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Posted on Jun 02, 2005, 6 a.m.
By Bill Freeman
A habit cough is characterized by coughing that may persist for years following a resolved upper respiratory tract infection and normal pulmonary functioning examinations. Habit cough, also known as a cough tic, may be described as loud, harsh and honking in nature. It typically occurs multiple times per minute while a child is awake and stops during sleep. Habit coughs can disrupt normal activities like attending school and participating in extracurricular activities.
A habit cough is characterized by coughing that may persist for years following a resolved upper respiratory tract infection and normal pulmonary functioning examinations. Habit cough, also known as a cough tic, may be described as loud, harsh and honking in nature. It typically occurs multiple times per minute while a child is awake and stops during sleep. Habit coughs can disrupt normal activities like attending school and participating in extracurricular activities.
TREATMENT: Drug therapies, such as cough suppressants and anti-inflammatory medications, have not been proven to be useful for treating a habit cough. Habit coughs usually begin after a child gets a common cold or flu, but the reason the cough is so persistent is often psychological.
THE STUDY: Researchers from Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland and Children's Hospital of SUNY Upstate Medical University conducted a review of 56 children and adolescents with habit coughs in order to assess factors associated with the condition and to determine the success of self-hypnosis.
After about half of the patients were trained in self-hypnosis, 78 percent of them stopped coughing after an initial session, and an additional 12 percent stopped within one month. Study results were published in the February 2004 issue of The Journal of Pediatrics.
PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT: Many of the patients in the study who were successfully treated with self-hypnosis had recently experienced psychosocial stressors. These included recent deaths or serious illness in the family, marital conflicts between parents, or parents who were enduring psychiatric illnesses such as bipolar disorder or borderline disorders.
COMMENT: Howard Hall, Ph.D., Psy.D., the study's co-investigator, says, "Cough habits can be both challenging and frustrating conditions to treat from a traditional method standpoint. Hypnosis offers a holistic intervention for chronic, non-life threatening conditions. It can be especially helpful in reducing anxiety associated with coughing as well as enabling children to feel like they have learned a skill for managing their coughing. Our research shows that hypnosis can be one of the most effective treatments for a host of chronic, non-threatening medical conditions and can also be part of comprehensive programs to control such issues of weight, smoking and chronic pain."
