If you develop a dry cough, it’s a good idea to test yourself for COVID-19 with a home test, Dr. Ditto if you happen to develop a cough without a fever and you’re not sure what’s causing it, says Dr. When should you be worried about a dry cough as a sign of COVID-19?Īny cough that’s linked with a fever over 100.4° F should be concerning, Dr. Symptoms of the flu include, per the CDC:Īnd these are the symptoms of RSV, according to the CDC: “It’s usually a dry cough, but a productive one can also occur,” Richard Watkins, M.D., an infectious disease physician and professor of internal medicine at the Northeast Ohio Medical University. Shortness of breath or difficulty breathingĪgain, you don’t necessarily need to have a dry cough in order to have COVID-19.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), symptoms of COVID-19 can include but are not limited to: If you develop a dry cough, it’s very possible that you could simply be dealing with allergies, being inside all day or other environmental factors.īut it may also be pointing to COVID-19, the flu, or RSV-so it’s important to pay attention to signs of those viruses, too. ❗If you have trouble breathing, persistent chest pain or pressure, new confusion, blue lips, or cannot stay awake, seek medical attention ASAP. When should you be worried about a dry cough as a sign of COVID-19? “It may feel like a sense of needing to clear your throat or could be deeper in terms of large airways irritated as well,” Dr. Holmes, D.N.P., R.N., a clinical associate professor at Rutgers University School of Nursing. Ultimately, it feels a lot like your lungs are irritated, says Aline M. You can also feel like you’re having dryness, a tickle, or tightness in your chest, Dr. In general, it can feel like any cough without the phlegm. Bacterial infections, like bronchitis and pneumonia, however, are more likely to cause a wet cough, he says. “A dry cough is most commonly seen in viral infections,” says Thomas Russo, M.D., professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York. But experts say there are actually a lot of different things that can cause a dry cough. It’s easy to think that you have COVID-19 when you develop a dry cough (and it’s entirely possible you do). “A dry cough is an irritating cough, but you’re not bringing anything up,” says William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. If you’re regularly producing phlegm when you cough, you’re likely dealing with a wet cough. “Your wet cough might seem like a dry cough to me,” he says.īut, in general, a dry cough means you’re coughing but nothing is coming up, like phlegm or mucus, says Purvi Parikh, M.D., an allergist with Allergy & Asthma Network. That’s because it’s open to interpretation. There’s actually no specific medical criteria to classify a dry cough and a wet cough, explains David Cutler, M.D., a family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif. Do you have a dry cough from COVID? The flu? RSV? Something else entirely? Either way, it makes sense to be a little wary if you happen to develop a dry cough.īut what does it mean if you happen to develop a dry cough and, while we’re at it, what is a dry cough, anyway? Here’s the deal. But these days, it’s understandable to be on high alert for a slew of possible illnesses. If you developed a dry cough a few years ago, you may have simply written it off as having a cold.
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