What is the Cause of Productive Cough?

What Causes Productive Cough?

Productive cough can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'needs attention' to 'life-threatening'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.

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Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose productive cough, we could:

Research the topic
Find a doctor with the time
Use a diagnostic computer system.

The process is the same, whichever method is used.

Step 1: List all Possible Causes

We begin by identifying the disease conditions which have "productive cough" as a symptom. Here are eight possibilities (more below):

Tuberculosis
Acute Bronchitis
Asthma
Pulmonary Embolism
Food Allergies
Chronic Bronchitis
Pneumonia
Weakened Immune System

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

We then identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:

chronic nausea

mild epigastric discomfort

occasional episodes of diarrhea

frequent stools

high cigarette smoke sensitivity

heart racing/palpitations

discomfort caused by mold/mustiness

bulimia

sinusitis

anal itching

being lean or underweight

regular sleepwalking

... and more than 70 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of productive cough:

Cause	Probability	Status
Chronic Bronchitis	93%	Confirm
Pulmonary Embolism	22%	Unlikely
Acute Bronchitis	19%	Unlikely
Tuberculosis	1%	Ruled out
Asthma	1%	Ruled out
Pneumonia	0%	Ruled out
Food Allergies	0%	Ruled out
Weakened Immune System	0%	Ruled out

* This is a simple example to illustrate the process

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

In the Respiratory Symptoms section of the questionnaire, The Analyst™ will ask the following question about a cough that produces mucus:

Do you have a cough that produces mucus (a 'productive 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

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate lack of productive cough, recent productive cough or chronic productive cough, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Acute Bronchitis

Allergy to Cow's Milk

Respiratory symptoms of milk-protein allergy can include coughing, choking, gasping, nose colds, asthma and sneezing attacks. [Annals of Allergy, 1951; p.9]

Allergy to Foods (Hidden)

Asthma

Not all people with asthma wheeze. For some, chronic coughing, which often occurs during the night or after exercise, may be the only symptom.

Pneumonia

A cough with phlegm is a common symptom of pneumonia. Bacterial pneumonia involves a cough that usually produces rust-colored or greenish mucus. Viral pneumonia often produces a dry cough at the beginning, which usually becomes worse and produces a small amount of mucus.

Pulmonary Embolism

A cough that begins suddenly, sometimes mixed with blood-streaked sputum, is a frequently-seen symptom of pulmonary embolism, but other symptoms are more likely to point to the correct diagnosis.

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis of the lung is usually associated with a persistent cough that does not go away. It may start as a dry cough that eventually leads to a productive cough with blood-stained sputum.

Weakened Immune System

Concerned or curious about your health? Try The Analyst™