What disease is it that makes me cough for a long time?

Cough is a relatively common symptom. Generally speaking, cough can be cured quickly after certain treatment and physical conditioning. However, there are also many people who have been coughing for a long time and cannot be cured. In this case, the patient must go to the hospital for examination in time, because a long-term cough may be caused by diseases such as tuberculosis, respiratory tract infection, asthma or allergies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease, etc.

1. Tuberculosis

There are many types of tuberculosis, but they are often accompanied by varying degrees of cough symptoms. If your cough and sputum cannot be cured, or if there is blood in the sputum, you should seek medical attention immediately.

Although tuberculosis vaccines have been widely used, there are still many middle-aged and elderly people who have never received tuberculosis vaccinations or have not produced antibodies after vaccination, so tuberculosis is still uncommon.

Tuberculosis requires strict and standardized treatment. Otherwise, in addition to being difficult to cure, it may also increase the drug resistance of the bacteria and increase the cost of treatment.

2. Respiratory tract infection

If you have symptoms of cold and flu such as nasal congestion and fever while coughing, it may be a respiratory infection.

There is no suitable drug treatment for viral colds, and it often takes some time to heal on its own. Therefore, the key is to pay attention to rest, balanced nutrition, moderate exercise, and enhance immunity to prevent colds. Older adults can also get a flu shot every year.

Do not use antibiotics or "anti-inflammatory drugs" on your own. You can go to the hospital to see if you have a bacterial infection and let the respiratory doctor decide.

3. Asthma or allergies

There is a special type of asthma called cough variant asthma, which is characterized by coughing, which often occurs at night and in the early morning. The disease can occur at any age, but usually first occurs in childhood.

The causes of attacks vary from person to person. They may be caused by exercise, catching a cold, smoking, irritants in the air, and even specific foods may trigger asthma.

People without asthma may also develop allergic rhinitis from inhaling pollen, dust, pet dander, or other irritants in the air. Common symptoms of allergic rhinitis are nasal congestion and sneezing, and there may also be coughing.

If you always cough every time you enter a specific environment or season, or every time you touch certain objects, you need to be alert to whether it is an allergy. You can go to the hospital for allergen testing.

4. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

When patients with emphysema and chronic bronchitis develop irreversible damage to lung function, they are diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Patients often feel lung discomfort and excessive phlegm, which causes long-term cough.

This disease requires systematic, long-term treatment and special attention to avoid infection. Therefore, pneumonia vaccination is listed as a recommended measure in many areas.

Quitting smoking is the most effective way to prevent it.

5. Gastroesophageal reflux disease

No reader mentioned this, but it is very common and can even be ranked among the top causes of chronic cough.

When acidic gastric juice flows back into the esophagus, it causes a series of symptoms called gastroesophageal reflux disease. We usually feel "acid reflux" and "heartburn".

When stomach acid refluxes into the throat or enters the trachea, recurrent coughing may occur and even asthma may occur. At this time, taking drugs to suppress gastric acid can effectively control cough or asthma. But many times, this reason is ignored.