For a long time does not pass cough

Cough is a protective reflex of the body in response to the effect on the respiratory tract receptors of various irritants - infectious and non-infectious. This symptom is inherent in a variety of diseases, not only associated with the respiratory system. As a rule, cough passes several days after the cure, but sometimes this symptom persists for a longer period. We will try to figure out why it can take a long time to cough.

Why can not I dry a cough for a long time?

Cough is considered protracted if it lasts more than three weeks, and chronic if its duration is more than 1-2 months. It does not matter, does not pass a long dry cough that began with pharyngitis, after a cold, other diseases, or that has arisen without other symptoms - in any case, you should contact a specialist. Establish the cause will help a number of laboratory and diagnostic studies, among which:

• X-ray of the lungs ;
• spirography;
• blood test;
• bronchoscopy;
• Ultrasound of the heart, etc.

Probable causes of prolonged dry cough are such pathologies:

• allergy;
• tuberculosis;
• bronchial asthma;
• Mycoplasma infection;
• whooping cough;
• gastroesophageal reflux disease;
• chronic sinusitis;
• chronic nasopharyngitis;
• sarcoidosis;
• pneumoconiosis;
• lungs' cancer;
• helminthic invasions;
• aortic aneurysm;
• mediastinal tumors;
• papillomas in the larynx;
• heart failure ;
• brain tumors, etc.

Why does not a wet cough take a long time?

No less dangerous symptom is a long-lasting cough, accompanied by the separation of sputum. Abundant education Sputum is usually associated with infectious processes, but there are also other reasons for this. Wet prolonged cough may be noted in the following pathologies:

• a foreign body in the respiratory tract that is not detected in time;
• cystic fibrosis;
• bronchiectatic disease;
• syndrome of primary ciliary dyskinesia of the bronchial epithelium;
• Chronical bronchitis;
• chronic pneumonia;
• tuberculosis, etc.

It is not recommended to fight with a long-term cough without self-medication or folk methods, without finding out its exact cause. Be sure to consult a therapist who will refer you to other specialists - the otolaryngologist, pulmonologist, allergist, cardiologist, gastroenterologist, etc. - if necessary.