Dry Cough and Chest Tightness
A dry or unproductive cough doesn’t produce mucus. A tickling sensation in the throat can make you have a dry cough. Dry coughs can come on after a cold or flu or if you have COVID-19. Other conditions like GERD, heart failure and lung cancer can cause chronic dry coughs. You may also have chest tightness with a dry cough. A dry cough doesn’t produce mucus. Because there isn’t mucus blocking the lungs or airways, nothing comes out when you cough. This lack of mucus (phlegm) makes it an unproductive cough.
What’s the difference between a dry cough and a wet cough?
- A cough is your body’s way of clearing the lungs and airways of irritants so you can breathe better.
- When you have an illness that affects your respiratory system, you may cough up mucus. This is a wet cough. Healthcare providers consider a wet cough to be productive because it clears phlegm (mucus) from the lungs and airways. If too much phlegm builds up in the lungs, you may become short of breath and develop other problems.
What are the symptoms of a dry cough?
- With a dry cough, you may feel a tickling sensation in your throat. You may try to clear your throat by coughing. As you forcefully expel air, your throat can become irritated and dry. You may develop a sore throat.
Possible Causes - Do colds, flu and COVID-19 cause a dry cough?
- Colds and flu tend to cause wet, productive coughs when you’re sick. Later, dry coughs may linger during recovery.
- It can take a while for inflammation from respiratory infections to go away. During this time, the lungs and airways may be extra sensitive to inhaled irritants. This sensitivity can make your throat more ticklish, causing you to cough.
- Most people who get sick with COVID-19 have dry coughs — not wet coughs like with the cold or flu. However, wet coughs can also happen with COVID-19 infections. Your healthcare provider may recommend a COVID-19 test to identify the cause of the cough.
Care and Treatment - How can I treat a dry cough and tight chest?
- Most dry coughs clear up when you treat the underlying cause. Over-the-counter (OTC) cough medicines aren’t usually that helpful. And children younger than 4 years of age shouldn’t take any cough medicine because of the risk for serious side effects.
These at-home remedies can help:
- Drink plenty of liquids to stay hydrated. Try hot tea or water with honey and lemon to soothe irritated airways.
- Suck on cough drops or hard candies. Sucking on a hard lozenge promotes saliva production that soothes the throat. But don’t give cough drops or hard candies to children under 4. They can choke.
- Take a spoonful of honey. Studies show that honey stops coughs as well as (or better than) most OTC cough medicines. Your healthcare provider can recommend the right amount of honey based on the ill person’s age. Never give honey to a child under 1 year of age. In babies, honey can cause botulism.
- Use a humidifier. A cool-mist humidifier puts moisture into the air. This extra moisture soothes nasal passages and sore throats and eases dry coughs. You can also get more moisture by taking a steamy shower or hot bath.
What can cause a dry cough?
Coughing is a natural reflex for clearing the throat and lungs of irritants. Infection is a common reason for a dry cough, but other causes range from a post-nasal drip to lung cancer. A dry or sometimes tickly cough is a cough that does not bring up any phlegm or mucus. Dry coughs may cause a tickling sensation and are often due to irritation in the throat. Doctors often refer to dry coughs as non-productive coughs. In contrast, a wet, or productive, cough brings up phlegm that helps clear the airways of irritants. Doctors also classify coughs as either acute or chronic. A cough is chronic if it lasts longer than 8 weeks, according to the American Lung Association.
Common causes - Various infections, diseases, and other factors can lead to a dry cough:
- COVID-19 and other coronavirus infections
- COVID-19 is one disease that results from infection with a coronavirus. Others include severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). They can all involve a dry cough.
COVID-19 is caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 - The most common symptoms are:
- a fever
- a cough, which may be dry
- fatigue
- body aches
- nasal congestion, a runny nose, or both
- a sore throat
- diarrhea
- changes in the senses of taste and smell
Treatment - There is currently no cure for COVID-19, but acetaminophen may help relieve symptoms. People should rest at home and keep as far away from other people as possible. Some people have an underlying condition that increases their risk of developing severe illness. For these people, a doctor may prescribe:
- Paxlovid (Nirmatrelvir with Ritonavi): Paxlovid is an antiviral that people can take at home by mouth. They need to start it within 5 days of symptoms appearing. It is suitable for people aged 12 years and over.
- Remdesivir (Veklury): Remdesivir is an antiviral that comes as an intravenous infusion given at a healthcare facility. People need to start taking it within 7 days of symptoms appearing, for 3 days in a row.
- Molnupiravir (Lagevrio): Molnupiravir is an oral antiviral for adults. People need to start it within 5 days of symptoms appearing.
Dry Cough: What Causes It and How Do You Treat One?
A dry cough can have many causes, from allergies to viruses. Home remedies and medications may help provide relief. Drinking plenty of water and avoiding allergens or environmental irritants can also be beneficial.
What is a dry cough?
- A cough is a reflex action that clears your airway of irritants and mucus.
- There are two types of cough: productive and nonproductive. A productive cough produces phlegm or mucus, clearing it from the lungs. A nonproductive cough, also known as a dry cough, doesn’t produce phlegm or mucus.
- Many things — from allergies to acid reflux — can cause a dry cough. In some cases, there’s no obvious cause. Regardless of the cause, an ongoing dry cough can seriously impact your day-to-day life, especially if it’s worse at night.
Dry cough and COVID-19: One of the most common early symptoms of COVID-19 is a dry cough. This is experienced by 60 to 70 percent of people with the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19. A 2020 study in China found that most people with COVID-19 developed a cough 1 day after becoming infected. The cough lasted for about 19 days. Other common COVID-19 symptoms include:
- fever
- fatigue
- muscle aches
- headache
- sore throat
Dry cough treatment and home remedies - Dry coughs can be difficult to treat. Once your airways become overly sensitive, they’re easily irritated by coughing, creating a vicious cycle. There are a few things you can do for relief, regardless of what’s causing your cough. Try:
sucking on throat lozenges to moisturize and soothe irritated throat tissue:
- taking OTC cough suppressants, such as dextromethorphan (Robitussin), to suppress your cough reflex
- adding honey to a hot drink to soothe irritated throat tissue
How to prevent a dry cough - To help prevent a dry cough, drink plenty of water to help keep your throat moist. You can also try eliminating what’s triggering your dry cough as follows:
- Environment irritants. Use an air purifier to remove allergens or a cool-mist humidifier to add moisture to the air. Vacuum frequently to get rid of dust as well as pet hair and dander.
- Food allergies. Avoid particular food or foods that are high in histamines, such as aged cheeses, fermented or pickled vegetables, and alcohol.
- GERD. Avoid acidic and high fat foods.
COVID-19: Tracking new variants
It’s not known whether JN.1 causes different symptoms from other variants, according the CDC.
“Right now, there’s nothing that says that JN.1 infection is any different from previous COVID variants in terms of disease severity or symptoms, but we’re paying close attention,” says Pekosz. The symptoms of JN.1 appear to be similar to those caused by other strains, which include:
- Sore throat
- Congestion
- Runny nose
- Cough
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- Fever or chills
- Loss of sense of taste or smell
According to the CDC, the type and severity of symptoms a person experiences usually depends more on a person’s underlying health and immunity rather than the variant which caused infection.
