Coughing can be uncomfortable for many people, but it happens for a good reason. When we cough, foreign materials, and mucus are removed from the airways. This prevents your lungs from being irritated. Coughing can be a response of the body to illness and inflammation as well. While most coughs tend to be short-lived and last for several days or weeks, others may persist and last for months or years. In this article, we will take a look at the most common causes of chronic cough.
1Asthma & Infections
Asthma is a condition that inflames the airways leading to the lungs. This leads to difficulty breathing and makes it harder to do physical activities. Currently, it is the most common chronic disease in children. When asthma occurs, the lining of the airways becomes swollen and the surrounding muscles are tightened. Even more, mucus fills these areas, thus lowering the amount of air passing through. This would cause an asthma attack, which causes chess tightness, coughing, or wheezing sound that are typical of asthma. [1]
A cough can persist for an extended period after other symptoms of a cold, flu, pneumonia, or other infections in the upper respiratory tract have disappeared. A common cause of this health issue is pertussis or whooping cough, which is more prevalent in adults. In addition, a chronic cough could happen with fungal infections in the lung, lung infection with mycobacterial organisms, as well as tuberculosis. [2]
