Persistent Productive Cough

[DiaO]

I am a 21 year old non-smoker, and other than a persistent cough am otherwise healthy.  Besides this I have no history of respiratory problems.

Almost 10 months ago I had a cold which included a productive cough.  About 2.5 months after all other symptoms had gone I was still coughing all morning, everyday to the point where I had no voice.  First doctor said bronchitis, and prescribed ventolin, which made coughing more productive within the hour, but I was still coughing for hours all morning.  

Second doctor a month or so later said probably allergies, and prescribed Advair, which helped a great deal.  Now I only cough (still productive) 20 min a day twice a day within 90 min of taking the Advair, but it’s been about 7 months with no improvement.  I can exercise without becoming short of breath, and I haven’t found that it has effected my breathing much, but it’s annoying and embarrassing to always have a sick sounding phlegmy cough.  

Are there any other treatments for something like this that I could try; from the description does it sound like an allergy to something?  

[National Jewish]

It could be due to an allergen or irritant in your environment.  You might want to consider what, if anything new, was introduced into your work or home environment.

More likely is the possibility that you have asthma or cough variant asthma; meaning that cough rather than wheeze is the main symptom.  A bad viral infection of the airways can sometimes set-off asthma in a person who might not have had asthma before, but is genetically predisposed to it.  If that is the case, the cough may eventually subside over time, especially if you continue to use the Advair™ Diskus® (fluticasone propionate and salmeterol) Inhalation Powder.  Another possibility is that the virus inflamed your nose and/or sinuses and that continuing, excessive postnasal drip is the cause of the cough.  You might want to ask your doctor about this possibility and whether nasal washes possibly followed by an inhaled nasal steroid might help.  Routine use of a nasal steroid spray can be very effective in the treatment of postnasal drip.  It decreases inflammation in the nose and sinuses along with mucus production.  When a nasal steroid spray is used regularly it can prevent postnasal drip.  However it does not provide immediate relief of symptoms.  It may need to be used every day for several weeks to months to notice improvement in the symptoms.  To get the most help from any nasal spray first do a nasal wash to remove mucus from the nose and sinuses.  To learn more about this technique please read our nasal wash treatment information by copying and pasting this address

http://www.nationaljewish.org/disease-info/treatments/alt-ther/nasal-wash.aspx

into the address window of your internet browser.  Share this information with your doctor to see if you would benefit from this daily treatment.

Good luck.