Chronic & Persistent Cough
A cough lasting over 8 weeks deserves a proper diagnosis — not another antibiotic.
A cough that has lasted more than eight weeks is called chronic cough. It rarely has one single cause — most patients have two or three contributing factors that, when treated together, finally settle the cough.
Our structured approach has resolved cough in patients who had been on repeated antibiotics for months.
Symptoms we look out for
- Dry cough that worsens at night or with cold air
- Cough with throat clearing or post-nasal drip
- Cough with heartburn, sour taste or hoarseness
- Cough with wheeze, breathlessness or sputum changes
Diagnostics we offer
Chest X-ray review
First step — rules out infection, mass or interstitial change. Bring your X-ray to the consult.
Pulmonary Function Test (PFT)
Identifies cough-variant asthma and small-airway disease — common missed causes.
Bronchoscopy
Reserved for unexplained cough with abnormal imaging or red-flag features.
Our treatment approach
- Treat the dominant cause(s): asthma, GERD, post-nasal drip or ACE-inhibitor cough
- Trial of inhaled corticosteroid for cough-variant asthma when PFT supports it
- Proton-pump inhibitor + lifestyle measures for reflux-driven cough
- Speech and breathing therapy for refractory chronic cough
Common questions
Why have antibiotics not helped my cough?
Most chronic coughs are not bacterial — they are inflammatory (asthma), reflux-driven or post-nasal drip. Antibiotics don't address the actual mechanism.
Do I need a CT scan?
Not always. A normal chest X-ray and a good clinical evaluation cover most cases. CT is reserved for red-flag features.
Why have I been coughing for weeks even though my chest X-ray is normal?
A normal chest X-ray does not exclude every cause of persistent cough. Asthma, cough-variant asthma, upper-airway disease, reflux, medication-related cough and some airway disorders can occur despite a normal X-ray. Persistent cough should be assessed according to its duration, associated symptoms and medical history.
How long is too long for a cough?
A cough lasting more than three weeks deserves medical assessment, particularly if it is recurrent or associated with breathlessness, wheezing, fever, weight loss, chest pain or blood in the sputum.
Why do I keep getting cough and chest infections?
Recurrent cough or chest infections can occur with asthma, bronchiectasis, chronic sinus or upper-airway disease, smoking-related lung disease, aspiration, immune problems or other respiratory conditions. The underlying cause is more important than repeatedly treating each episode as an infection.Lung infections guide →
Why does my cough get worse at night?
Night-time cough can occur with asthma, post-nasal drainage, gastro-oesophageal reflux, environmental triggers and other respiratory conditions. The pattern of the cough and associated symptoms help determine which causes need to be investigated.
Get a clear plan for your chronic & persistent cough
Book a consultation with Dr. Arun Gangadhar at our RS Puram clinic.