of.
Our expert allergist Catherine Fuller, MD, helps you get to the bottom of coughs when they just won’t go away. She offers testing and treatment at our office in West Los Angeles, California.
When should you worry about your persistent cough? Following are some signs that your cough may need investigation.
You may have developed your cough as a response to a cold. When you cough, your body uses air forces of about 50 miles per hour to get pathogens, such as cold viruses, out of your airway.
But if your cough doesn’t go away after a couple of weeks, or if you’ve been coughing for about 14 days without having suffered a cold, something else could be triggering that cough. Coughs that last for more than two weeks may be a sign that you have:
See Dr. Fuller to find out why you’re coughing and to get the treatment you need to stop. Untreated persistent coughs may lead to bronchitis and other complications.
Because they’re so forceful, coughs put a lot of stress on your respiratory muscles and lungs. So much stress, in fact, that severe coughs can even crack a rib. If you notice that a cough causes pain in your chest or ribs, it could be a sign of something more serious than an allergy.
If you cough and also have difficulty catching your breath, don’t wait two weeks — head for the nearest emergency room. You could have a serious or potentially life-threatening condition, such as:
If you experience shortness of breath or pain when coughing. Contact your doctor and get to the ER immediately.
A serious sign that could mean you have a lung disease or damage is coughing up blood or bloody or discolored phlegm. Coughing up blood can also indicate a problem elsewhere in your body. Possibilities include:
You may also have a foreign body lodged in your lungs. Recreational drug use, such as crack cocaine, may also lead to bloody coughs.
Nonstop coughing can wear you out. As mentioned, the force of coughs may be enough to fracture your ribs. Chronic coughs can also cause:
A number of serious conditions — including congestive heart failure and sleep apnea — have the combined symptoms of fatigue or confusion with a persistent cough. When you cough constantly and also have other symptoms, please contact us as soon as possible.
If your cough persists and lowers your quality of life, don’t wait any longer to seek relief. To find out what’s causing — and how to stop — your cough, contact our helpful team at Catherine Fuller, MD, today for cough evaluation and treatment.
