Suffering From Cough At Night. Prescribed Ventolin. Suggest

Posted on Mon, 20 May 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 20 May 2013 Answered on

Fri, 7 Jun 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi, I'm wondering about a cough that keeps me awake at night but doesn't bother me during the day. I play golf, and the cough seems to worsen as soon as the season begins. I think I may be allergic to the weedkillers and feeds used to treat the course. Recently, I was given Ventolin which definitely helps me sleep better. Should I take it as a preventative instead of waiting for the cough to wake me up?
Thanks

Answered by Dr. Satyadeo Choubey (46 minutes later)

Hi XXXXXX,
Thanks for your query,
Cough which becomes worse at night and which gets relieved on taking puffs of ventorlin (salbutamol) usually represents airway narrowing, most commonly due to asthma.
At this juncture I will advise you to get a simple breath test called spirometry with reversibility testing done to have an assessment of asthma. If your symptoms are recurring, you may need a step up of your treatment i.e institution of long acting bronchodilator like formoterol-budesonide combination, 2 puffs twice a day.
You may have a subset of asthma called occupational asthma which use to exacerbate at the workplace. You may assess yourself by taking a leave from work for a week or two and seeing for any difference. If differences exist in symptoms, you may have to avoid your workplace...

Best wishes

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar