5. Cough Variant Asthma

5. Cough Variant Asthma

Question: My sister is 20 years old. Whenever the seasons change or she catches a cold, she develops cough, phlegm, shortness of breath, and wheezing. The phlegm is white and granular, and you can hear bubble-like sounds in her throat. This condition has lasted for three years, and she often has attacks at night, making it difficult to fall asleep due to severe coughing and shortness of breath. The doctor says it’s bronchitis. Can it be cured?

Answer: Your sister probably has severe chronic pharyngitis, which tends to trigger asthma. This type of asthma is called cough variant asthma; if there is no asthma, it’s upper airway cough syndrome. In some patients, secretions flow from the nasopharynx into the trachea, causing coughing, which is called post-nasal drip syndrome. All these conditions are related to chronic pharyngitis and can be triggered or exacerbated by upper respiratory infections. Treatment should focus on chronic pharyngitis; without this approach, long-term persistence of these conditions can lead to emphysema, cor pulmonale, COPD, and other complications.

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