Dry cough can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'needs attention' to 'generally fatal'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.
Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose dry cough, we could:
Cause | Probability | Status |
---|---|---|
Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis) | 96% | Confirm |
Pulmonary Fibrosis | 18% | Unlikely |
Pneumonia | 5% | Ruled out |
Leukemia | 1% | Ruled out |
Do you have a cough that does not produce mucus (a 'dry cough')?
Possible responses:
→ Don't know→ No → Yes, for less than a month → Yes, for over a month but less than a year → Yes, for more than a year |
Viral pneumonia often produces a dry cough at the beginning. The cough usually becomes worse and produces a small amount of mucus. Mycoplasma pneumonia is associated with a cough that tends to come in violent attacks, but produces only sparse whitish mucus.
A chronic dry, hacking cough is characteristic of Pulmonary Fibrosis.