pass out coughing

[cloudstone]

I cough so hard sometimes and pass out. i have been diagnosed with copd and i am only 43 years old. Can you tell me if there is anything i can do to cure this or is it something that is hereditary. It started happening about a year ago. I was in my mom's kitchen cooking and started coughing, the next thing i know my mother is standing over me asking me am i o.k. Please give me some feedback.

[National Jewish Health]

Syncope is the medical term for "passing out" and fainting or passing out with harsh coughing is not uncommon, whatever the cause of the cough.  The cough may be due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but you should not assume that.  If you smoke cigarettes or marijuana, that could be the cause.  But, you should check out the cough with your doctor on this and, at least, have a chest x-ray.  Most chronic coughs can at least be controlled, if not totally eliminated.

Age 43 is indeed quite young to have COPD.  You are young enough to be tested for the inherited form of COPD/emphysema, called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.  This is a blood test and you should ask your doctor to order the test.  There is no cure for COPD but quitting smoking will dramatically slow its progression.  Also, if you have the inherited form of this disease, there is specific treatment that can also slow the progression. This replacement therapy is ineffective if a person continues to smoke.  Both smoking cessation and the antitrypsin replacement therapy will significantly increase your life expectancy, no matter how severe the COPD is at this time.

Good luck.

[Debser]

Hey I am 44 and diagnosed with copd also. I was coughing a lot, not quite as severe but bad enough, and I was given meds to help that. I don't think there is any reason for you to not get the proper combination of meds to alleviate that symptom. please go to a pulmonologist. Good luck