Chronic Cough and Shortness of Breath

Meg was suffering from chronic cough and shortness of breath and it was not really a very pleasant situation to be in. It is not a good sign for your overall health. So Meg's mother took her to a doctor to make sure that this cough was not a manifestation of any serious lung or air tract problem. Thankfully, it did not turn out to be serious and with help of appropriate medicines, Meg was fine.

Okay, Meg apart, chronic cough is something we all should know at least the basics, if nothing else. You never know when you would be hit by a very bad cough.

Causes of Chronic Cough and Shortness of Breath

Asthma
Perhaps, the most common reason for breathlessness or being short of breath and bad cough is asthma. It leads to chronic cough in adults as well as children. A wheezing sound from the lungs accompanies the cough when a person's suffering from asthma. In some cases of asthma, the person only suffers from cough and that is the only symptom. This type of cough, related to asthma can affect in a particular season or might occur after an upper respiratory tract infection.

Post Nasal Drip
When extra mucus is produced by our nose, sinus and throat glands, on account of allergies, cold or sinus infection, it sometimes accumulates at the back of your throat. This is called post nasal drip and it causes irritation, discomfort and inflammation. All these things trigger the cough reflex we have. The worse the post nasal drip, the worst the post drip cough can get.

Bronchitis
An inflammation of the major airways in our lungs (called bronchial tubes) for a long time leads to congestion, breathlessness, wheezing culminating in a discolored sputum. This is called chronic bronchitis, an advanced stage of bronchitis. Chronic cough with phlegm, again, is a very common cause of shortness of breath and related lung problems.

Respiratory Tract Infection
Sometimes a person can suffer from a bad bout of cough and shortness of breath after pneumonia, flu or a common cold. That could include other upper respiratory infections as well, after they have gone away, amongst other reasons. The cough just lingers on, one of the reasons being that the respiratory tract still reeling under the influence of the infection.

A few other causes of chronic cough, shortness of breath are specific blood pressure drugs, lung cancer, Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease, where the acid from the stomach flows back to the tube connecting your throat and stomach, and bronchiectasis. Another plausible cause of cough could be Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

Connection Between Chronic Cough and COPD

There is a clear cut relation between real bad cough, shortness of breath and COPD. COPD is a lung disease, in which the tubes that carry the air in and out of the lungs are blocked or obstructed. This leads to problems in getting the air in and out of the lungs. One of the manifestation and major symptoms of this disease is cough, along with wheezing and shortness of breath. The specialty of a cough with regards to COPD is that the cough does not go away and a lot of mucus is coughed out, without any relief. Once these signs start getting serious, there is obstruction in lungs. So if you had a doubt whether chronic cough and shortness of breath are signs of COPD related, then the answer is a confirmed yes.

All these things and other breathing problems affecting the nasal passage and the air tract can cause chronic cough as well as shortness of breath. The only aspect would be how serious is the problem. Take care!