Cant find reason for coughing.

Chest and lungs
1

I've had a cough for the better part of a year. I keep going to the doctors and they do nothing, refuse to give me an allergy test unless I pay for it (which I can't) or refer me to an ENT. They just keep giving me a new doctor for each appointment and starting from the very beginning. Nasal spray, and "we can't prescribe anything for a cold" (it is NOT a cold)

I've had chest x-rays, blood tests, nasal sprays, antacids, inhalers and I'm not sure where else to go.  

The cough seems to start randomly. Lasts for maybe an hour. Happens at night, morning, during day.. Whenever it feels like it. It doesn't feel like it's because my throat is irritated or sore, all though it does feel tight and hard to swallow during and after the cough. But when I do cough, it quite literally feels as though there is an obstruction in my throat, and possibly lungs, and I am physically coughing something up. I would guess it's phleghm. No blood, or green/yellow infection. Because of that, I don't think it's GERD or anything psychological. I mean, there is physically something in there, and if I don't cough it up, it makes my voice raspy and horrible, and I have to mega-cough to get the build up out. You can't imagine that. And you can't feel that from acid reflux. I have to breathe out really fast and cough at the same time to get it to move, it's quite violent to watch. You know, when someone coughs vs. when they cough when they are ill with something like, say, a lung infection, you can physically hear the difference, you can hear that they are sick and have something in there just from the way they breathe or cough.

Food, mainly hot meals, seem to help me get it up. Nothing else provides any relief. Cough medicines, painkillers, nothing. Maybe a hot drink like coffee, but that can also stick to whatever is in my throat and provide a horrible taste for a while. 

Any ideas? Anything to suggest to my "doctor"?

Info: I am 21, male, and a smoker. Don't bother lecturing me on smoking, my friends smoke twice as much as me and cough zilch. 

2

Do you cough more when you're at home? What meds are you on?

3

Hi ,about your cough, I had a cough for best part of a year ,,,mine was what I call a productive cough ( cough up mucus ) in short, so I don't bore you with details ,look on amazon for a FLUTTER DEVISE. Approx £45 on Amazon great reviews ( unless your GP will prescribe one ) I got mine from GP ,have a look on you tube on how to use them it's simple, also ask your GP to prescribe mucodyne tablets they work by reducing the stickiness of the mucus making it easy to cough up and out ,

or simple breathing exersise,,,,,slow breaths in through nose and hold for count of 3 then out through the mouth as much as you can ,4/5 times then big breath in hold and hough cough out ,this Should bring it up ,,if the mucus is not infected ie; green or dark you may need antibiotics ,but it sounds like the same cough as I had ,

are you asthmatic,or copd ,etc ,? 

4

I had asthma as a child and I was recently prescribed an inhaler but it didn't help. Doctor says I don't have asthma. Mucus is not infected. Really I've tried breathing in every way possible.  No COPD that I know of, my grandmother has it and I have had doctors tell me that I don't. Thanks for the reply. 

5

I don't tend to cough as much when I'm outside, but at work, and at home I will just be laying down and suddenly need to. Presumably because I haven't coughed in a while as I am trying to relax.

6

Just putting this out there.  Might not be in your case, but my sister-in-law was coughing for over a year and docs couldn't find the problem.  Even put her on oxygen at home.  Turns out, her house is very dusty (as in it never gets dusted),  Also we moved some furniture for her that has been in the same spot for 15 years.  All behind the furniture was mold or mildew (not sure which).  We bleached it down and cleaned it up for her.  That's been about 6 months ago.  She has not coughed since.  So you see... it might not be a sickness, but an environmental issue.  Animal dander is really bad too.  Again, this may not be your case but I would be checking around my house if I were you.

7

Hi Mike, 

You've already had some really good advice re potential environmental allergens, if your doctor won't pay for you to have a test then the best way is just to try different things. Try cutting out some of the main food allergens one at a time (dairy, wheat, soy - google 'most common food allergens&#39 and see if that helps at all. Cut them out for at least 3 weeks. You could try cutting them all out at once and then reintroducing one by one as you may react to more than one thing. I used to have a persistent cough and this changed when I changed my diet. Mould is another potential environmental toxin which can impact significantly on health (even though only a small number of moulds in the UK actually give off toxins, you may be allergic to any one of the non-toxic ones as well).

Re smoking - I guess it depends if removing other allergens works... and also how much you want to get rid of your cough. It's irrelevant whether your friends smoke more than you or not - we are all biochemically unique so your reaction to a toxin maybe different to theirs. There is a reason why there is a thing called a 'smokers' cough' and I definitely always had the worst persistent cough when I smoked in my 'mis-spent' youth!  

Good luck!