Chest cough, dry cough, barking cough: no matter which you have, none of them are any fun. Especially when they last for days on end. But how long is too long? And how long is perfectly normal?
New research has found that there is a large discrepancy in the length of time patients expect a cough to last and the reality of the illness. This can lead to patients asking for unnecessary prescriptions of antibiotics.
Examining the gap in patient expectations and the actual length of time the body takes to rid itself of a chest cold, the study found that most patients expect to cough for seven to nine days. In reality, a bronchial illness takes closer to 18 days on average to run its course.
“There is a mismatch in what people believe and reality,” said Dr. Mark Ebell, associate professor of epidemiology in the UGA College of Public Health and lead researcher on the study. “If someone gets acute bronchitis and isn’t better after four to five days, they may think they need to see a doctor and get an antibiotic. And when the first one doesn’t work, they come back four or five days later for another.”
We know from clinical trials there is very little, if any, benefit to antibiotic treatments for acute cough because most of these illnesses are caused by a virus. Among patients who receive antibiotics, about half of those will be very broad spectrum antibiotics that have the
potential to increase antibiotic resistance. These are antibiotics that would be nice to shave around when we actually need them, like for someone who may have pneumonia.
“We are already seeing types of infections that we don’t have antibiotics for anymore,” said Ebell. “It is a real concern among public health officials that we will get to a point where we don’t have antibiotics that work.”
So remember: antibiotics or not, that cough of your is going to last 18 days. Think before you ask.
This article was written by Dra. P. A. Anthony, Clinica Santa Cecilia Medical Director and General Practitioner. Call us today at +34 95 252 1024 to set up your appointment with Dra. Anthony.