Health Tip: What Causes a Chronic Cough
(HealthDay News) -- Coughing serves an important purpose -- to help you expel mucus, microbes and other foreign particles from your respiratory tract.
This helps protect the lungs from infection and inflammation, Harvard Medical School says. A cough becomes chronic if it lingers for at least three to eight weeks, the school adds.
Its list of reasons for a chronic cough includes:
- Postnasal drip.
- Asthma.
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
- Chronic bronchitis.
- ACE-inhibitor medications.
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