Types of cough

Not all coughs are the same.

If you have a cough, keep track of the following cough characteristics⁷:

Duration
Types
Features of the cough
Accompanying symptoms

Cough classification

A cough can be classified by identifying how long you have been suffering from it.

Acute cough vs Chronic cough

Acute Cough⁸	Chronic Cough
Duration: Less than 3 weeks	Duration: More than 8 weeks
Causes: Mostly common cold Recovery: Starts to improve by the 3rd to 5th day	Causes⁸: Inflammation of the membranes inside the nose or sinuses Poorly controlled asthma Smoking Acid reflux

Cough can also be classified by whether it produces mucus or phlegm.⁷

Differences between wet and dry cough

Dry cough (non-productive) vs Wet chesty (productive) cough

Dry cough (non-productive)	Wet chesty (productive) cough
Does not produce phlegm⁷ Develops during the first days of upper respiratory tract infection⁵ Can be caused by allergies¹¹	Happens later in the course of upper respiratory tract infection⁵ May be related to inflammation spreading to lower airway and triggering mucus production⁵ Mucus may come back from the back of the throat, nose, sinuses or up from your lungs¹¹

Other types of cough

Seasonal cough

Acute viral upper respiratory illness such as influenza can cause seasonal coughs. Seasonal influenza activity usually peaks at the turn of the year or around December.⁹

Night time cough

This type of cough attacks mostly at night.⁷ Chronic nighttime cough can have many causes including asthma, upper airways cough syndrome and acid reflux disease.¹¹

93% of patients suffering from seasonal influenza have cough as a symptom. A study held in 2015 reported that 30.4% to 48.2% of UAE adolescents suffered from dry nocturnal cough in the past year.¹³

Classify Cough