Cough in pulmonary fibrosis can have MANY causes

Today I discuss causes of coughing in patients with pulmonary fibrosis, which may not always be investigated. In most cases, coughing results from the distortion of the airways and lung tissue by the scarring process. Most often this leads to a dry, bothersome cough.
However there are many other possible causes of coughing. Very important to think about these MANY causes of cough as well. People who have pulmonary fibrosis can also have other conditions!
Common causes for a cough that doesn't go away may include:
1. Post nasal drip - nasal secretions running down the back of the throat related to hay fever, chronic rhinitis, sinusitis
2. Acid reflux - stomach acid coming up and irritating the upper airways
3. Adverse reaction to ACE inhibitors (a type of high blood pressure medication) - these medications have a pharmacological name that ends in -pril (e.g. ramipril, enalapril) and some patients experience a chronic cough as a reaction to this treatment. This is not very common, but can be explored with your doctor. If this is a potential cause, your doctor can consider replacing this class of drugs with different medications. Please do not stop chronic treatments without consulting your doctor first!
4. Asthma - patients can have longstanding asthma or be diagnosed with it around the time of the pulmonary fibrosis diagnosis. It can be a common cause for coughing.
5. COPD - this is another airway condition, especially occurring in people who smoked for many years. COPD can co-exist with a diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis (perhaps diagnosed before). Adequate treatment with inhalers may reduce the symptoms.

#pulmonaryfibrosis #cough

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The opinions presented on this channel are my own and do not constitute medical advice in specific cases. If you are watching/listening to this content as a patient, you must seek personalized advice from your own healthcare team (who can provide you with a consultation and appropriate treatment and advice. This information presented here may not apply in your case. If you are a health professional, please use your professional judgement when treating patients.