Doctor Sooj, a board-certified family medicine doctor, has gone viral after sharing a video on TikTok where he explained three reasons why a cough might not go away
A family medicine doctor has revealed three causes of a persistent cough many people are now getting. In a TikTok post to his 237,000 followers, Doctor Sooj stated: “I have seen so many people with a chronic cough recently, so here are the three reasons that somebody might be coughing for weeks – or months – and an antibiotics and x-rays haven’t made any difference.”
Talking about the first possible cause, he discussed a group of medications that could potentially be the cause, identifying four types typically used to treat a common condition. The board-certified doctor said: “There’s a class of drugs called ace inhibitors.
“Examples are ramipril, lisinopril, perindopril, captopril. And all of these are used to treat high blood pressure.”
Regarding these medications, he explained that these can cause irritation to the airway, which can lead to a dry cough that can be chronic. This is one of the most frequent side effects of the medication, he said, and it usually subsides within the first month.
“But it might take a bit longer so if you can persevere with it, carry-on. If not it’ll be worth having a chat with a clinician”, he said.
Do you have asthma?
If you’re not taking these medications, he suggested that “the second common cause could be asthma.” The primary symptoms of asthma involve breathing difficulties, such as:.
“Interestingly, around one of four people with a chronic cough will have asthma and treatment is very straightforward. We just use inhalers to try and open up their airways”. Additionally, in some circumstances, he said “tablets are used on top of the inhalers” as required.
Are you suffering from whooping cough?
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Reason three – it could be whooping cough. The doctor, who has more than six million likes on the video social media platform, stressed: “It’s got multiple different phases to the illness. The first two to three weeks is usually very similar to any other viral infection with a cough, fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle aches and tiredness.
“But it is usually in the second phase where you start developing this really loud inspiratory whoop in between coughing fits. You’ll have a very severe coughing and you might vomit after a cough.”
He summed up saying: “If you are deemed to have whooping cough and you’re early in your illness, you might be given some antibiotics. If you’re not then treatment is generally supportive with self-care, advice, and managing close contacts.”
