Chronic cough

Filed in archive Miscellany on November 3, 2005

Chronic cough can lead to a serious decline in quality of life:

People with chronic cough --- a cough lasting more than three weeks --- often suffer a serious decline in quality of life, a new study finds.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic say this is caused by a number of factors, including anxiety due to the possibility of an underlying serious illness, physical discomfort, anger and frustration with the constant coughing, and uncomfortable public attention. These patients can also experience incontinence, and their spouses may move out of the bedroom.

The Mayo researchers surveyed 146 chronic cough patients, who listed their top problems as:

* interference with lifestyle and leisure
* frequent physician visits and tests
* sleep disturbances
* interference with social gatherings
* other people's reactions to the coughing
* frustration, irritability and anger.

The survey also found that a third of chronic cough patients younger than 65 years said their spouses or roommates had moved out of the bedroom. Sleep disturbances caused by chronic cough also led to daytime exhaustion and fatigue, some patients said.

The three major reasons of chronic cough are asthma, chronic sinusitis or GERD. Tests to consider if the cough persists would include a pulmonary function test, sinus CT scan, or a workup for GERD.