Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCommon Dry Cough CausesOther Potential CausesHome RemediesWhen to See a Provider
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Common Dry Cough Causes
Other Potential Causes
Home Remedies
When to See a Provider
A dry cough occurs as a natural reflex when inflammation or irritation affects your airway. It is also called an unproductive cough since it does not produce phlegm or mucus. A dry cough can be classified as acute or chronic, based on its duration.
A dry cough often occurs as a result of anupper respiratory infectionand resolves with the course of the disease. However, it can also be a sign of chronic health problems such asacid refluxorasthma. Treatment of a dry cough depends on the cause.
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#1 COVID-19
The COVID-19 infection inflames your lung tissues, making breathing, getting oxygen, and removing waste more challenging. With COVID-19, a dry cough occurs in about 50% to 70% of people who have the disease.
While COVID-19 affects everyone differently, other common symptoms can include:
Treatment
Most people do not require special treatment for COVID-19. However, your healthcare provider may advise treatment based on your age and other health conditions. COVID-19 treatments include:
Which Medications Should You Take For COVID?
#2 Asthma
Asthmais a chronic lung disease that affects the airways that carry air in and out of your lungs. With asthma, your airways become narrowed when you encounter specific triggers such as smoke,viruses, orallergenslike pollen, causing an asthma attack and making it harder to breathe.
Asthma can cause a dry cough when the small airway muscles tighten and swell. Other symptoms of asthma include:
Asthma treatment is complicated because it involves preventing symptoms and symptom relief. Asthma treatments include lifestyle changes and medications, as well as bronchial thermoplasty.
Making lifestyle changes to avoid exposure to common asthma triggers that cause the airways to constrict include:
Quick-relief medications to help prevent or ease symptoms during an asthma attack include:
Long-term medicines include:
Another treatment is bronchial thermoplasty. It is a procedure that involves the application of heat to the muscles along the walls of your airways to help prevent airway narrowing. It is done via the insertion of a bronchoscope (a tube with a camera at the end, through your mouth to see inside your airways).
How Asthma Is Treated
#3 Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)is a severe, progressive, and generally fatal lung disease that causes inflammation and/or scarring of your lungs’alveoli(air sacs) for unknown reasons. The scarring interferes with your ability to breathe because it thickens the lining of your lungs. This causes irreversible loss of the tissue’s ability to transport oxygen until the lungs can no longer provide oxygen to your organs and tissues.
Other symptoms of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis are:
While there is no cure for IPF, treatments can slow down the progression of lung damage and help improve your quality of life. Treatment can include medications, breathing therapies, and surgery.
Medications include:
Breathing therapies include:
Surgery includes alung transplantfor treatment of severe symptoms.
What Are the Types of Fibrosis?
#4 Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
Gastroesophagealreflux disease (GERD)is a condition in which your stomach acid repeatedly flows back up into youresophagus(the food tube that connects your mouth and stomach). The regurgitated stomach acid is calledacid reflux. Problems arise because this highly acidic substance can irritate the lining of your esophagus.
While periodic acid reflux is common, it happens repeatedly over time with GERD. GERD can cause a cough when the acid and other digestive enzymes irritate your throat. This change in sensation or irritation can stimulate a cough.
In addition to a dry cough, symptoms of GERD can include:
Treatment for GERD can vary based on the severity of your disease. Common treatments include changes to diet, medications, and surgery.
Dietary and lifestyle changes include:
Over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medications include:
Surgery includes:
Hiatal Hernia Surgery: Long-Term Care
#5 Postnasal Drip
Postnasal drip, also known as upper airway cough syndrome, is a feeling of mucus gathering in your throat or at the back of your nose. When you are healthy, you swallow mucus unconsciously many times a day.
However, factors such as seasonal allergies, some medications, GERD, and spicy foods can increase the volume of mucus or thicken it. This can lead to coughing as you try to manage the abnormal flow and texture of the mucus.
Postnasal drip typically lasts for a few days or weeks, though it can become chronic and persist for months. In addition to a persistent dry cough, symptoms of postnasal drip include:
Treatment for postnasal drip varies based on the cause of the problem, including bacterial infections, chronic sinusitis, seasonal allergies, and GERD.
For bacterial infections:
Chronic sinusitis may require surgery to open blocked sinuses.
Seasonal allergies may be treated with the following:
If GERD is the cause, traditional treatments for this condition will be used.
Measures to allow the mucus to pass more easily include:
Postnasal Drip: Causes, Symptoms, and How to Get Relief
#6 Upper Respiratory Infections
Upper respiratory infections (URIs)are contagious infections that affect your upper respiratory tract (including your nasal passages, sinuses, and throat). The most common upper respiratory infections are viral infections, such as the rhinovirus, which causes thecommon cold. Viruses such asadenovirusand bacteria such aschlamydiacan cause upper respiratory infections.
Treatment for an upper respiratory infection can vary based on the cause of the infection. Dry cough remedies can include medications and lifestyle changes.
Lifestyle changes include:
What Are Seasonal Colds and When Do They Occur?
#7 Lung Cancer
Lung canceris cancer that starts when cells in your lung mutate (develop abnormally) and grow out of control. It usually occurs from breathing dangerous chemicals, but can also develop without a known cause. As the abnormal cells grow, they join to form a tumor, which destroys surrounding healthy lung tissue.
Lung cancer can cause a cough when it originates in your large central airways. A tumor can narrow the airway and cause coughing. While a dry cough can be an early sign of lung cancer, the disease affects everyone differently. In most people, symptoms do not occur until the disease advances.
In addition to a dry cough, other possible symptoms of lung cancer include:
Treatment for lung cancer varies based on its type and stage. Depending on additional factors such as your age and other health conditions, treatment for lung cancer can include one or more of the following therapies:
Primary Lung Cancer vs. Secondary Lung Cancer
There are many other potential causes of a dry cough. These include:
Smoking or Inhaling Cigarette Smoke
Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors
About 10% of people who takeACE inhibitorsdevelop a dry cough. These drugs, such as Vasotec (enalapril) andZestril (lisinopril), are commonly used to treathigh blood pressure.
Bronchiectasis
Bronchiectasisis an obstructive lung disease that occurs from inflammation and infection. It causes permanent widening of your airways. Bronchiectasis occurs from inflammation and infection.
Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic fibrosisis a progressive, and life-threatening condition. It damages the lungs and digestive tract.
Sarcoidosis
Sarcoidosisdevelops when groups of cells in your immune system form calledgranulomas. These small, red, and inflamed lumps can cause permanent scarring in your lungs and lymph nodes in your chest.
Pneumonia
Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
Laryngopharyngealrefluxis a type of reflux (the return of stomach acid from your stomach into your throat) that triggers postnasal drip, the sensation of a lump in your throat, and a dry cough.
Environmental Allergies
Environmental allergiesare types of allergies cause your body to overreact to harmless substances in the environment. They can include pollen, mold, pet dander, or grass.
Certain Medications
A dry cough can occur as a side effect of the following types of medications:
I Have a Dry Cough, What Helps?
How to Get Rid of a Dry Cough at Home
There are many ways to get rid of a dry cough at home. Choosing the best treatment depends on the cause of your symptoms. Since a dry cough can occur as a symptom of another condition, it is important to treat and manage underlying health problems.
At-home remedies encompass lifestyle modifications and medications.
Lifestyle Modifications
These include:
Nonprescription (Over-the-Counter) Treatments
These treatments include:
Prescription Cough Suppressants
Prescription cough suppressants include the following:
Over-the-Counter Cough Medicines: A Complete Guide
When to Contact a Healthcare Provider
With so many potential causes, it can be difficult to know whether your dry cough is a minor inconvenience or a symptom of a serious medical condition. To ensure you’re not ignoring warning signs of a potential health problem, consider the following guidelines forwhen to seek medical attention for a dry cough.
Contact a healthcare provider for a dry cough that occurs with any of the following characteristics:
Call 911 or go to an emergency room if you have a dry cough with any of the following features:
How to Diagnose and Treat a Cough
Summary
In most cases, a dry cough is not a cause for concern. It typically occurs as a common cold or flu symptom that wanes as the condition resolves.
While home treatments can relieve symptoms, they do not cure coughs. Curing a cough requires resolving or treating the underlying cause. Knowing the source of your cough can help you manage symptoms and avoid triggers in cases of problems like allergies and reflux.
When a dry cough occurs as a sign of an underlying condition, it must be identified and treated to resolve the cough. Contact your healthcare provider if you have a dry cough that persists longer than three weeks or fails to improve with home treatment.
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