Chronic Winter Cough For 6 Years

[sylviansghost]

Hi can someone help!!?

I have now once again for about the 6th year running started having a chronic winter cough that usually lasts until the weather improves in Spring.

I went to see my GP when it first started and they sent me to the chest clinic for an x-ray and tests to see whether asthma was related which all proved negative. After several months of trying out different medication they gave up and as happens spring came and it seem to clear up on its own, until the following winter when it returned.

I have again had the same syptoms (symptoms) of coughing to the point of almost passing out as soon as I get in the cold or a damp environment. It really is getting me down and with the violent coughing is also causing back ache. My joints all feels achy and body feels tired and lethargic.

When I cough in public people make comments that I should give up smoking, which I dont and also that I sound like an old man, which I am not, only 37.

I know that this isn't much information to go on but would be interested to hear of any comments or suggestions that anyone may have.

Regards

Simon

[National Jewish]

In a person who has a normal chest x-ray and who doesn’t smoke the most common causes of cough are postnasal drip, chronic sinus problem, heartburn, and asthma.  Irritation of the airways of the lungs could also be due to an allergy or ongoing exposure to an irritant, such as pollution or smoke.  Antihistamines, like Allegra® (fexofenadine) and Claritin® (loratadine), should help if allergy is the cause.  Also some people start to have problems with asthma only after having a chest cold, especially when the cold is severe.  Often a severe chest cold can cause problems in the airways of the lungs.  The cold can lead to an increased airway irritability or hyperreactivity, which is often diagnosed as asthma.  If the irritability subsides, then the cough will go away over time.  This could indeed be cough variant asthma. It could be triggered in the winter by the exposure to cold air or to indoor allergens, in higher than usual concentrations, secondary to the closed-up house and forced air heat. If the irritability is just the triggering of ongoing asthma, then the cough will continue and ongoing treatment will be needed.  A chest x-ray was done to see if a lung problem was the cause.  A pulmonologist would be the type of specialist to tell if you need further testing to identify a lung problem.  Once the cause is known treatment can be started to get you well again.

[Jane1]

I suffered a similiar chronic cough for most of my teenage to adult years - always started hacking in October and got to the stage of whooping over the cold weather, particularly if I moved from a cold environment into a hot one - I didn't smoke either - But I was diagnosed with Asthma - after the asthma worsened through a bad dose of bronchitis, I started taking the flu injection once a year - because I was told I had to ( being asthmatic) I have being taking the flu injection for 10 years and have never had the prolonged coughing fits I was prone to!
I don't know if this will help you, but certainly the asthma link to the coughing / or the cessation of the cough after the flu vax may be coincidental - but i can tell you that cough was worse than anything - I used to have to run out of rooms the coughing was so bad, I kept siblings awake at night and always had sore muscles in my tummy from the constant hacking -

My asthma was diagnosed as Temperature related Asthma - Maybe your physician needs to look at this again?

J

[sylviansghost]

Thanks for your feedback Jane, I'll speak with my GP on this.

Kind Regards

Simon

[ajmountain]

i sympathize with you.

i started out in september with a hayfever attack (ragweed), that evolved into a chest cold with chronic cough. it is now january and i still have it. have had ragweed allergy for years and has never done anything like this previously.

from sept. thru december, i have had 2 rounds of avelox and rxs for humibid, benzonatate, iophen syrup, albuterol inhaler and then an advair diskus plus the 6 day dose pak of prednisolone steroidal for the dx of acute bronchitis/reactive airways.

now i am taking advair diskus, trikof-d and hv tussive syrrup, prednisone and astelin nasal inhaler for a reactive airways/asthma.

kinda getting at my wits end with this but the coughing is more controlled with the trikopf pills. chest xrays are clear but just can't kick the congestion, drainage and cough w/o meds.

[Diane-K]

I would encourage you to consider Coughing Asthma, which is what I'm dealing with.  I learned from some internet research that, like me, x-rays come back negative, as do some common tests.  Lungs sound clear, yet the coughing persists and is so violent, I sometimes vomit and have difficulty catching a breath (nearly like whooping cough).  Episodes last up to 3 minutes and occur 3-5 times hourly.  

The fact that you have a problem and mention dampness, suggests you may also have a mold allergy like I do.  Even in the dead of winter, when days creep up above freezing, mold counts can soar, and I heard this year, in the midwest they have been very high.  

Zyrtec is one of the few antihistamines that is effective against mold allergies.  Many others are not.  But once an episode fully grips me, it usually takes treatment with steroids.  

I would strongly encourage you to visit an allergist who specializes in asthma.  I had my cough from my childhood and no one ever diagnosed it until I went to the hospital hacking during the flu. A young resident there said there is no doubt that the coughing fit I had was an asthmatic response - something later supported by an allergist who specialized in asthma.

Best wishes and I do empathize.  It is highly disabling and exhausting.

[jamesdl]

Hi
I have been experiencing the same problem, but I have not seen my GP yet.  My cough started with a cold a few days before Christmas last year and I can not seem to shake it.  I thought it might be Reactive Airway Disease, but I will leave the official diagnosis to my GP. I had this about 10 years ago and my cough lasted almost 7 months.  I don't look forward to this again. Has anyone been treated with RAD with a inhaled steroid?  If so, was this effective? I'm willing to try anything because this cough is sapping all my energy.

[ajmountain]

Back again to report new meds.

Tomorrow will be 4 mo with chronic cough, post nasal drip after ragweed attack in September.

I am now finishing the first week on Nasacort (nasal spray steroid), Serevent Diskus (inhaled steroid) and Clarinex 5 mg. The Nasacort is said to take 1-2 weeks for full effect.

The PND has lessened but is not gone and the coughing has decreased but is still a problem. Both are worse at nite when the mucus settles in the throat. GP suggested that after 3 week visit, if symptoms are not gone, I should see an allergist.

He also has changed my BP med from Lisinopril 10 mg to Benicar 20 mg. A side effect from Lisinopril is coughing? which I did have after first taking the RX last July. It was a tiny, tiny dry cough that went away after a couple of days. Benicar also lists coughing and mucus production as side effects so I have not made the change yet. Has anyone heard of this?

Take care

[SusanTRM]

To ajmountain,
about 15 years ago I too had a chronic cough that lasted about 4 months. I would loose my voice every couple of weeks. I worked in a hospital and was surrounded by physicians at home. Finally my neighbor, and internist finally put me on proventil pills along with an inhaler and that took care of the problem. However I believe that the long duration of that illness has created permanent damage to my respiratory system. I now have to take advair for cold related asthma which has advanced to year round as I get older.