Dry coughing since last 5 weeks - Please help :(

[jaymusical03]

I am a 35 years old male and suffering from dry persistent coughing since past 5 weeks now and have been to the GP about 4 times during this period but there is no improvement in my condition.

To provide you with the background, initially it all started with fever along with shivering, at this point I did not have any coughing. It was only fever. My GP diagnosed my condition to be some kind of a 'viral infection' and suggested taking Paracetamol tablets 4 times a day. My fever would subside when I took Paracetamol dose as prescribed by my GP but it would bounce back as soon as I stopped taking Paracetamol. This condition lasted for nearly 2 weeks and finally, the fever started to go away and also, the Paracetamol dose started to reduce which were all good signs of improvement. However, once the fever was gone for good, I developed this persistent dry coughing. I started to cough heavily in the beginning almost all day long but never in the night. Thankfully, I get peaceful sleep at night with no coughing. Even in the mornings, I do not cough. It somehow starts after having morning tea and I keep coughing in regular intervals all day long till I finally retire to bed at night.

Based on my GP's recommendation, I did a blood test and also got a chest x-ray done and both these tests have returned with normal results with no worrying conditions in any of these test reports. The GP has suggested me to stop worrying about my persistent cough and has asked me to allow it to go away naturally....However, its been 5 weeks now and I am still coughing on daily basis and constant coughing makes my forehead and eyes strain painfully.

I request any fellow member here to share their similar experience please and what did you or your GP do to improve your condition. Thanks and God Bless !

[Tom-G]

Hi there

I remember having much the same thing which turned out to be an infection in my throat. The reason that I never coughed at night was because the infection did not drain into my lungs because I was lying flat. The reason that you may be coughing during the day is because you are no longer lying flat and the possible infection in your throat is now draining into your lungs. I don’t know what the infection would be whether it would be bacterial or a virus but in my case it took a good few weeks to get better but it did go eventually. And yes the cough can be severe.

Kind regards

[HelenC Partner TB Alert]

Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I am glad that your test results came back OK.

We recommend that anyone with a cough that lasts for three weeks or more goes to a doctor - especially if they have any of the other common symptoms of TB: fever, night sweats, loss of appetite, weight loss, tiredness.

If anyone coughs up blood, they should go to a doctor immediately.