That nagging cough may be trying to tell you something

It's peak cold and flu season in the province, so there's plenty of coughing going on.

But some of it may be a sign of more serious undiagnosed problems, according to the New Brunswick Lung Association, especially if it has gone on for three weeks or more.

"People often just have a denial mechanism so they just let it go," said nurse Barbara Walls, the association's director of health promotion.

For example, Walls said she received a call Tuesday from a woman who had been to an emergency room.

A test for COPD, asthma

The woman had been coughing for weeks but was told she probably just had a cold.

What the ER doctors may not have realized is that the woman's husband is a former smoker and he's been coughing for two years.

"I said, 'You need to go to your doctor and ask for a spirometry test — or a pulmonary function test — which can detect if it's perhaps asthma or COPD, but you also need to talk to your doctor perhaps about a couple of other diseases that are somewhat common in New Brunswick."

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Those diseases are pulmonary fibrosis and sarcoidosis.

Both can result in a persistent, dry cough.

"What happens is you'll present to the doctor with fairly mild symptoms and they'll give you a puffer to help manage the cough," said Walls.

Medicare covers tests

Then the person ends up at the hospital when their symptoms become exacerbated, or they end up with pneumonia, which causes more damage.

What she would like to see happen more often is for patients who have red flags — a regular cough, coughing up phlegm, shortness of breath, wheezing or frequent long-lasting colds — to get early testing.

A pulmonary function test, done by a private company and paid for by Medicare, or done through a hospital, can diagnose asthma or COPD, which stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

A chest X-ray or lung biopsy may be needed to determine if a person has pulmonary fibrosis or sarcoidosis.

With 55,000 New Brunswickers already diagnosed with COPD, Walls estimated there are probably another 55,000 out there who don't know it.

Quality of life can be better

"It's a heartbreaking situation," said Walls.

"It's frustrating when you know that there's a pill now that's available — it's actually covered under the New Brunswick drug plan — that can help slow down two of the diseases and the sooner you get diagnosed and get those symptoms under control and get the right kind of puffer … early diagnosis can really improve the quality of life and even longevity."

An interactive, printable chronic cough test, to see if you are likely at risk, is available on the New Brunswick Lung Association's website.