What Does Your Type of Cough Say About Your Illness?

Coughing can be a symptom of many different illnesses, like a common viral cold, the flu, COVID-19, or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). It can also be a part of long-term conditions, like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Though all coughs can be annoying, they don’t all feel or sound the same.

Clues to look for

Certain features of your cough can provide important clues about the cause (or causes):

• Sound: The sound of your cough is called its “quality.” Different things can affect the quality of your cough, including levels of inflammation in different parts of your airway and the type or amount of fluid that inflammation produces. 

• Timing: The timing of your cough refers to when your cough happens and how long it’s been going on. Timing is arguably more important than what your cough sounds like. 

• Triggers: Triggers are places, activities, behaviors, or other things in your life that may be linked in time to your cough. For example, do you always cough more in a certain place? Or after exercise?

Although these clues can help you figure out the cause of your cough, this isn't a perfect science. And even the best detective work may not be able to solve the puzzle. Coughs can be mixed or have more than one cause.

Let’s dive into 13 different types of coughs and what they can tell you about your health.

1. Wet or rattling cough

When you can hear liquid rattling in your airways, you have what’s called a “wet cough.” Yes, that’s an official medical term. A wet cough can also be called “chesty,” “deep,” “junky,” or “juicy.” Certain illnesses are more likely to be linked to a wet cough than others.

What it could be

One common cause for a wet cough is postnasal drip or, more accurately, upper airway cough syndrome (UACS). UACS occurs when inflammation in the nose or sinuses creates drainage that runs down the throat. 

UACS can be caused by: 

• Sinusitis

• Allergic rhinitis

• Adenoiditis

Infection or inflammation farther down in the airways can also cause a wet cough. This is the case in:

• Bronchitis

• Bronchiectasis

• Tracheitis

• Pneumonia

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• Antibiotics aren’t always the answer. Not all coughs need antibiotics — but sometimes nothing else will do. Learn how to tell when you need antibiotics for your cough.

2. Dry cough

A dry cough sounds hacky and doesn’t have that liquid rattle. The cause of a dry cough is an irritated or mildly inflamed airway.

What it could be

Common causes include:

• COVID

• Viral cold

• Asthma

• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

• Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)

• Chemical irritation

• Habit or nervous coughing

3. Barking cough

The sound of a barking cough is distinctive. It’s loud and almost has a musical quality, like the bark of a dog or seal. 

What it could be

This type of cough occurs when the larynx (vocal cords) is swollen in conditions such as:

• Croup

• Psychogenic (habit) cough

4. Whooping cough

Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a vaccine-preventable bacterial illness with its own recognizable cough. It causes a rapid string of violent coughing that seems like it won’t stop — until you’re forced to take a large gulp of air. Sometimes that gulp of air, which gets pulled quickly through an irritated airway, sounds like a gasp or “whoop.”

5. Acute cough

An acute cough is one that has only been going on for a short time — under about 3 weeks. 

What it could be

These coughs are usually linked to short-term illnesses or exposures like:

• A viral cold

• COVID

• Flu

• RSV

• Acute bronchitis

• Chemical irritation from something in the air

• Asthma exacerbation (asthma attack)

6. Subacute cough

A lingering cough that has lasted longer than 3 weeks, but less than a couple of months, is considered “subacute.” 

What it could be

Subacute coughs are most often caused by:

• Asthma, including cough-variant asthma

• GERD

• UACS

7. Chronic or persistent cough

A cough that’s with you all the time for more than 2 months is called “chronic” or “persistent.” 

What it could be

Chronic or persistent coughs are most often due to:

• Long-term drainage caused by allergies or sinus disease (UACS)

• GERD

• Asthma

• Chronic bronchitis

• COPD

• Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)

• Smoking or second-hand smoke exposure

• Long-standing lung problems, like tumors or pulmonary fibrosis

8. Nighttime cough

Certain conditions cause coughs that mostly happen at night. In some cases, this is due to a change in drainage patterns when you lie down to sleep.

What it could be

Coughing that’s more likely to happen at night includes:

• Asthma

• Croup

• GERD

9. Irritant cough

Sometimes it’s clear when something you inhale (like black pepper, for example) irritates your airways and makes you cough. Other times an irritant cough can have causes that aren’t as obvious.

What it could be

Causes of an irritant cough include:

• Exercise-induced asthma

• Chemical pneumonitis (irritation of the lungs caused by chemical fumes)

10. Medication-related cough

Certain medications can cause coughing as a side effect. These medications include:

• ACE inhibitors, such as lisinopril (Prinivil or Zestril) or enalapril (Vasotec)

• Beta blockers, such as atenolol (Tenormin) or bisoprolol (Zebeta)

• Inhaled medications, such as albuterol (Proair or Ventolin)

11. Choking cough

It might seem obvious that choking on food or liquids can make you cough. But the most dangerous sort of choking — when a piece of food is completely blocking your airway — doesn’t cause a cough at all. 

Food or liquids that enter the airway without causing a blockage are more likely to show up with a cough. This is especially important to keep in mind when people who can’t communicate clearly — such as babies or anyone with a neurologic condition — develop a cough during or after eating. In these cases, liquid or small bits of food may be entering the airway.

12. Productive cough

A productive cough brings up liquid into your mouth. Usually, this liquid is phlegm (mucus or pus). But, in rare cases, it can be blood. (More on that soon.) Most productive coughs sound wet. But not all wet coughs are productive.

You might be wondering, “Is it a good thing when a cough is productive?” Some people think that when a cough becomes productive, this means you’re getting better. But that’s not necessarily true. If you have a productive cough, it’s helpful to pay attention to what sort of liquid is coming up.

What it could be

When your cough causes mucus to come up into your mouth, that mucus is coming from your upper or lower airways. Sometimes, it’s the result of upper airway drainage and illnesses, such as: 

• Sinusitis

• Allergic rhinitis

Other times, the mucus could have come from your lungs or lower airways. Conditions that might cause you to cough up mucus or phlegm from your lower airways include:

• Pneumonia

• Bronchitis

Some rare conditions might cause you to cough up pus. It can be difficult to tell the difference between mucus and pus, but pus is usually thicker and more opaque. Coughing up pus is one sign of a bacterial infection, and it could be related to:

• Bacterial tracheitis

• Cystic fibrosis

• Lung abscess

13. Coughing up blood

Hemoptysis is the medical term for coughing up blood. 

What it could be

There’s a long list of possible causes for coughing up blood, which vary in terms of how significant they are.

Causes of small streaks of blood include:

• Nosebleeds

• Bleeding gums

• Sinus infection

• Tonsillitis

• Vomiting

More significant hemoptysis can come from certain lung conditions. These could include:

• Pneumonia

• Bronchitis

• Tuberculosis

• Aspergillosis (fungal infection)

But, when there’s a lot of blood, the causes can be serious and need immediate medical attention — often in an emergency room. Conditions that can cause significant hemoptysis include:

• Trauma

• Pulmonary embolism

• Lung abscess

• Lung cancer

Some causes of hemoptysis aren’t related to the lungs at all. These conditions don’t cause a cough by themselves, but they can cause you to cough up a lot of blood:

• Bleeding in the stomach, such as from an ulcer

• Bleeding deeper in the gastrointestinal tract

• Congestive heart failure

• Bleeding disorders (coagulopathy)

Why trust our experts?

Written by:

Kerry R. McGee, MD, FAAP

Kerry McGee, MD, FAAP, has over a decade of experience caring for babies, children, and teenagers as a primary care pediatrician. She has a special interest in adolescent health, particularly in adolescent mental health.

Edited by:

Sophie Vergnaud, MD

Sophie Vergnaud, MD, is the Senior Medical Director for GoodRx Health. A pulmonologist and hospitalist, she practiced and taught clinical medicine at hospitals in London for a decade before entering a career in health education and technology.

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