Persistent dry cough in 13 yr old DS

[MeaMaximaCulpa]

For the last ten weeks ever since he had a cough/cold virus, DS, aged 13, has had a persistent dry cough.

There have been some days or times during days when it seems to be hardly there at all but more of the time when, throughout his waking hours, he may cough every 20 seconds or so.

I'm working on the theory that it's a 'habit'/psychosomatic and that by coughing - when he doesn't really need to but is stuck in the habit of coughing - he then irritates his throat and then this makes him feel physically that he needs to cough and so he coughs again and so on and so on.

However, am I missing something medical that needs investigation? I don't think he's got asthma and has never shown signs of this but I think a persistent dry cough can be a symptom of this?

He's able to deliberately stop himself coughing for a minute or two but says he then gets the overwhelming urge to cough again. He says it feels like there's something to cough on - ie a little bit of mucous - but the cough doesn't sound at all 'wet' and he doesn't cough up mucous at all.

It doesn't seem to be associated with exercise or eating - as i think it is in asthma? There might be a very vague link between him being distracted and absorbed in something and coughing less but he can equally cough continually throughout playing Minecraft or watching a film, which he enjoys.

He doesn't cough in the night and his cough doesn't keep him awake. He's fairly unfit physically as he leads a too sedentary life - especially over the summer hols - but he's not overweight (slim build) and not unhealthy and eats very well.

Doe anyone have any ideas about this? Should I be rushing to a doctor? I'm very reluctant to go that route as he's just about to re-start school and I work full-time and the GP is about 45 mins away. I don't want to be make a big deal of the cough if it's psychogenic nor do I want him referred for a barium meal/X ray as he's had quite a few X rays throughout his life and I'd rather he didn't have another if it's unecessary.

On the other hand, I don't want to miss something that needs treating.

Has anyone had a teenager with a 'nervous tic/habit' cough? Alternatively, do his symptoms remind someone of their own teenager/child who then turned out to get some medical diagnosis - and if so, what was that diagnosis?

Many thanks for any thoughts.

[chocoluvva]

My DS gets this - you wouldn't believe how frequently he coughs. It's a tickle. If you mention it to him he does cough more, but it definitely starts with a cold and then takes weeks to go.

He has a diagnosis of asthma - he rarely ever wheezes, just this incredibly persistent dry cough. Once he has it, exercise, very dry atmospheres and cold air aggravate it. He has a steroid inhaler and a reliever inhaler. He reckons that the reliever has no effect. We think that using the steroid inhaler for more than a week or two helps.

But his is particularly bad at night.

[anywinewilldonow]

It does sound like a habit cough. You can try getting him to use chewing gum - maybe start at the beginning of a weekend when you have a few days when he can use it continuously.

If it's a habit cough, the action of chewing may help to break the cycle. If it doesn't work, a trip to the GP might be useful.

Of course, if he doesn't like chewing gum, you could try getting him to take a sip of water each time he feels like coughing. Similar reasoning.