8 possible causes and treatments

A morning cough can occur due to an illness or another health condition, such as allergies or asthma. But if the cough lingers, you may need medical treatment.

Many things can cause a morning cough. Coughing is your body’s way of clearing irritants from your respiratory system. Often, it isn’t a sign of a serious medical condition.

Let’s examine eight potential causes of your morning coughing fits and look at how you can treat them.

While you sleep, phlegm and other irritants can pool in your lungs and throat. When you become active in the morning, the phlegm starts to break up and may trigger a coughing fit.

A cough that produces phlegm is known as a wet cough or productive cough. If it doesn’t produce phlegm, it’s called a dry cough or unproductive cough. Knowing which type you have can help you narrow down the cause.

If you have a cough in the morning, the common cold is a likely cause. The average American has two to three colds per year, and children usually have more. A persistent wet cough is one of the most common symptoms.

Many people find their cough is worse in the morning from phlegm that accumulates overnight.

Other symptoms of the common cold include:

• sore throat
• body aches
• fatigue
• headache
• sneezing
• runny nose

Treatment

Treatments for a cough caused by the common cold may include:

• drinking warm tea with honey
• decongestants or antihistamines
• cough suppressants or expectorants
• using a saline nasal spray or breathing in warm vapor to clear mucus that may cause a cough

As your doctor whether these medications, especially those available over the counter, are safe for a child.

Learn more about treatments for the common cold.

Respiratory infections are a group of infections that target either your upper or lower respiratory tracts.

The common cold is a type of respiratory infection, but there are many other types that can also cause a cough, such as COVID-19, the flu (influenza), and pneumonia.

Bronchitis is another type of respiratory infection that causes inflammation of the bronchial tubes in your lungs. It can be either acute or chronic.

Acute bronchitis is usually caused by an infection such as the common cold. Respiratory infections like bronchitis can potentially increase phlegm buildup overnight, leading to coughing fits in the morning.

Along with cold-like symptoms, respiratory infections can cause:

• fever
• general malaise
• wheezing
• chest tightness
• nasal congestion
• gastrointestinal symptoms

Treatment

The treatment for a cough caused by respiratory infection that is not the common cold can depend on the type of infection and whether it affects the upper or lower airway.

In most cases, you can turn to many of the same treatments that you would use for the common cold, as the symptoms can be similar.

If you also have a fever, you may also take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin). Speak to your doctor before giving your child an NSAID or acetaminophen (Tylenol).

Other treatments may include:

• antiviral therapy
• antibiotics for bacterial infections

Learn more about respiratory infections.

Hay fever (allergic rhinitis) is an immune reaction to airborne allergens such as pollen, pet dander, or dust mites.

Symptoms can include:

• runny nose
• nasal congestion
• dry cough
• headaches
• watery eyes
• wheezing
• shortness of breath

Because dust mites tend to live in bedding, people with dust mite allergies usually experience worse symptoms at night and in the morning.

Pollen counts are generally highest in the morning and may worsen your cough in the morning if you have a pollen allergy.

Treatment

Potential treatments for a cough caused by allergies include:

• antihistamines
• corticosteroids
• decongestants

Learn more about treatments for allergies.

A postnasal drip is one of the reasons allergic rhinitis or a respiratory infection can lead to a cough. This is when your body produces excess mucus that builds up in the back of your nose and drips into your throat. It’s often a symptom of colds, allergies, or eating spicy foods.

Symptoms include:

• a constant feeling of needing to clear your throat
• a wet cough that’s worse at night or in the morning
• nausea
• sore or scratchy throat
• bad breath

Postnasal drip tends to cause the most discomfort at night when you are sleeping. You may still feel the urge to clear your throat when you wake up.

Treatment

You can relieve postnatal drip by:

• using a saline spray or netipot to rinse out your sinuses
• decongestants
• antihistamines
• staying hydrated, which can help thin the mucous

Learn more on how to treat postnasal drip.

Asthma is a chronic condition that causes the airways to your lungs to swell. This swelling can make it difficult to breathe. Asthma severity can range from barely noticeable to life threatening.

The most common symptoms of asthma include:

• dry or wet coughing
• wheezing
• trouble breathing
• chest tightness
• fatigue

Many people with asthma have a cough that’s worse at night or in the early morning. If you have cough-variant asthma (CPA), your symptoms may be entirely confined to a cough that doesn’t seem to go away.

Treatment

If you have asthma, you can control your symptoms using short-acting and long-acting medications. These include:

• inhaled corticosteroids
• bronchodilators
• nebulizers

For more severe asthma, other treatment options are available. Learn more about asthma treatments.

COPD is a group of progressive pulmonary diseases, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

The most common cause of COPD is smoking tobacco. The primary symptoms of COPD are a wet cough and trouble breathing.

Other symptoms include:

• wheezing
• chest tightness
• frequent sickness
• fatigue

Late-stage COPD may cause emergency symptoms, such as:

• bluish lips or gray fingernails from low oxygen levels
• confusion
• inability to catch your breath or talk
• rapid heart rate

Symptoms can appear at any time of day, but in general, people with COPD experience the worst symptoms in the morning.

Treatment

COPD treatment options include:

• quitting smoking (quitting can be difficult, but a doctor can help create a plan that works for you)
• bronchodilators
• oxygen therapy
• surgery

Learn more about treatments for COPD.

Recent research has shown that as much as 85% of chronic cough cases may be caused by GERD. GERD occurs when your stomach acid frequently flows back into your esophagus from your stomach.

Symptoms include:

• chronic cough
• burning in your chest, often after eating
• chest pain
• swallowing difficulty
• feeling of a lump in your throat

GERD commonly causes a cough after eating and when lying down. Some people with GERD may notice their cough is worse in the morning after spending the night lying in bed.

Treatment

Treatment options for GERD include:

• antacids
• medications to reduce stomach acid production
• prescription-strength proton pump inhibitors
• prescription-strength h3 receptor blockers
• surgery

Learn more about treatments for GERD.

If you find you are congested and coughing for a long time, you may have a sinus infection (sinusitis). The congestion in your nose can accumulate overnight, making you cough more when you wake up.

Other symptoms of a sinus infection include:

• postnatal drip
• sore throat
• headache
• bad breath
• pain in your face

Treatment

If your sinus infection is bacterial, you will need to take antibiotics. However, in many cases, a sinus infection can go away on its own.

In the meantime, you can use many of the same treatments that you would use for the common cold, other respiratory infections, allergies, or postnasal drip.

In addition, you can also place a warm compress on your nose and forehead to reduce your sinus pressure and help thin out mucus.

Learn more about treatments for a sinus infection.

If your morning cough doesn’t go away after several weeks, you should visit a doctor for a proper diagnosis.

A morning cough is also frequently paired with other symptoms. If you experience these symptoms, you should speak to a doctor:

• fever of 39°C (102.2°F) or higher in children, 38°C (100.4°F) or higher in a baby under 3 months old, or 39.4°C (103 degrees°F) in an adult
• greenish-yellow phlegm
• wheezing
• unexplained weight loss
• ankle swelling

Other symptoms may be more serious. Seek emergency help if you experience:

• trouble breathing
• severe headache
• dehydration
• fainting
• drowsiness or fatigue lasting longer than 2 weeks
• choking
• confusion
• coughing up blood or phlegm with a pink tint
• trouble swallowing
• chest pain

Medical emergency

Coughing up blood may be a sign of a serious medical issue. You should see a doctor if you see blood in your phlegm. Possible causes include:

• COPD
• lung cancer
• throat irritation
• respiratory infections
• asthma
• bronchitis
• pneumonia

Read on for answers to common questions about morning cough.

How do I stop coughing in the morning?

The best treatment option for your cough depends on the underlying cause. There isn’t a cure for the common cold or for respiratory infections. Getting plenty of rest will help your body fight the infection faster. Cough medication can help suppress your urge to cough, while decongestants can help manage postnasal drip.

How do I know what’s causing my morning cough?

The best way to know the cause of your morning cough is to see a doctor, especially if you also have other symptoms. The doctor will likely listen to your breathing with a stethoscope. They may send a sample of your mucus to a lab to search for a viral infection or measure your lung function with a spirometry test. If this is not enough to identify the cause, they may order imaging tests like an X-ray or a CT scan, or a scope test called a bronchoscopy to look inside your lungs with a small camera.

What’s causing my baby to cough in the morning?

Babies can experience morning coughs for many of the same reasons as adults and older children. When coughing in babies and children is caused by a respiratory infection, it appears in 46%-56% of children. Specific infections that can occur in young children include croup and whooping cough (pertussis).

There are many potential causes of a morning cough. Often, a morning cough isn’t a need for concern.

However, if it persists for more than 2 weeks or if you’re having trouble breathing, it’s a good idea to visit a doctor for a proper diagnosis.

Waking in the morning with a cough? Am I getting sick?

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Chesty coughs

It’s not unusual for many people to wake up during the winter months with a bit of a cough and a splutter. Morning cough is common and has a number of potential causes – but not all mean you’re getting sick.

Lifestyle insight

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Why do I have a morning cough?

While you are laying down sleeping at night, mucus and phlegm can pool in the back of your throat and your lungs. Once you are up and active in the morning, the phlegm starts to break up and may trigger a cough.

Coughing is a natural reaction and is one of your body’s way it protects itself by clearing the airways of mucus, small particles and micro-organisms, and any food or drink that may have been accidentally inhaled.

Morning cough causes

Post-nasal drip

One of the most common causes of morning cough is post-nasal drip. Post-nasal drip is the term used for mucus that runs down the back of your throat from your nose and sinuses. It is often a symptom of the common cold and the ‘flu’, but it can also be triggered by hay fever and sinusitis.

Common cold or ‘flu’

The common cold and respiratory tract infections like the ‘flu’ often increase mucus and phlegm production. This overnight build-up can then cause a morning cough.

Dry mouth

A dry mouth during the night can cause the back of the throat to feel irritated and scratchy. This can lead to a morning cough, but may be rectified by drinking plenty of water.

Allergy

Allergies and hay fever are immune reactions to allergens in the air. There are a number of triggers for these reactions but some of the most common are pollen, dust mites and pet dander (tiny, microscopic flecks of skin shed by animals like cats, dogs and birds).

People with dust mite allergies usually experience worse symptoms at night and in the morning (including morning cough) as dust mites often live in the bedding. People with pollen allergies often experience morning cough as pollen counts are generally highest in the morning.

Most often morning coughs aren’t serious, but if it doesn’t go away or if it’s causing any breathing difficulties, it is best to speak to your health professional.

References available upon request.

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Chesty coughs

Psychogenic cough

So, psychogenic cough or laryngoneurosis.

It is believed that young children suffer from this disease more often, however, in recent years, people of working age, 25-45 years old, are increasingly coming to the reception with this complaint. Who is this psychogenic cough?

In fact, this is the equivalent of a neurotic state, manifested by paroxysmal dry, barking cough, not associated with pathology of the broncho-pulmonary system.

That is, when the therapists scanned you up and down, measured all possible and impossible indicators (and not only lungs), took x-rays of all parts of your unfortunate chest, tried all possible types of drugs, and all without effect, it’s time to thoughtfully deduce in our medical handwriting on the “Psychiatric consultation recommended” card.

Yes, cough can be psychogenic! This cough, in some cases accompanied by laryngo- and esophagus spasms, is difficult to tolerate by patients and can remain for several months or years, is difficult to treat with medication and reduces performance, especially in voice-speech professions.

Psychogenic respiratory disorders usually occur suddenly, without any apparent cause.

Accompanied by PC, usually:

• anxiety, panic, fear, tension in the body;
• sensation of “lump” in the throat;
• sleep disorders;
• increased irritability, tearfulness.

Why is this happening?

These respiratory disorders of hysterical origin are the result of a subconscious attempt to avoid a stressful situation. So, hysterical laryngospasms for a period of several minutes to several hours can occur before a test, before an exam, before a public defense of any work, before talking with a supervisor, etc.

Any respiratory disorders of a psychogenic nature, as a rule, are one of the manifestations of hyperventilation syndrome (HVS). Hyperventilation syndrome is a pathological condition manifested by polymorphic clinical disorders associated with psychogenic (in 60% of cases) or organic (5% of cases) CNS dysfunction and leading to the formation of a stable pathological type of breathing.

A coughing fit is almost always preceded by a sudden onset of dryness in the throat. This may be due to the drying effect of air (frequent breathing through the mouth), with a decrease in the amount of saliva secreted during a period of psycho-emotional stress.

What is in the history of life

• Psycho-traumatic situations, increased physical or prolonged vocal load in history.
• Cough attacks begin with sudden dryness and itching in the throat.
• With indirect laryngoscopy: increased pharyngeal reflex, wide glottis – up to 20 mm, spasm of the vocal folds on inspiration, prolonged laryngoscopy provokes a coughing fit.
• Pain on palpation at the exit points of the internal branch of the superior laryngeal nerve.
• When examining the function of external respiration, the indicators are within the normal range, and approximately 1/3 of patients have hyperventilation.
• Positive hyperventilation test.
• Decrease in the level of ionized blood calcium.
• Failure of conventional antitussives.

What to do now?

• Breathing exercises aimed at normalizing breathing
• Drugs that reduce neuromuscular excitability by correcting calcium metabolism disorders (calcium-D3Nycomed, calcium vitrum, osteopan, etc.).
• Psychotropic drugs aimed at reducing the level of anxiety, tension, because anxiety is a correlate of neuromuscular excitation. The drugs will be prescribed by a psychotherapist.
• The most important thing. Yes, long. Yes, it is difficult. Attending psychotherapy sessions and following the recommendations of your doctor. They will be directed, first of all, to the study and elimination of the triggering factor of the problem.

Be healthy!

17th December 2018

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Causes of cough in children – clinic “Seven Doctors”

Autumn has come. Perhaps the most common reason why parents turn to the pediatrician at this time of the year is a cough in a child. Let’s figure out what a cough is and what to do if your child coughs. Cough is a reflex.

How a cough appears

Information from “cough” receptors goes to the vagus nerve, from it to the medulla oblongata, then to efferent fibers and muscles, and the person coughs.
“Cough” receptors are located in the oropharynx, in the large bronchi, in the lower third of the esophagus, and even in the external auditory canal. From here, by the way, there may be a cough with a sulfur plug in the ear.
Important! There are no receptors in the small bronchi, therefore, if the small bronchi or alveoli are affected, there will be no cough, but there will be, for example, shortness of breath. The strength of the cough depends on the strength of muscle contraction! Therefore, in children with a pronounced long-term lack of vitamin D (with rickets) or in healthy children of the first year of life, the cough will be mild.

There are many varieties of cough:

• due to the occurrence of
• in rhythm
• in timbre, for example, a short, cautious cough, with a painful grimace on the face, characteristic of pneumonia (pneumonia)
• by time of occurrence, for example , morning cough is typical for inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, evening cough is more common with bronchitis, pneumonia, night cough can be when stomach contents are thrown into the esophagus (remember the “cough” receptors in the lower third of the esophagus) (the so-called reflux esophagitis), with obstructive bronchitis (these are bronchitis with viscous sputum difficult to pass).
• by nature (wet, i.e. with sputum or dry, without sputum). But children of the first years of life do not know how to spit out sputum like adults, and their sputum is viscous. Therefore, it may seem that a cough without sputum, that is, dry, but in fact there is sputum. Therefore, drugs that suppress cough in children of the first years of life should be used with great care and only as prescribed by a competent doctor.
• by duration of cough (acute cough lasts up to 4 weeks, more than 4 weeks – chronic cough in children).

Causes of cough

The most common cause of cough in children is the so-called post-nasal drip, that is, the flow of nasal secretions down the back of the throat. Usually children cough when they lie down and when they wake up and get up, they may cough with strong laughter or during meals.

In such a situation, an examination by a pediatrician, an otorhinolaryngologist and possibly an x-ray of the sinuses is necessary.

If you have a prolonged cough, think about bronchial asthma. Bronchial asthma is characterized by the occurrence of obstructive bronchitis, cough, not only during SARS, but also when the child is healthy. For example, after exercise. These children usually have signs of allergies, such as skin allergies (atopic dermatitis) and/or allergic rhinitis. Characteristic cough in the morning.

In such a situation, an examination by a pediatrician and an allergist is necessary.

We should also mention whooping cough. Unfortunately, there is whooping cough in our city and there is a lot of it. The vaccinated children also get sick, but not as much and severely as unvaccinated children, especially babies. Adults can get whooping cough too. A dry, prolonged cough is characteristic, which begins as a normal ARVI (with a mild cough), and over time, the cough intensifies, there are strong frequent coughing fits, shortness of breath (the so-called reprises). This is a long period, it is also sometimes called “100 days of coughing. ”

Complications may develop: bronchitis, pneumonia, atelectasis, convulsions, encephalopathy. All children who have had whooping cough have changes in the nervous system within 6 months after the illness.

But vaccinated children are characterized by the so-called atypical course of whooping cough, when the cough is not strong, without serious complications.

I must say that vaccinated children usually get sick at school age, since immunity after pertussis vaccinations made in the first and second year of life usually decreases by school age.

There is also the so-called psychogenic cough – it occurs only during the day, it can interfere with the child’s sleep, but as soon as the child falls asleep, the cough disappears. Such a diagnosis can be made only after the exclusion of diseases of the bronchopulmonary system.

Consultation of a pediatrician and a psychotherapist is needed here. Such children are taught the techniques of psychorelaxation.

These are just some of the coughs.