Here at Phoenix Hospital Group ‘Persistent Cough Clinic’, you are able to be seen by highly qualified Consultant Chest Physicians with years of experience in treating chronic chest related issues.
Cough is the most frequent reason for a GP visit and most acute episodes have obvious disease relation (viral illness, chronic obstructive airways disease, pneumonia etc.). However, this is not always the case and the term ‘Persistent Cough’ has been adopted for cough which has been present for eight weeks or more, this condition can be frustrating, disabling, and even socially isolating for sufferers.
Coughs may be ‘dry or ‘chesty’. They are also classified according to how long they last:
- acute cough lasts for less than three weeks,
- sub acute cough gets better over a three-to-eight-week period, and
- chronic (persistent) cough lasts for longer than eight weeks.
It nevertheless remains a fact that many cases of persistent cough cannot be attributed to a specific underling cause and we now term this Chronic Refractory Cough. This requires special experience to diagnose and manage and these more difficult cases may require expertise from a variety of disciplines including: chest physicians, ENT specialists, speech therapists and surgeons. These cases require careful assessment on an individual basis.
Should any further tests be required, including diagnostic scans or blood tests, we can carry these out onsite making the process seamless from start to finish. Treatment might include appropriate medications, lifestyle measures, and speech and language physiotherapy for cough control.