How Long Does A COVID Cough Last?

A recent news article published in the self asks that How Long Does a COVID Cough Last? Here’s Why It Can Linger for Some People.

Coughing long after testing positive

Coughing long after testing positive for COVID-19? You’re not alone: Take one scroll through the #CovidCough hashtag on Twitter, and you’ll see many people complaining of gnarly coughs that won’t go away—sometimes with no other symptoms—for weeks to months after their initial infection. While a lingering cough can sometimes be a sign of long COVID, in many cases, it is just part of the normal recovery process that occurs after any viral infection.

“Prolonged cough after illness is not unique to COVID,” Nathaniel Marchetti, DO, the medical director of the respiratory intensive care unit at Temple University Hospital, tells SELF. Here’s what you need to know about why COVID-19 can cause a lingering cough and how long it might take to for this frustrating symptom to ease up.

Why does COVID cause such a nasty cough in the first place?

A cough is a protective mechanism to keep mucus or foreign objects out of the lungs. With COVID and other viral infections, the cause is irritation to the airways. “The virus gets into the cells in the airways and causes inflammation,” Dr. Marchetti explains.

There are two types of cough: wet (or productive) cough and dry cough. Dry cough is usually caused by a viral infection, says Dr. Marchetti. A wet cough involves coughing up mucus and may involve a bacterial infection. Dry cough is one of the most common COVID symptoms, although it’s possible to have a wet cough with COVID too.

Doctors don’t know why some people get a nasty cough with COVID, while others don’t cough at all. “There is much we do not understand about COVID-19, including why some people have persistent symptoms,” Denyse Dawn Lutchmansingh, MD, the associate director of the Winchester Center for Lung Disease and the associate director of the Post-COVID-19 Recovery Program at Yale University School of Medicine, tells SELF.

Anecdotally, BA.5—the dominant omicron subvariant fueling the recent rise in cases in the U.S.—seems to be linked to cough more than previous strains. While it’s too soon to have concrete data on this, “experience by my colleagues suggests that, at least in the acute phase, these BA strains do seem to be more upper airway and cough associated,” Frank Sciurba, MD, a professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a member of the pulmonary committee of the National Institutes of Health RECOVER long COVID clinical trial, tells SELF.

How long does a COVID cough last?

Most coughs clear up in about two to three weeks, per the U.S. National Library of Medicine. A nagging, dry “post-viral cough” can last up to eight weeks, as inflammation in the airways persists even though a person is no longer infected with a virus. A productive cough that lasts longer than four weeks, however, may involve a bacterial infection, Dr. Lutchmansingh says.

Dr. Scuirba also points to a 2021 review of research that explored 57 studies including more than 250,000 people living with long COVID. The paper concluded that about 13% of people have a cough that lasts at least one month after a previous COVID infection. Cough from any cause is only considered chronic when it persists for more than eight weeks in adults, says Dr. Sciurba.

Why can a cough linger beyond other symptoms?

COVID may be more likely than other viruses to cause a chronic cough because it affects so many different systems in the body, says Dr. Marchetti. Some research suggests that COVID may impact the neural pathways in your brain associated with cough. Known as a neurogenic cough, “this basically means the nerves that are responsible for initiating a cough or creating a cough no longer function in the way they should, causing coughing to occur at inappropriate times,” Dr. Lutchmansingh explains.

Medications used for neuropathic pain, which occurs when the nervous system is damaged in some way, are sometimes prescribed for a chronic cough, as they interfere with the pulmonary neural pathways, or those associated with the lungs, says Dr. Marchetti. But experts add that the idea that COVID may cause a neurogenic cough in some people is still speculation and not proven by rigorous science.

Does a lingering cough always mean you have long COVID?

Long COVID is when symptoms last at least four weeks after an initial infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which can include a cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, brain fog and other neurological symptoms, intermittent fever, and mood changes, among many others. These symptoms can look and feel like those of many other health conditions, so doctors typically make a diagnosis based on specific symptoms and when you were diagnosed with a previous COVID infection. “For some patients, a persistent cough can be their only symptom of long COVID, and this can last for months after the initial phase,” says Dr. Lutchmansingh.

It’s important to see a doctor any time a cough lasts more than three weeks. They may perform a CT scan of your lungs and rule out other causes, such as pulmonary fibrosis (scarring of the lungs) or organizing pneumonia (injury and inflammation in the lungs). The main red flag to watch for is new or worsening shortness of breath, says Dr. Marchetti. Other symptoms that should prompt a check-in with your doctor include fever, coughing up blood, or chest pain.

Because a lingering cough is prevalent in people with underlying lung issues, it could also indicate an undiagnosed lung problem such as asthma, says Dr. Lutchmansingh. In some people, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), or persistent acid reflux, is responsible for a chronic cough and can be treated with acid blockers, Dr. Scuirba adds.

How to find relief if you’re waiting for your COVID cough to end

Over-the-counter cough medications may dull your cough, although they won’t treat the underlying inflammation. Drinking a lot of fluids, sucking on hard candies, adding honey to your warm drinks, avoiding cigarette smoke, and using a cool-mist humidifier may also help.

For a cough that lasts longer than a few weeks, doctors will look for other treatable causes. For example, COVID can also impact the sinuses and set off some serious postnasal drip, which causes cough and may be treated with decongestants and nasal steroids, or it can lead to an infection that may require antibiotics, Dr. Scuirba says.

If nothing else seems to be at play, your doctor may prescribe a short course of inhaled steroids to address inflammation “just because we don’t have a lot of options,” but this may not be effective for everyone, says Dr. Scuirba.

Usually, though, a lingering cough doesn’t need to be treated, says Dr. Marchetti—but a little bit of self-care might help as you ride it out.

Did you subscribe to our daily Newsletter?

It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe

Source: Self

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•