What would cause a persistent cough since April??

[RusselBrussel]

My mum has just phoned. In amongst the general chitchat I asked how she was. The reply was 'fed up'.
Turns out that she has had a persistent cough, one which wakes her up in the night, since she came to visit in April. She has been to her gp and has been sent to a lung specialist. But she did not mention any lung x-rays etc. They live in Holland, maybe things are done differently there.
She did mention an all-over body scan for osteoporosis, but then it all got a bit muddled.

She has not smoked since she fell pregnant with me, so 38 years ago. I don't know how heavy she smoked before than.
Dad was a heavy smoker, but away a lot on business so she was not continually exposed iyswim. Dad gave up smoking nearly 20 years ago though.

So, other than the dreaded C word, what other more benign, more common illness could cause a persistent cough with no other symptoms??

[RusselBrussel]

before then, not before than.

Scuse typing, playing 'guess who' with dd at the same time....

[misi]

there are many reasons why you can have a persistent cough for months. she may have picked up an ''irritant'' when over here that has lodged in her lung and the cough is her bodies way of trying to expel it. if no temperature or other usual ''ill'' signs are present, then probably not a virus or bacteria but without more details it would be pure speculation and probably not too helpful to comment

[RusselBrussel]

No worries, thanks misi

[flowerfairy]

Seem to remember from some asthma training i had (3 years ago) a persistent cough can be sign of asthma.

As misi says this is just speculation and i am no health professional.

[BlueDragonfly]

my persistant cough was diagnosed as asthma

ds3 has had a persistant cough that wakes him at night that has been 'diagnosed' as potential to become asthma(he is 5 months so they don't diagnoise asthma)

[RusselBrussel]

Ah asthma, I did not think of that one....

Would that suddenly set in in a otherwise healthy woman of 63?

[misi]

we all have the potential to be asthmatic, all that is needed is a trigger. I think I said earlier it may have been something she inhaled whilst here of there or on the plabne or anywhere!! most asthmatics develop over several years but in an older person, there may have been something else there that made her more susceptible. she needs to be checked out for sure, I have heard of a man that had a cough for some months, he was induced to cough and eventually a sticky something was coughed up that was later identifed as a grass seed. he didn't cough after that!!

[Evenstar]

My mother had a very persistent cough which was finally diagnosed as being due to an allergy, if it gets bad antihistmines improve things. I am asthmatic and can get a persistent dry cough if it is not well controlled.

[poppy90]

Yes, asthma as has been said, but also does she get heartburn?? I say this because I developed a cough which I had for months, first of all the nurse said it was asthma, when went for a checkup & it hadn't got better, when she said do you get heartburn? YES!! It's the acid reflux irritating your throat!! I went on some gastric tablet & haven't looked back since HTH

[cornsilk]

Could be asthma triggered by pollen. My ds has this. You can develop asthma at any age.

[NoNickname]

My mother has had a persistant cough for more than a year. She's had all the tests and the best they can come up with is chronic inflammation of the sinuses (no cause specified), which is causing mucous (sp?) to run down the back of her throat. For a long time they thought it might be asthma too, but although they had no specific diagnostic tests, they seemed to decide that the sinusitis was more likely. She had a sinus op and it has improved a little, but not completely gone.

[misi]

ask your GP for a candida anti body blood test to rule out candiasis (or however it is spelt!!) I did post a couple of web links on acid indegestion (also called heartburn) and candida linkage yesterday on another thread this is just one of them to give you an idea

www.doctorajadams.com/GERD.html

[RusselBrussel]

You guys are all brilliant I will tell her to see her gp again, but that it is more than likely nothing to worry about.

Thanks!