I am 81yr old male and have developed a constant ...

Hi,
Since you are online, could you please give some more information:

Is it a dry cough, a cough with minimal sputum or a wet cough?

Is it more at night or on lying down?

Do you have associated chest pain or fever?

Have you done any investigations for this?

Do you have any other illnesses like diabetes, COPD, cardiac problems, etc?

Are you taking any medicines for high BP? Did youstart on any new medications before this cough developed?

I am available online to help you further after I get this info.

Sputum is Clear white.Very little expectorant. SEEMS TO BE MORE EVIDENT AT NIGHT. nO CHEST PAIN .i CAN HEAR IT RATTLE SORT OF. i HAVE A PACEMAKER AND AORTIC STENT TAKE COREG ALTACE ACIPHEX WARFARIN ZOCOR AVODART TERAZOIN AND WARFARIN DAILY

DID YOU GET MY REPLY ?

Edited by Customer (name blocked for privacy) on March 18 2007 at 3:07am

Hi,

There could be many causes for such cough. You will need to be investigated for this.

The most obvious cause that I can see from your description is the drug Altace that you are taking. It is Ramipril,an ACEI, a class of drugs which is known to cause cough. Upto 20% of patients who use this drug develop cough. See here for a list of drugs causing chronic cough.

There are a large number of other causes of chronic cough, inclluding chest, GERD, laryngeal causes, Nasobronchial allergy, chronic sinusitis, etc. You will need a thorough workup to rule out these causes.

However, as a first cause, your use of Altace must be taken up. You will first have to approach your doctor and ask for a change of this drug. Tell him that you are having cough. Even after stopping the drug, cough may continue for some time. If the cough persists for more than 2 months, you will have to approach your doctor again for a thorough check up.

See here for a work up for chronic cough. Also Link 2 link 3.




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