What is the first treatment tried for chronic cough?

A cough that continues can have several causes, including asthma, reflux, nasal drainage, infection, smoking or a medicine effect. The clinician will ask about timing, triggers, phlegm, breathlessness, wheezing, heartburn, smoking and medicines. Listening to the chest helps guide the next step. A chest X-ray can look for changes inside the chest, while spirometry measures how air moves in and out of the lungs.

Arrange a GP consultation and keep a brief record of when the cough occurs, what brings it on and whether mucus or other symptoms appear. Bring a list of medicines, including inhalers and non-prescription products. Avoid tobacco smoke and other known irritants, drink enough fluid, and do not start antibiotics or leftover inhalers without advice. The clinician may recommend a chest X-ray, spirometry or a focused treatment trial depending on the findings.

Seek urgent care for coughing blood, severe breathlessness, chest pain, blue lips, confusion or a sudden worsening. Arrange prompt review for fever that persists, unexplained weight loss, night sweats, repeated chest infections or a cough in someone with significant lung disease. A long-lasting cough deserves assessment even when it is not severe.

Ask what causes are most plausible from your history, whether a chest X-ray or spirometry is needed, which treatment is being tested, and when to return if the cough does not improve.