Chronic Cough

Causes of Chronic Cough

The most common chronic cough causes are:

Upper airway cough syndrome (UACS)

UACS, formerly known as postnasal drip syndrome, is irritation of the upper airways and nasal passages typically caused by exposure to irritants such as dust, allergens and chemicals. When you have UACS, your sinuses produce extra mucus that can drip down the back of your throat and settle in the glottis (the area above the windpipe), where it can trigger the cough reflex. UACS is the most common cause of chronic cough in adults.

Asthma

Asthma is a chronic disease of the lungs and airways. In response to a sensitivity to allergens or other irritants, the airways in a person with asthma become inflamed, swollen and narrow while often producing extra mucus, making breathing difficult. Cough-variant asthma, in particular, is a type of asthma in which the defining symptom is a chronic, dry, non-productive cough.

Acid reflux disease

Acid reflux is when stomach acid repeatedly flows back into the esophagus (the tube connecting your mouth and stomach), irritating its lining. When acid repeatedly flows from the stomach into the esophagus alone, the condition is called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). If stomach acid travels up into the esophagus and flows into the throat or voice box (pharynx/larynx), the condition is known as laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR).

Infections

A cough can linger long after other symptoms of flu, pneumonia, cold, pertussis (whooping cough) and other upper respiratory tract infections have resolved. Fungal infections of the lung, tuberculosis (TB) and lung infection with nontuberculous mycobacterial organisms can also lead to a chronic cough.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

COPD, a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow, includes such conditions as chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Chronic bronchitis can cause a chronic cough that brings up colored sputum (mucus that is coughed up from the lower airways). Emphysema is a condition characterized by damaged air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs typically accompanied by shortness of breath, chronic coughing and other related symptoms. Most people with COPD are current or former smokers.

Blood pressure drugs

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, which are commonly prescribed to treat for high blood pressure and heart failure, are known to cause chronic cough in some individuals.

Other less common causes of chronic cough include:

Bronchiectasis

Bronchiectasis is a condition in which the bronchial tubes (the two large tubes that branch off the bottom of the windpipe to carry air to and from the lungs) become damaged, making clearing mucus difficult.

Bronchiolitis

Inflammation of the bronchial tubes that occurs in young children and infants.

Aspiration

When food, liquid or some other material accidentally enters your airway and moves into the lungs.

Cystic fibrosis

A progressive, genetic disease that affects the lungs, pancreas and other organs.

Lung cancer

The team at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center treats even the most complex lung cancers with an individualized approach to improve overall lung health and quality of life.

Nonasthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis

Bronchitis is an inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes. People with nonasthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis have an abnormally high amount of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell, in their mucus.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Chronic scarring of the lungs due to an unknown cause.

Sarcoidosis

A rare condition that causes small patches of swollen tissue, called granulomas, to develop in the lungs, lymph nodes and other organs.