Cough

I've had a nagging scratchy/tickly throat for years that makes me cough or clear my throat.

We just found out a couple weeks ago that my father has IPF (ideopathic pulmonary fibrosis) which is a terminal lung disease, and I'm very worried and depressed about his condition.

Now I've noticed for the past few days that I feel like I'm short of breath, my cough is worse, and my chest actually feels achy.  I don't know if maybe I've strained something from coughing my head off.  This feels achy from my chest through to my back.

Could this be anxiety over my father's condition, or is there something also wrong with me?  How likely is it that I have the same disease my father has?

I'm very worried about all of this.

Thank you.

[National Jewish]

The scratchy/tickly throat could be from postnasal drip or asthma.  The achy chest and shortness of breath are most likely due to anxiety.  To find out for sure you should have a chest x-ray and a breathing test called spirometry done.  Spirometry is a simple breathing test that measures how your lungs are working.  It will show if there is obstruction in your airways.  Often it will identify a problem in your lungs before you have symptoms.  When this is done periodically it will tell about the health of your lungs over time.

It is very unlikely that, given your age difference, you should also have idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).