Can't Stop Coughing?

Here’s where that lingering cough might have come from, and when you should see a doctor for it.

Got a persistent cough you just can’t seem to get rid of? It may be more than a remnant of that cold you fought off a few weeks ago. If the cough has lasted more than eight weeks or longer in adults, and four weeks in children, it’s considered “chronic”.

What causes chronic cough?

According to respiratory physician Dr Jim Teo Yeow Kwan, there are a number of causes, and the treatment options vary accordingly.

Infections

“A cough can linger long after other symptoms of pneumonia, flu, cold or other infections of the upper respiratory tract have gone away,” he says. “A common but under-recognised cause of chronic cough in adults is pertussis, also known as whooping cough.”

If fever persists and purulent phlegm persists for more than five days, it’s likely a bacterial infection that’s causing your chronic cough, and antibiotics may be prescribed.

Chronic bronchitis