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Suggest Treatment For Dry Cough While On Treatment For Vitiligo And Allergies
Question: My wife is having dry cough since last 7 weeks.
In the month of June she started taking Unani medicine for her Vitiligo. from June 15, she started having Dry Cough. Assuming that the cough could be due to Unani medications, she stopped using Unani since June 26.
She visited doctor, suspecting it could be a bacterial, Doctor prescribed Antibiotic - which did not help.
She also used Allergy medication - did not help
Used inhaler - did not help.
Her cough was little better last week, but since last 3 days she is again having persistent dry cough and not able to sleep in the night.
physician did not know what to do and was asking us the solution on what should be done ?
Please suggest the treatment or further tests for her Dry cough.
Thanks
In the month of June she started taking Unani medicine for her Vitiligo. from June 15, she started having Dry Cough. Assuming that the cough could be due to Unani medications, she stopped using Unani since June 26.
She visited doctor, suspecting it could be a bacterial, Doctor prescribed Antibiotic - which did not help.
She also used Allergy medication - did not help
Used inhaler - did not help.
Her cough was little better last week, but since last 3 days she is again having persistent dry cough and not able to sleep in the night.
physician did not know what to do and was asking us the solution on what should be done ?
Please suggest the treatment or further tests for her Dry cough.
Thanks
Brief Answer:
Several possible causes discussed and recommendations given
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
If your wife has cough for so long she needs a chest X-ray to rule out lung conditions and make sure she does not have infection or other rare conditions. Another check to be done is spirometry which will check lung function and rule out related conditions like asthma or other obstructive disease.
If the lung check is normal than she can take dextromethorphan to suppress the dry cough. She can take 20-30 mg every 6 hours. If it is in a syrup form the pharmacist where you will buy it will help you with the dose in ml. Please don't try dextromethorphan unless the lung function and examination is already done and is normal.
Another medication to try is Omeprazole 20 mg twice a day. This would be important if your wife has burping and heartburn. Sometimes the acid coming to the throat from the acid reflux will cause irritation of the throat and may cause dry irritating cough. She can use Omeprazole already while she is trying to have the tests.
Keeping herself hydrated and drinking plenty is important, avoiding areas with mold in the house (if there are any) or avoiding areas where people smoke, and if she is smoking she needs to quit smoking. If she is using other medications for other purposes she needs to consult them with her doctor as well to make sure they are not source of the cough.
It is good you stopped the medication she was using to make sure it is not that causing the cough, sometimes it might take weeks for the cough to go away completely and even with lung infection treated with antibiotics the cough might take up to 6 weeks after starting the antibiotic to go completely away so if all the tests come out normal she can try the medications mentioned above and give her another 2 weeks for the cough to settle.
Some rare conditions like sarcoidosis and other immune conditions can be considered if all the above are not of help and the cough does not settle in the next 2-4 weeks.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Antoneta Zotaj, MD
Several possible causes discussed and recommendations given
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
If your wife has cough for so long she needs a chest X-ray to rule out lung conditions and make sure she does not have infection or other rare conditions. Another check to be done is spirometry which will check lung function and rule out related conditions like asthma or other obstructive disease.
If the lung check is normal than she can take dextromethorphan to suppress the dry cough. She can take 20-30 mg every 6 hours. If it is in a syrup form the pharmacist where you will buy it will help you with the dose in ml. Please don't try dextromethorphan unless the lung function and examination is already done and is normal.
Another medication to try is Omeprazole 20 mg twice a day. This would be important if your wife has burping and heartburn. Sometimes the acid coming to the throat from the acid reflux will cause irritation of the throat and may cause dry irritating cough. She can use Omeprazole already while she is trying to have the tests.
Keeping herself hydrated and drinking plenty is important, avoiding areas with mold in the house (if there are any) or avoiding areas where people smoke, and if she is smoking she needs to quit smoking. If she is using other medications for other purposes she needs to consult them with her doctor as well to make sure they are not source of the cough.
It is good you stopped the medication she was using to make sure it is not that causing the cough, sometimes it might take weeks for the cough to go away completely and even with lung infection treated with antibiotics the cough might take up to 6 weeks after starting the antibiotic to go completely away so if all the tests come out normal she can try the medications mentioned above and give her another 2 weeks for the cough to settle.
Some rare conditions like sarcoidosis and other immune conditions can be considered if all the above are not of help and the cough does not settle in the next 2-4 weeks.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Antoneta Zotaj, MD
Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad
Answered by
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