Get it off your chest: Why you should see your doctor about a chronic cough

A visit to your GP is the first step in finding out why your cough won’t clear up, advises respiratory expert Dr Neal Navani.

Learn about what you should do if you’re experiencing this frustrating condition - and its nature - in this informative article about chronic cough.

What is the cause of chronic cough?

The majority of chronic cough cases aren’t due to lung cancer, and a recent Swedish study found that it wasn’t even in the top 20 identifiable causes.

Getting a thorough check up will set your mind at ease, and should lead you to finding out why you have a chronic cough.

Chronic cough causes can be identified in almost nine out of every 10 people, and once the cause is found it can then be successfully treated. For example, underlying and undiagnosed allergies, or asthma, that result from a persistent cough can be cleared up within weeks of starting treatment.

As mentioned previously, a chronic cough may not be caused by lung cancer, even if you’re a long-term smoker. However, investigating into the cause of your cough may reveal an early lung cancer which could then be treated more effectively.

What is chronic cough?

A chronic cough is one that lasts a long time and is different from an acute cough, in general terms. A cold or flu infection will cause an acute cough which usually improves over a short period of time, starting to become less of a problem within three weeks.

The characteristics of a chronic cough are:

• They last more than six to eight weeks
• A chronic cough is dry in most people, and it either produces phlegm, or sputum, on rare occasions or in small amounts
• It’s more common in obese people
• It’s associated with allergies, smoking, or an underlying chronic lung disease such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

How can I get a referral for a chronic cough?

I see patients that experience a chronic cough on a regular basis. It’s important that, if you have a cough that won’t clear up, or that changes for the worse and doesn’t improve over the next few weeks, to see your GP. 

When you see your GP and they recommend you see a respiratory specialist, I can accept referrals. If you want to refer yourself because you’re worried about a chronic cough, that’s also no problem. Contact my clinic for more details.

There are many causes for a chronic cough, and not all of them are serious. Once the cause is found, many types can be successfully investigated and treated.

How do you investigate a cough?

It can be very revealing to learn about the events and situations that trigger coughing, or in which you find you don’t cough as much. Taking a full history from the patient to identify what may be causing your chronic cough is the most important starting point.

Then, we perform a range of tests. These include:

• Lung function tests;
• Spirometry;
• A full asthma check;
• Allergy testing;
• Chest X-ray.

Management of a chronic cough then depends on what we find.

We’re able to identify causes of chronic cough in most cases, and for the rest, there’s no apparent physical cause. They can also become habitual, and knowing you don’t have a serious illness, asthma, or allergies can help you to look at other possible causes, such as stress.

Book a consultation with Dr Navani in the knowledge your chronic concerns will be explored in-depth, via his Top Doctors profile.