Suggest Treatment For Severe Cough

Posted on Sun, 13 Sep 2015

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

Sun, 13 Sep 2015 Answered on

Tue, 6 Oct 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : Should I go to ER with a severe cough? No urgent cares are open for 5 more hours? Have typical flu symptoms as well. Have history of bronchitis.

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
the differential diagnosis is too broad!

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

whether an urgent investigation is needed or not depends on many factors. I'll mention some alarming symptoms and signs for you to consider.

- high fever makes the diagnosis of serious diseases more probable.
- shortness of breath, requires urgent treatment.
- pleuritic pain may signify pneumonia with pleuritis, pericarditis, pulmonary emoblism, etc, so it's a serious symptom.
- hypotension and fast heart rate are signs of serious conditions.

If you only have a runny nose and cough but no shortness of breath or fever then this is probably not an urgent situation.

I hope you find my comments helpful!
You can contact me again, if you'd like any clarification or further information.

Kind Regards!

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