Lingering cough after illness is "gone" (cold, recover, nose)

[OzzyRules]

Does a cough that "lingers" really mean that there is some separate reason (other than the original illness) that is causing it? In some cases, I doubt that, and here is why...

I used to have a cough that would linger for weeks and weeks after I got "better". Finally I realized that the problem was that I was not getting enough sleep to completely cure it. I was the type of person who likes to have "fun" on my days off and didn't want to concern myself with proper rest, etc.

Finally, one Sunday I just forced myself to stay in my room and lay in my bed. I had a book I was reading, or maybe the TV was on softly. That whole afternoon I stayed in bed. I would naturally and easily start dozing off for moments at a time. I didn't keep track of how long. Minutes? Hours? But by the next day my cough was completely gone.

Does anyone else have a similar experience?

[Tintlelli]

I've had a similar experience. They aren't kidding when they recommend "lots of bed rest" with an illness.

I work a job that requires constant exposure to temperature changes. Surprisingly I don't get sick all the time (maybe only once or twice a year) but a couple people who used to work with me were always sick. They always had the sniffles and coughs, and they had to take many sick days. One of them used to talk about how he only needed five hours of sleep every day--I figured that was why he never recovered completely from his colds.

[charolastra00]

I think a lot of it is continued irritation. You feel better after you sleep because not only is sleep restoring, but you also get a chance to rest your throat. If you cough had a stuffy nose associated with it, you might also be dealing with post-nasal drip. It normally takes about 2 weeks after a cold with constant netti pot usage for me to get rid of the drip and lingering cough.

[OzzyRules]

Even worse where I used to work, some people would take sick leave (when they were really sick) but use their day off to do fun things instead of getting rest, the whole purpose of sick days to begin with. When they came back after their sick leave (or after the weekend) they would be in worse condition, or the exact same, and you knew the reason why.

[nmnita]

Of course rest will help all of us when we are sick, it helps us when we are well also, but as for a lingering cough, after a cold or a flu, I think this is just something that happens from time to time. I have had flu like illnesses and the cough lingers for weeks sometimes.

[AZgarden]

I recently had bronchitis and a bad cold and a cough that kept me up at night. I got over the illness with antibiotics but continued to have the cough for 10 days afterward. Gone now !!!!