Signs and Symptoms & Causes - Coughs

The symptoms that accompany your cough depend on the underlying cause and may include the following:

Nasal congestion, headache, or postnasal drip from acute or chronic sinusitis (sinus inflammation)
Wheezing from asthma
Heartburn from GERD
Fever, chills, night sweats from bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis, or other lung infection
Blood in the sputum or unintentional weight loss from lung cancer
Chest pain, shortness of breath, or swelling of your legs from fluid retention (called edema) due to congestive heart failure

Causes

Upper respiratory tract infection like sinusitis or bronchitis
Lower respiratory tract infection like pneumonia or tuberculosis
Irritants inhaled into the airway passages like cigarette smoke
Cold, flu, or other viral infections
Certain medications called ACE inhibitors (including benazapril, captopril, enalapril, fosinopril, lisinopril, quinapril, and ramipril) which are used for high blood pressure and heart disease
Allergies, like hay fever (allergic rhinitis)
Asthma
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is from either emphysema or chronic bronchitis or both
Aspiration (foreign matter drawn into the lungs)
Congestive heart failure
Lung tumor, in rare cases
Gastroesophageal reflux disease