Chronic Cough & Itchiness on left side of throat

Iam in my early 30's & have had a chronic cough for 6 yrs.The coughing is not exercised-induced, but cold air, sleeping, & taking a deep breath can bring on a coughing attack. It feels like there is something in the left side of my throat. I had my tonsils removed, hopingthat this would alleviate the problem but after one month, I was back on my coughing spells.I cant eat anything like rice or nuts anymore without having a major cough that ends upi n tears. The cough results in white mucous.I have difficulty sleeping at night from the coughing.

I also have to clear my throat several times.

My grandmother died of Goiter. Could this be genetic? I have seen many doctors including an ENT fwo removed the tonsils, I have taken all types of antibiotics, codeine, all types of other cough medicines but nothing seems to work. I need help! Which type of doctor should I see?

[Vivek V Gurudutt, MD]

Coughing can be caused by any number of processes.  Obviously infection, foreign bodies, and throat irritation can lead to cough.  Some other major categories include allergies, reflux, post nasal drip from sinonasal processes, and lung diseases.  Systematically working one by one to eliminate various groups of causes is what sometimes needs to be completed.  It may not be any one process, but a combination of issues.  Make sure that you keep the doctors you see updated as you are evaluated by other physicians.  Your ent can help eliminate some of the possibilities like sinus disease, reflux, vocal cord lesions, etc.  Next, working with a pulmonologist (lung doctor) to rule out processes like cough variant asthma might be helpful.  Good luck!