[Chronic cough, asthma and allergy]

Abstract

The medical approach of chronic cough suffers from the lack of a standardised definition. The most frequently encountered criterion is a recurrent cough observed during several consecutive months, each episode lasting at least 1 week. The link between recurrent cough and asthma is still discussed. Cough-related asthma diagnosis is facilitated when wheezing is clearly confirmed, or may be reminded by a nonproductive middle night cough, or an exercise-triggered cough, or the presence of personal or familial atopy. Conversely, an early morning and productive cough associated with tobacco exposure do not suggest asthma.