“Is post nasal drip along with cough sign of a chest infection?”
I am having continuous post nasal drip along with a cough for the last 3 days. The doctor has started me on antibiotics but my worry is this is a sign of a chest infection.
2 Answers
not in many cases, more so a sign of inflamed mucus membranes for which many sources may exist, some of which may be allergies to environment, however, some other reasons are possible
No. A post-nasal drip is one of the more common underlying reasons for a cough that can turn chronic if the post-nasal drip is not addressed. The cough is rarely if ever the sign of an infection in that setting and its management is best handled by treating the post-nasal drip. An antibiotic has no role to play in this condition whatsoever. What I recommend and have seen work very well in most patients is a steroid nasal inhaler (such as flonase) to which montelukast (a medicine usually useful in both asthma and post-nasal drip patients) can also be added if the cough is more resistant. Again, antibiotics have no role to play in this clinical context, nor do cough syrups. As is always the case, a cough is handled by handling the reason that has brought it about.
Raouf Kayaleh, MD
Raouf Kayaleh, MD
