“Pulmonary fibrosis is tough on its own,” Rick M. shares. “But having a chronic cough on top of that? It makes it harder to be around people because you see the looks – people wondering, ‘Is this guy sick?’ First held on October 15, 2024, World Chronic Cough Day was launched by the Global Allergy & Airways Patient Platform (GAAPP), an international network of more than 180 patient organizations working together to improve the lives of patients. The goal is simple – to raise awareness of chronic cough, and its impact on daily life. “It can make sleeping difficult when I wake up in the middle of the night coughing,” Rick continues. “And maybe the hardest part is that the cough is a constant reminder that my lungs aren't healthy.”
Understanding Chronic Cough
Chronic cough affects roughly 5% or 12 million people in the United States. Coughs may be described as dry (tickly or scratchy) or productive (wet, sometimes coughing up phlegm). A cough is considered “chronic” if it lasts for eight weeks or longer. If there doesn’t seem to be an underlying cause, your healthcare provider may call it an unexplained chronic cough. But if your healthcare provider can identify the underlying cause and tries to treat that cause to get rid of your cough, but it doesn't get better, that is called a refractory chronic cough. A chronic cough affects more than breathing; it can cause difficulty sleeping and interfere with work, personal relationships and social activities.
The Smoke Detector Principle coined by Dr. Randolph Nesse provides a helpful analogy to better understand chronic cough. Visualize a smoke detector going off in your kitchen. It’s loud and you can hear it downstairs, so you rush through the house only to realize the kitchen is full of smoke and the food on the stove was left unattended and is burning. The smoke detector did its job, alerting you to act and went silent once the danger disappeared. The fire in this scenario is like an underlying cause of your chronic cough, such as asthma, acid reflux or a sinus condition. If you effectively treat your underlying cause, the cough should stop.
But some people have a busted smoke alarm. There is no fire, yet the smoke alarm keeps going off and driving you crazy. The sensor in the alarm is broken, and you can’t get it to stop. So, you keep looking for a fire even though the fire department came and said there isn’t one, and you are buying earplugs and explaining to everyone who comes to your house that there is no fire.
Patient Experiences with Chronic Cough
This is what it is like for people living with refractory chronic cough. Paulette from New York, is one such individual, and she shared the intensity of her chronic cough caused her to seek numerous specialists trying to find a cause or effective treatment. “I was desperate. Everything they told me to do, I would do.” But despite years of searching, Paulette still coughs in bouts that disrupt her quality of life. “Will I start coughing on a plane or at the movies,” Paulette wonders, “It’s always on my mind.”
For some individuals, chronic cough is part of their interstitial lung disease. Mitch’s late father, Irv, was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a type of interstitial lung disease. And like so many others living with IPF, Irv had a debilitating chronic cough. Mitch recalls what he describes as “relentless coughing” that impacted his dad. “He couldn’t stop coughing. He was always trying to clear his lungs. He couldn’t breathe.”
In later stages of the disease, Mitch and his brother, Laury, would come visit his dad with cards and poker chips in hand. Playing poker was how the family connected, and during these family games his dad was so focused on getting that winning hand that he didn’t cough. It was a brief, unspoken and magical respite for those who loved him. “IPF is a brutal disease,” Mitch shared, “When you cough, it is your body's way of trying to help you breathe easier. And most of the time, Dad couldn’t stop coughing. It was painful to watch.”
How Long Is Too Long for a Cough?
It is important to speak with your healthcare provider if you have a cough that lasts longer than eight weeks or is a concern to you. They will review your medical history, conduct a physical exam, and order tests to help diagnose or rule out potential causes of your cough. These tests may include lung function tests to diagnose or rule out asthma or other lung diseases, blood tests to look for signs of inflammation or lab tests to look for an infection. Finding the cause of your cough can help you determine the best path for treatment and management.
On this World Chronic Cough Day, we urge you to talk with your healthcare provider if you have a lingering or persistent cough. They can help determine if there is an underlying cause and the best treatment options that might be right for you. "People can feel isolated, embarrassed, exhausted or frustrated when others do not understand that their cough is a real and often debilitating condition,” says Victor Gascon Moreno, COO of GAAPP, “Raising awareness is an important first step toward better recognition, diagnosis, management and ultimately better outcomes for people living with chronic cough.”
When asked for her wish on this awareness day, Paulette kept it straightforward. "My hope is that there will be help for people like me," Paulette summarizes, "to find comfort and help with dealing with this cough that seems to take control of my life." Rick takes a similar approach, “I still persevere. I have to keep moving forward and not let pulmonary fibrosis or the cough define me.”
You can learn more at Lung.org/chronic-cough.
Support for this educational content was provided by Trevi Therapeutics, Inc.
Blog last updated: October 13, 2026
