What is wrong with my cough?

[Thomas7399]

I am 13 years old. I have had a cough develop somewhere in December of 2017 or January 2018. The cough has not gone away and it's July 18, 2018. The cough was barely noticeable in January, but now it has gotten very noticeable. I realized that I cough every time I was done drinking water, and my cough fades away when I lie down. It does not affect my sleep at all. Sometimes I feel like I don't need to cough, but I cough anyways. My cough has annoyed my family too. My cough comes back when I get up, or doesn't come back for a few hours. But it has never gone away permanently. I don't take cough medicines, because I don't have any for my age. I tried one for younger people, but it seemed like my coughing was worse. It went back to how it usually was the next day. I don't know what I should do. I have no other side effects as well. Please help, I am getting increasingly worried about it. Thanks.

[real_jimmy]

A persistent cough needs a thorough examination by a doctor who may want to see your x ray and probably a blood test. This is important.  If it is allergy related to something that you are exposed to then you will have to make changes in order to avoid the allergens of whatever they may be like dust or a second hand smoke in the home  or dusty carpets or dust from the mites, etc But the doctor has to make sure it is not something serious that is treatable in time, so make sure it's nothing serious before it gets worse.

[Allykune]

Hmm. Were you sick right before your cough started? I had a very bad cold once and developed a cough afterwards, the doctors told me it's a side effect from my sickness and it could linger for months. I ended up coughing so hard I fractured a rib! Try your best to baby it until it goes away, keep a cold bottle of water with you and if you feel the urge to cough sip on it to ease the tingling in your throat. You pretty much have to work to ease the feeling of needing to cough and try not to cough too hard, hopefully It should go away it's self. But always asking a doctor is best, I'd go for a small check up and mention it to see what they think. Hope you start getting better!