Dry coughs can be caused by smoking, asthma, allergies, bronchitis, and colds. Treatment options include cough medicines, humidifiers, and avoiding irritants. Allergies and asthma may cause dry coughs due to throat irritation, while bronchitis and colds may cause a dry cough that turns productive.
A dry dry cough is a type of nonproductive cough that is most commonly caused by smoking, asthma, allergies, bronchitis, and colds. People who smoke can sometimes develop a chronic dry cough from the irritants in cigarettes. Certain illnesses, such as a cold or bronchitis, can also cause this type of cough. A cough caused by asthma or allergies is often the result of throat irritation. The cough caused by an illness usually lasts less than the chronic cough of smokers. There are several ways to treat a dry cough, including sedative liquids and lozenges, hot tea, and humidifiers.
People with allergies or asthma might have irritated nasal passages and experience throat tissues more frequently than other people. This irritation could cause a dry cough. Other allergy symptoms might include frequent sneezing, an itchy nose or throat, and watery eyes. Difficulty breathing and wheezing can also be symptoms of asthma. If the cough is caused by allergies or asthma, it usually goes away when the other symptoms of the disease subside.
Bronchitis is another disease that can sometimes cause a dry cough. A person with bronchitis may have a dry cough as one of the first symptoms of the disease. A dry cough usually turns into a productive cough as the disease progresses, only to become a dry cough again as the disease ends. A cough caused by bronchitis can often last for months after other symptoms have gone away. Other symptoms of bronchitis might include wheezing, a slight fever, and tightness in the chest.
A dry dry cough could also be caused by the common cold and other viral infections. The cold virus can enter the body through the nose and travel down the throat. Coughing is one of the body’s reactions to the virus, an attempt to expel the virus and prevent infection. As with bronchitis, one of the initial symptoms of a cold may be a dry cough, and this cough may persist after other cold symptoms have subsided.
There are treatment options available for a dry dry cough. A productive cough could be helpful because it flushes mucus and germs out of the body and therefore may not require treatment. However, if a dry or stinging cough is caused by irritation, it may benefit from treatment. Cough medicines, cough drops, room humidifiers, and hot tea with lemon and honey can help treat a cough. Avoiding substances that cause irritation can also help stop a dry cough.
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