I am a 48-year-old female and have had a nasty coughing fit almost every day for about ten years. It hits me and I can’t stop coughing. After a few minutes of gurgling and being stuffy, some mucus starts to come loose in my throat. If I can cough that away, it will get better over time. I use paracetamol with codeine if necessary and that helps a lot. But I don’t think it’s good if I use that on a daily basis. What’s going on, do you think?
woman, 48
Joris Bartstra, journalist with medical diploma
The first question that comes to mind when it comes to coughing is: do you smoke or not? If you smoke or have smoked, you should be tested for the lung disease COPD with a lung function test. If not, the most common causes are allergies, problems with the sinuses or stomach acid in the esophagus. In the latter case, you are better off with an antacid than with codeine. I would indeed not take codeine every day, because it becomes less effective in the long run and if you stop, the complaints come back worse (it is an opiate). It can also make you have difficult bowel movements.
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