If you suffer from chronic coughing, you may not know what is triggering the cough reflex. Your cough may be dry, leading to lost sleep; you may throw up or break a rib from the force of your coughing. Your doctor can examine you and narrow down the cause of your coughing – when you know what the cause is, you can get it to stop.
Coughing Explained and Asthma
When you cough, your body is protecting itself from different irritants, ranging from foreign bodies to infection. When you have allergies or asthma, your coughing becomes chronic; it may also become such a problem that you seek medical care because of loss of sleep, pain, vomiting and even injury.
When you have allergic asthma, your coughing is your body’s attempt to get your airways to reopen when you have encountered an asthma trigger. Your cough is generally hacking and dry. It becomes worse when you go outside in the cold, when you are exposed to allergy triggers and when you have been exercising. You may also begin coughing when you become emotional – when you cry or become excited, for instance. Your cough can also develop from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, emphysema or chronic bronchitis.
Nonasthmatic Eosinophilic Bronchitis
You may have a cough with sputum – mucus – and believe you are asthmatic. When your doctor orders a blood test, he finds eosinophils, which are white blood cells common to those with allergies or infections. This condition is responsive to corticosteroids.
The substances to which you are allergic irritate your airways and cause your body to produce these blood cells. If your doctor believes you should have this test done, once your blood is drawn, the technician counts the number of white blood cells present per 100 cells. Your percentage of eosinophils is multiplied by the white blood count to find the absolute eosinophil count, according to MedlinePlus.
Upper Airway Allergy and Chronic Sinusitis
If you suffer from an upper airway allergy or allergic sinusitis, you are prone to developing post-nasal drip. This irritates your throat, causes a chronic cough and may lead to an irritated, sore throat. If your allergic sinusitis goes on for more than three months, you can develop a chronic cough because of the post nasal drip.
Treatments
Drink fluids – especially clear fluids – to help keep your airways moist and thin the mucus in your throat. Try sucking on hard candies or medicated throat lozenges to soothe the tickling that stimulates your cough reflex. Place a vaporizer in your room at night to add additional moisture to the air – this can help relieve your coughing. If you smoke, stop; if you are around anyone who smokes, don’t allow yourself to be in their presence when they are smoking. Talk to your doctor about medications to treat your allergies.
