When patients are experiencing discomforting symptoms, mainly presenting coughs, the patient should inform their doctors about every symptom and detail the individual is experiencing.  The more information that a patient provides to the doctor, the easier it is to clarify a correct diagnosis for the symptoms that are occurring.  If a patient has encountered a discomforting cough, doctors will categorize the cough by its duration.  Since a cough is a common symptom of numerous illness, a doctor must ask several questions in order to determine a correct diagnosis for a patient’s cough.

The doctor may classify the patient’s cough into three categories, an acute cough, sub-acute cough or a chronic cough.  Therefore, the doctor will diagnosis the patient’s cough based upon the duration of the cough. An acute cough usually occurs for less than three weeks, sub-acute cough may last from three to eight weeks, and a chronic cough can last more than eight weeks in total.

Therefore, as a doctor it is extremely important to ask the patient how long the cough has lasted.  It is important to ask the duration of the cough because than it will be easier to categorize the patient’s cough, and classify a diagnosis.

Also, it is important to ask the patient if they experience wheezing and/or shortness of breath with their cough.  In addition, asking the patient if they experience night sweats, if weight lost has occurred, or if high fevers have occurred is important in classifying a diagnosis for the patient’s cough.  These questions are important because they help the doctor understand the seriousness of the patient’s cough, and may negate any possibilities of other diagnoses.  Each symptom and/or detail that is given to the doctor helps the doctor provide the correct medication and diagnosis.