During cold and flu season, a terrible cough may accompany a nasty respiratory tract infection. It makes sense to check in with your doctor right away if you suspect you have caught the flu. Antiviral drugs may speed healing, but only if you take them as the infection is starting.
But what about a cough without fever, congestion or other symptoms of illness? Sometimes this troublesome symptom could be a side effect of a medication.
Can Blood Pressure Pills Cause a Terrible Cough?
Q. I’ve had a terrible cough–so violent I’ve wet and sometimes even soiled myself. For the past several weeks I’ve been vomiting from coughing so hard.
I take lisinopril and amlodipine for high blood pressure. I suspect that one of them is the cause of my horrid cough. Is this possible?
ACE Inhibitor Cough:
A. The most common and bothersome side effect of popular blood pressure drugs like benazepril, captopril, enalapril, fosinopril, lisinopril and ramipril is an uncontrollable cough. Many readers have reported throwing up because of this side effect. Patients should always be alerted to this potential adverse reaction. Although these are helpful for many people, those who suffer from a cough like yours could control blood pressure with a different medicine.
We are sending you our Guide to Blood Pressure Treatment with a discussion of the pros and cons of a range of medications and many non-drug alternatives. ACE inhibitors can also cause dizziness, rash, headache, weakness and digestive distress, among other problems. They generally should not be combined with potassium-sparing diuretics, since the combination might push potassium levels too high.
Amlodipine:
Although amlodipine is unlikely to cause cough, it can lead to swollen ankles because of fluid retention. Other side effects of amlodipine may include headache, dizziness, nausea and fatigue.
We discuss this problem and others that arise in the treatment of blood pressure in our book, Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them.
