Cough
Cough is not a disease, but rather an indicator of an underlying medical condition. Sometimes it is a natural reaction to an airway irritant. It can also be the body’s attempt to remove a foreign object or mucus. There are productive coughs and dry coughs.
Productive coughs produce phlegm or mucus that comes up from the lungs or drains down the back of the throat. Coughs producing mucus are clearing mucus from the lungs and should not be suppressed.
Dry coughs do not produce phlegm or mucus, and are usually the airway’s reaction to an irritant or to asthma, or to certain medications (e.g., ACE inhibitors).
Chronic (ongoing) cough should be brought to the attention of a physician, particularly if the person is a smoker. Chronic cough could be an indicator of underlying allergies, asthma, and acid reflux. Clemenceau Medical Center offers a spectrum of latest and state of the art diagnostic tools and tests for the assessment of chronic cough, including: complete lung function testing, methacholine challenge tests, pH studies, bronchoscopy, CTScan and x-ray, and pulse oximetry testing