Can stress and nerves cause a chronic cough?

The short answer is Yes, stress and anxiety can lead to a chronic dry cough.

You may have heard of a ‘nervous cough’ and in a way, coughs caused by stress are simply an extension of this phenomenon.

We don’t understand fully why this happens, but one theory is that when under stress, the body has a high level of adrenaline and other stress hormones and this makes the cough reflex more sensitive. After a while, the cough can become a bit of a habit and this can then set off a cycle.

Before a diagnosis of a nervous cough is made, doctors will want to carry out some tests and investigations in order to exclude physical causes for the cough. So, in a way, the diagnosis is made by excluding other possibilities.

Nervous coughs are not easy to treat. Herbs for stress, such as Valerian and Avena sativa can help, but often, treatments such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or Hypnotherapy seem to work best.