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Had Bronchomalacia And Heart Murmur. Started Coughing. How To Overcome This Problem?

Posted on Thu, 21 Mar 2013

Question: Hi. My son is 19 years old and has a continual bronchial type cough. He had bronchomalacia as a baby and was operated on for this at an early age. He had also been diagnosed with a heart murmur at the age of 9 and has been under specialist care ever since. On his last visit the specialist said it had gone and didnt need anymore follow up. This cough started around 5 years ago. I did think it was associated with him smoking but after hearing about cough variant asthma I started to think he may be a candidate for this. I have had asthma from the age of 18.

Answered by Dr. Y V Siva Sankara Murty (14 minutes later)

Hi,

Thanks for writing to health care magic.

I request you to answer my questions.....so that i can answer you better.

Is there any seasonal variation in this cough?
Is it associated with any wheeze..... abnormal sound during respiration?
Does he have any other allergies? (skin or eye allergies)
How long is he smoking and how many packs a day?
Is there any history of recurrent fever or weight loss?

In cough variant asthma we do not find any wheeze but recurrent cough....
Since there is family history of asthma that could be one of the possibility
We should also consider his smoking as a contributory factor.

You may contact me with further details on the following URL...........

WWW.WWWW.WW
In such scenario the questions are directly forwarded to me .............. and I can answer your queries regarding your son online regularly.

Hope this helps.
Take care

Dr Y V Siva Sankara Murty
M.D.(Pediatrics)
Associate Professor of Pediatrics

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Aparna Kohli

Follow up: Dr. Y V Siva Sankara Murty (29 hours later)

In answer to your questions regarding my son. He does not seem to have any wheezing and no other visible allergies. The cough does not seem to be seasonal either. There are no fevers or weight loss. In fact even though he, like his sister have always been on the thinner side of weighthe goes to the gym regularly and is building up his body. As regards to smoking I believe he has been smoking since about the age of 15. Not regularly but probably went he went out with friends. I have a feeling although still smoking, he has cut it down. On that I cannot be completely sure. Can he be having an allergic reaction to cigarettes??? Look forward to your answer

Answered by Dr. Y V Siva Sankara Murty (13 minutes later)

Hi,

Thanks for your detailed reply.

Cough variant of Asthma could be one of the possibilities.
In this condition wheezing may not be there as in classical asthma.

A physical examination followed by X-ray and spirometry by your doctor will help in diagnosis

Smoking as you know can affect his health in number of ways. So encourage him to stop smoking.

Hope this helps.
Take care.

Note: For further information on diet changes to reduce allergy symptoms or to boost your immunity, Ask here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj