cough or clearing throat

[lovemygirl]

I am not sure if anyone can answer this or not, but it has been on my mind since our last clinic visit a couple of weeks ago. At the time our daughter (5 yrs old / cf) had a cough (which has thankfully disappeared) which they could not explain. Her lungs are clear, her x-rays look excellent, and her PFT's are 159%. One question the dr. asked was "is she coughing or clearing her throat?" and we said a mixture of the two. Since then she has tested neg. for pseudamonas for the 1st time since Oct, but this question is still on my mind.
Does anyone know why he would have asked such a question? Does a clearing of the throat tell them something different than a cough?

Thanks,

 

[anonymous]

Sinus drainage can sometimes make one clear their throat often. At least that is the case with me. That may be why he asked you that question.

 

[anonymous]

I would think that just clearing the throat may be more of an upper resp. thing (sinus, nasal, etc) while coughing could be from upper and lower (bc upper can drain into lower).

HTH

 

[anonymous]

Allergies can also cause this.