Cough causes
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Causes
A persistent cough can be debilitating, socially distressing, and adversely impair quality of life.[1] One of the more common presentations to a medical practitioner is a dry cough. The common causes of chronic dry coughing include post-nasal drip, gastroesophageal reflux disease, asthma, post viral cough and certain drugs such as beta blockers, ACE inhibitors and aspirin. If a cough lasts for more than three weeks, multiple causes are likely and symptoms will abate only when all the causes are treated will the patient be symptom free. Individuals who smoke often have a smoker's cough, a loud, hacking cough which often results in the expiration of phlegm.
Coughing may also be used for psychological or social reasons, such as the coughing before giving a speech. This is known as psychogenic, habit or tic coughing, and may increase in frequency in social situations featuring conflict.[2]
Given its irritant nature to mammal tissues, capsaicin is widely used to determine the cough threshold and as a tussive stimulant in clinical research of cough suppressants.
References
- ↑ Omar S. Usmani, Maria G. Belvisi, Hema J. Patel, Natascia Crispino, Mark A. Birrell, Marta Korbonits, Dezso Korbonits, and Peter J. Barnes (2005). "Theobromine inhibits sensory nerve activation and cough" (pdf). The FASEB Journal. 19: 231–233.
- ↑ Arella, A. (nd), Coughing as an Indicator of Displacement Behaviour (PDF) (Unpublished thesis)