Symptom · Chest
Cough
Also known as: chesty cough, dry cough, tickly cough
A reflex blast of air that clears the airways of mucus, irritants and foreign material. An acute cough (under three weeks) almost always follows a viral infection; a chronic cough (over eight weeks) needs a cause found.
What it is
A reflex blast of air that clears the airways of mucus, irritants and foreign material. An acute cough (under three weeks) almost always follows a viral infection; a chronic cough (over eight weeks) needs a cause found.
Common causes
Viral upper respiratory infectionCold or flu; cough can linger for weeks after other symptoms settle.
Acute bronchitisProductive cough after a cold, usually viral.
AsthmaDry cough worse at night or with exercise and cold air; may be the only symptom.
Post-nasal drip and rhinitisTickly cough with a blocked or runny nose and throat clearing.
Acid refluxCough worse lying down or after meals.
Smoking and COPDMorning cough with phlegm.
ACE inhibitor tabletsA dry cough in up to 1 in 10 people taking them.
Less common causes
PneumoniaCough with fever, breathlessness and chest pain.
Whooping coughBouts of coughing ending in a gasp or vomiting.
TuberculosisCough over three weeks with night sweats, weight loss, sometimes blood.
Lung cancerNew or changed cough in a smoker, with blood, weight loss or hoarseness.
Heart failure and pulmonary embolismCough with breathlessness, frothy sputum or blood.
Inhaled foreign bodySudden cough and wheeze, especially in toddlers.
Often occurs with
Seek urgent care if
- Coughing up blood
- Cough with severe breathlessness, blue lips or chest pain
- Cough lasting more than three weeks, especially with weight loss, night sweats or hoarseness
- A child with noisy breathing, drawing in of the ribs or drooling and difficulty swallowing
Conditions to read about
AsthmaChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)PneumoniaLung cancerGastro-oesophageal reflux diseaseHeart failure
How it is investigated
Educational content. This page explains what a symptom can mean so that the anatomy and the medical reasoning make sense. It cannot tell you what is causing yours: only a clinician who can examine you and order tests can do that.