Causes of Cough -Characteristic features and major associated symptoms

Anatomic Classification of Causes of Cough

Causes with their anatomic locations	Mechanism	Characteristic features and major associated symptoms
*Nose and its sinuses*
Rhinitis, sinusitis	Postnasal drip irritating upper airway cough receptor	Acute or chronic cough with sensation of postnasal drip, frequent hawking (throat clearing), nasal stuffiness
*Pharynx*
Infection, neoplasm	Irritation of pharyngeal cough receptors	Hacking cough with sore throat, frequent hawking
Zenker’s diverticulum	Irritation of airways by compression or by aspirated diverticular content	Regurgitation of undigested food, halitosis, dysphagia
*Larynx*
Infection, allergy, neoplasm, foreign body	Hyperreactivity of laryngeal cough receptors, mechanical irritation	Croupy or barking cough, change in voice, inspiratory stridor
Improper use of voice	Vocal cord irritation	Coughing with talking or singing
*Trachea and bronchi*
Acute tracheobronchitis	Hyperreactivity of cough receptors, increased secretions	The most common cause of acute self-limited cough
Pertussis	Hyperirritability of cough receptors from necrotizing inflammation of respiratory tract mucosa	Paroxysms of coughing ending in a loud, crowing, inspiratory sound (whoop); expectoration of mucus plug
Chronic bronchitis	Hypersecretion, ciliary dysfunction	Chronic productive cough of smokers, worse upon arising in the morning
Bronchiectasis	Hypersecretion, retained secretions	Expectoration of large amounts of foul-smelling sputum, hemoptysis
Cystic fibrosis	As in bronchiectasis, secretions more viscid	Chronic cough since early childhood, progressive dyspnea, hemoptysis
Neoplasm	Mechanical irritation of cough receptors by tumor, secretions, or secondary infection	Change of pattern of cough in a longtime smoker, hemoptysis
Bronchial asthma	Airway hyperreactivity, bronchospasm, increased secretions	Recurrent or chronic cough with or without wheezing or dyspnea
Aspiration	Irritation of cough receptors by aspirated material, secondary infection	Nocturnal cough, frequent heartburn, swallowing disorder
Foreign body	Mechanical stimulation of cough receptors, infectious complication	History of foreign body aspiration (may be forgotten)
Inhalation of irritating gases or aerosols	Chemical irritation of cough receptors	Onset of cough immediately after exposure
*Pulmonary parenchyma*
Pneumonia	Stimulation of peripheral cough receptors, increased secretions	Initial dry cough usually followed by varying sputum production dependent on the cause; systemic symptoms of infection
Lung abscess	As in pneumonia	Sudden onset or increase in amount of purulent, often foul-smelling sputum
Tuberculosis and other chronic infections	As in pneumonia	Chronic, usually productive, cough; hemoptysis
Chronic infiltrative or fibrosing lung disease	Irritation of peripheral receptors, distortion of airways	Chronic dry cough, progressive dyspnea
Pulmonary edema (cardiac or noncardiac)	Hypersecretion, airway hyperreactivity from congestion	Acute cough with severe dyspnea, frothy and blood-tinged sputum
*Esophagus*
Swallowing disorders	As in aspiration	Frequent choking on food or drink
Esophageotracheal and esophageobronchial fistula	Stimulation of cough by passage of swallowed liquid to airways	Coughing upon swallowing liquids
*Heart and blood vessels*
Left-side heart failure	As in pulmonary edema	As in pulmonary edema, nocturnal cough
Aortic aneurysm, left atrial enlargement	Compression of large airways	Nonproductive cough
Pulmonary thromboembolism	Largely unknown; irritation of peripheral or pleural cough receptors with infarct	Acute cough, dyspnea, hemoptysis
*Mediastinum*
Mediastinal tumors	Airway compression and deformation	Nonproductive, “brassy” cough, sometimes related to body position
Pleura
Pleural effusion	Irritation of pleural cough receptors, airway deformation with large effusion	Dry cough, chest pain, dyspnea
External ear canal and tympanic membrane	Stimulation of cough receptors by hair, cerumen, or foreign body	Occasional cause of dry cough eliminated by removing the cause
*No organic causes*
Psychogenic cough	Habit cough (respiratory tic)	Dry cough, absent during sleep
Intentional cough	Deliberate cough for attention seeking or other personal gain	Dry and noisy cough occurring only in presence of people
Drug-induced cough (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors)	Not known	Dry, annoying, and often incessant cough, disappearing after stopping the drug

Whom to contact for Chronic Cough Treatment

Dr.Senthil Kumar Treats many cases of all types of Chronic Cough, In his medical professional experience with successful results. Many patients get relief after taking treatment from Dr.Senthil Kumar. Dr.Senthil Kumar visits Chennai at Vivekanantha Homeopathy Clinic, Velachery, Chennai 42. To get appointment please call 9786901830, +91 94430 54168 or mail to consult.ur.dr@gmail.com,

For more details & Consultation Feel free to contact us.

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