Question:

Hello For the last couple of years, every time I get a cold (about 3 times per year), it goes away quite quickly, but leaves me with a very bad dry-chesty cough which lasts for about a month and will not go away easily. I am a 26 year old male, non smoker, not overweight and otherwise very healthy. Each time this cough comes (after a short cold), I have tried all kinds of syrups, lozenges and antibiotics to no avail.

Try straight expectorant (Robitussin) with no cough suppressant.

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – For the last couple of years, every time I get a cold (about 3 times per year), it goes away quite quickly, but leaves me with a very bad dry-chesty cough which lasts for about a month and will not go away easily. I am a 26 year old male, non smoker, not overweight and otherwise very healthy. Each time this cough comes (after a short cold), I have tried all kinds of syrups, lozenges and antibiotics to no avail. The last two times my doctor has prescribed me a salbutamol inhaler, which cured the cough up in a few days. My doctor keeps searching for Asthma, but I do not get any asthma like symptoms (even though there is a family history of asthma). Does anyone have an idea of what may be causing my hacking cough or have any ideas for how to avoid this ? It is very inconvenient and embarrasing (I work in the food industry as a technologist and often have to visit food factories). *PLEASE REPLY VIA EMAIL AS I CAN’T ACCESS NEWSGROUPS FROM WORK DURING THE WEEK* —

Some asthmatics cough rather than wheeze; it’s called cough variant asthma. The salbutamol/albuterol inhaler [Ventolin] is the rescue inhaler for asthma. If asthma drugs help, it tends to support an asthma diagnosis. Asthma is diagnosed with lung function tests; lung function measured before and after using a bronchodilator like salbutamol [albuterol]; a 12% improvement tends to support an asthma diagnosis. The long acting preventor med for asthma is inhaled steroids. Since you have a family history of asthma, have asthma symptoms [coughing], and asthma drugs [salbutamol] help, there is a strong possibility you have asthma, tho maybe only a Mild form that is exacerbated by a virus. You should also be checked for sinusitis/rhinitis and GERD, any of which can cause coughing and asthma symptoms. A formal diagnosis of cough-variant asthma might require undergoing a methacholine challenge test; methacholine gas is administered at successively higher levels; a 20% drop in lung function indicates the possibility of cough variant asthma whereas a negative result rules out asthma. Ellis

Response:

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