MENTOR, Ohio — American Family Care has put together a quiz to help you get to the bottom of why you're coughing.
First, how long have you been coughing?
- Less than three weeks
- Between three to eight weeks
- More than eight weeks
How would you describe your cough?
- Includes symptoms of a cold or flu
- Lingering cough slowly improving
- Chronic cough with little variation over time
What do your symptoms include?
- Common cold or flu-like symptoms
- Symptoms worsened after a cold, flu, or COVID
- Persistent coughing without recent illness
Do you have any chronic conditions?
- No
- Yes, It’s usually under control, but I’ve been experiencing a recent flare-up of a chronic condition like asthma or COPD.
- Yes, I have a chronic respiratory condition like Asthma or COPD.
If you chose mostly As, you're dealing with an acute cough.
“We typically see acute coughing associated with colds, flu COVID, sinus infections,” said Laxman Cingireddi, MD, medical director of AFC Mentor.
Those types of coughs can be treated at an urgent care for testing to see what you’re dealing with and treatment such as Tamiflu for flu or Paxlovid for COVID.
Urgent care facilities can also deal with your lingering cough, known as sub-acute. You may need a chest x-ray to check for bronchitis or pneumonia.
If that cough gets worse, causes trouble breathing, chest pain, losing weight without trying, or if you’re coughing up blood or to the point of vomiting, that's when you need to visit the emergency department immediately.
A humidifier can help loosen mucus and help add moisture to dry air caused by heat or a fireplace. It’s very important to stay hydrated with water and soup can help soothe your throat.
And remember, there are other things that may be causing that cough too.
“Sometimes people have allergies that can cause a postnasal drip and that can cause a chronic cough also sometimes people have acid reflux that they don’t take anything for and that too can cause a chronic cough,” said Dr. Cingrireddi.
We’re in the peak of the virus season and battling the common cold, COVID, influenza, RSV and Strep bacteria, all of which can cause irritating coughs. Hopefully things will start to settle down in the next few weeks, but experts say if the weather gets warm enough, it’s always a good idea to get some fresh air into the house when possible.
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