Why Your Cough Won’t Go Away: Unmasking Respiratory Infections
January 02, 2025 | Tags:
You wake up with a tickle in your throat, which gradually turns into a cough. Remedies like cough drops or a hot cup of tea don’t seem to work, and after a few weeks, it still hasn’t gone away.
So, what’s the deal? A persistent cough that lingers for several weeks can be the sign of a respiratory infection.
Raising awareness of these types of illnesses is important as they can quickly spread to others. The CDC has reported a surge in cases of walking pneumonia, a mild respiratory infection that experts warn can particularly affect the pediatric population. With these increases, it’s crucial to recognize the symptoms of respiratory infections, how you can take preventive steps to keep you and others safe and when it’s time to see a doctor.
Here’s what you need to know:
What is a Respiratory Infection?
First, let’s discuss what a respiratory infection is. This is a broad term that encompasses any type of infection located in the respiratory system, the part of your body responsible for breathing. This includes the nose, mouth, throat, bronchial tubes and lungs.
Respiratory illnesses are caused when a virus, bacteria or fungus enters the upper or lower respiratory system. Dr. O, Assistant Medical Director at Medical Mutual, notes the importance of the location of these infections in the respiratory tract.
“Upper respiratory tract infections will mainly have symptoms felt above the neck, like sneezing, headaches or sore throats,” Dr. O said. "Lower respiratory tract infections will affect the chest area with primary symptoms being chest pain, shortness of breath, and wheezing.”
Types of Respiratory Illnesses and Their Symptoms
Since your respiratory system encompasses several areas of your body, there are different types of infections that can cause a variety of symptoms.
Some of these infections can have similar symptoms, like the common cold, the flu and COVID-19 or a sinus infection and COVID-19. Knowing what symptoms to look for can help you identify them:
•Sinus Infections: Caused by viral or bacterial infections, commonly resulting in congestion, postnasal drip (mucus draining down the throat), facial pressure particularly around your eyes, nose, forehead, tooth pain, swelling in the face and around the eyes.
• Common Cold: Result of a virus that affects the nose and throat, leading to sneezing, a runny or stuffy nose, cough and sore throat.
• Flu (Influenza): Symptoms can have an abrupt onset with high fever, body aches, headache, chills and cough.
• COVID-19: A highly contagious virus with varying upper respiratory symptoms such as cough, runny nose and sore throat. Other symptoms can include fever, headache, diarrhea, chills and body aches.
• Bronchitis: Causes chest colds resulting in coughing with or without mucus, soreness in the chest, fatigue, mild headache, body aches and sore throat.
• Pneumonia: A bacterial or viral lung infection that causes chest pain when breathing or coughing, confusion, cough, fatigue, fever or chills, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea and shortness of breath.
• Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV): Typically causes mild, cold-like symptoms but can be dangerous for babies, some young children and older adults.
How to Protect Yourself & Others
Respiratory infections can easily spread from person to person through airborne droplets, making them highly contagious. They pose a significant risk to those with weakened or underdeveloped immune systems, like newborn babies, and those undergoing chemotherapy or taking any immune mediating medications.
You can become sick if you inhale the air from an infected person’s cough or sneeze or if you touch an infected surface and then touch your mouth, nose or eyes.
Make sure you take precautions to help stop the spread of germs. Simple tasks like frequent hand washing and covering your mouth and nose when you sneeze can protect you and others from becoming ill.
When It’s Time to See a Doctor
If your cough lingers longer than two weeks or your symptoms worsen, it’s time to talk to your primary care provider (PCP).
“Not all coughs lingering beyond two weeks will automatically require antibiotics as viral infections can sometimes have cough symptoms that linger up to four weeks,” said Dr. O. She recommends getting evaluated by your physician as the next best step to determine if a different treatment approach is necessary.
If you are unsure of your symptoms, Medical Mutual is here to help. Members can call our Nurse Line 24/7 at 1-888-912-0636 (TTY 711 for hearing impaired). *
Consider talking to your PCP about vaccinations for respiratory virus prevention. The CDC recommends that pregnant parents between weeks 32-36 of pregnancy, adults over the age of 75 and those aged 60-74 who are at increased risk of severe RSV disease should get an RSV vaccine.
Need help finding a PCP? Use our Find a Provider search tool or call the Customer Care number on your member ID card.
*Nurse Line is not available to all members.