Chronic Cough

Also known as: Chronic cough, Persistent cough, Refractory chronic cough, Post-nasal drip cough, Cough-variant asthma, Post-viral cough

A chronic cough lasts more than eight weeks in adults. The most common causes are upper airway cough syndrome (post-nasal drip), asthma or cough-variant asthma, reflux, and ACE inhibitor medicines; post-viral cough can linger for weeks after an infection [1][2]. Because chronic cough can also signal serious disease, including lung cancer, tuberculosis, interstitial lung disease and heart failure, medical assessment with chest examination and often chest X-ray is the essential first step [1][2][3]. Management targets the underlying cause; where no cause is found or treatment is incomplete, speech pathology cough-control techniques and, in specialist care, neuromodulator medicines may help [2][3]. In Chinese medicine chronic cough is differentiated into lingering external pathogens, Phlegm-Damp or Phlegm-Heat in the Lung, Liver Fire insulting the Lung, and Lung-Qi or Lung-Yin deficiency. Acupuncture and herbal medicine are adjuncts to medical diagnosis and cause-directed treatment [1][4].