I've had a cough for about 18 years - yep, that's a long time. It stared in 1990 while stationed in Germany. The military found no reason for the cough and would prescribe a pill or cough syrup here and there. It has not stopped and is most prominant during the colder months; however, I seem to cough a lot at work and lose my voi

MustangGal,could you have bad allergies? I know when my allergies are really really bad, I cough allot and I lose my voice off and on. I have summer allergies. My husband has winter allergies. He gets a terrible bad cough sometimes from lots of sinus drainage. He was given codeine cough medicine and that didn't stop his cough neither. The doc finally gave him a shot to help dry up the drainage. That seemed to help get the cough under control.

I cough from alergies, too. I have found that when my couph gets too irritating, or congestion starts in, a few days of a generic Claritin D, 24 hour, clears it up for quite a while.

I only just discovered this past winter (in Cuba!) that my persistent cough was from acid reflux (aka GERD) - I had never made the connection before, especially since I don't experience other symptoms typical of GERD as persistently as the cough. But our doctor friend in Cuba suggested that I treat the cough as if it WAS from acid reflux, so I started taking Gaviscon and the cough disappeared!!!

For me the couging used to be worse at night and would keep me awake, so when I got home I started taking Gaviscon before going to bed and haven't had a problem since. If it's not a cold or sinus or allergy, try Gaviscon, or something similar.

My SIL is a nurse and she suggested to me to chew the Gaviscon AFTER eating (the label says before but her experience shows that it works better if taken after) with a little bit of water (that apparently helps to form the foam which will stop the acid from refluxing up the esophagus).

MustangGirl, can you better describe the cough? Is it a dry cough? Does it seem to originate in your throat, or your chest, or somewhere in between? Is it a nagging cough i.e. urge related, or a clearing cough, i.e. phlegm needing to be expelled? Do you have other aches/pains that come and go with the coughing spells? Do the pills/cough syrups help? What are the blooming vegetations in the winter months? What fruits/veggies do you tend to eat in the winter months? Have you had your heating system examined/cleaned? How about the clothes you tend to wear in the winter months - i.e. wool? Have you ever been somewhere, besides your home/state, in the winter months when you didn't notice/have the cough?

I'm one to promote finding a 'cause' before using cover-ups. Just me. I hope the cause isn't horse dander, something you could be carrying into your living environment. There could be molds on the equipment, food, etc., too.

I cough all the time too. NO reason just a harsh cough, have had it for more years than i can remember but my lungs are clear. Sounds like I am a smoker but I'm not now nor was I ever. Go figure!

I had a disgusting cough for about 6 months. Then I stopped eating yogurt creamy stuff, and took less milk in my coffee. My cough disapeared completely within 3 days.
Gims posted some good questions. What you eat can truly be a cause.