Coughing can be annoying and even painful at times, but it also serves a good purpose. Coughing allows the body to bring up mucus and other foreign materials that tends to irritate the lungs from inside the airways. Coughing can also be a response to inflammation or some type of illness that’s wreaking havoc in the body.
Although a cough is usually a response to catching a cold or the flu, it is usually short-lived and goes away after a few days or weeks. But there are times when a cough can last for several weeks, months, or even years. When you have had a cough last has lasted for at least eight weeks or more, it’s considered a chronic cough. And while many times they are usually due to allergies or just a postnasal drip, there are times when they are due to something more serious.
Having a chronic cough can also have a huge impact on your day-to-day life. It may be so bothersome that it can affect your sleep, and even make work or having a normal social life difficult to deal with.
Here, we will talk about 10 common reasons behind a stubborn cough and when you should actually see a doctor.
Reason 1: Infections
Coughs tend to be one of the main reasons why both adults and children visit the doctor. Oftentimes, a cough is a lingering or after effect from a bad infection, such as a cold, the flu or pneumonia. Some patients complain that even though most of their symptoms have gone away, their cough tends to remain – at times due to the airways still feeling inflamed. In some instances, certain illnesses just really take longer for all symptoms to completely go away. One expert explained it as “you have to clear out the old stuff to put new stuff in. That’s what coughs do.” If you recently were ill and your cough doesn’t seem to want to go away, go back to your doctor and ask what you should do to get rid of the cough once and for all.
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