Pertussis, better known as whooping cough, is caused by a bacterial infection. This can trigger asthmatic bronchospasm, where the air passages become inflamed and narrow. With asthma, the body's levels of cortisol - a key hormone - naturally decrease during the night. When doing diagnostic investigations for a chronic cough reversible airflow obstruction on a pulmonary function test can be used to diagnose asthma that presents with cough as the only symptom.Ī cough that is present after a child falls asleep is suggestive of asthma. Wheezing, or breathing with a whistling or rattling sound in the chest, it what most people think of when they hear asthma.Īsthma can present with a chronic cough as the only symptom however. A wet or productive (phlegmy) cough can sometimes indicate a problem other than asthma, like pertussis, mycoplasma or pneumonia. In many cases, a dry cough can suggest that it's related to an allergy or asthma.

The doctor also will listen to the cough for clues. So often parents will describe a cough that is worse when the child first lies down at night. Children may complain of pain or pressure in the face, and always have thick, yellow-green nasal drainage.īoth allergic rhinitis and chronic sinusitis often lead to post-nasal drip, and the secretions that drip down the back of the throat as the child changes position can cause a cough. Chronic sinusitis, by definition, involves more than 12 weeks of symptoms.Children with allergic rhinitis sneeze frequently, tend to have clear mucus drainage from the nose, and may have itchy eyes.Your pediatric ENT specialist will ask detailed questions about the patient's nasal symptoms to help determine whether allergies or a chronic infection may be the source of the problem. Allergies and sinusitisīecause allergic rhinitis and chronic sinusitis are two of the most common causes of a child's cough, they are often considered first. Here, experts from the program shed light on the causes - both common and rare - of chronic coughing in children. If the cough persists after traditional treatment or if there are other complicating medical conditions, the pediatrician may refer the child to a specialist - like the multispecialty team at RUSH's Pediatric Aerodigestive Program, one of the first programs of its kind in Illinois.

The good news is that pediatricians can typically address the common causes of a cough.

Sounds fine, right? But, what if the coughing does not stop after the airway has been cleared?Ī daily cough that lasts more than four weeks is considered chronic and should be checked out by a doctor. When the nerves in the airway sense an irritant - for instance, mucus, a foreign particle or even perfume - the nerves send a message to the brain to clear the breathing passages.

When coughing becomes chronicĬoughing is the body's natural and normal reaction to an irritant in the airway (the nose and nasal passages, pharynx, larynx, trachea and lungs). When coughing becomes regular and persists longer, however, it may mean there's a more serious culprit behind it. And that's not surprising, given that coughing is a symptom of a host of health conditions.Īn acute cough due to a cold or respiratory virus usually goes away within a month's time. every year and accounting for 30 million office visits annually. Chronic cough is one of the five most common reasons children are taken to the doctor, affecting 5% to 10% of children in the U.S.

Baby nocturnal cough