Chronic Cough
Chronic cough is described as a persisting cough for more than six weeks duration, although general advice is to seek help if your cough has lasted for more than 3 weeks.
There are many causes for a chronic cough which can make investigation and diagnosis challenging. This is one of the most common presenting problems to a respiratory consultant and needs thorough and systematic investigation to understand what is causing the cough.
Often further investiagtions are needed to prove a cause and guide treatment, but the vast majority of cases do achieve a diagnosis and successful treatment; so do not dispair.
"I start with a comprehensive history and examination, followed by spirometry and chest imaging if necessary. This often guides us to a cause of the cough to allow targeting of treatment and successful improvement in symptoms.
Sometimes additional tests are needed to obtain a diagnosis but this will be discussed with you at the time of your consultation."
