I'm wondering if perhaps there's a connection between the two. Perhaps excessive drinking & excessive coughing are a part of each other? The person I'm trying to connect the two within claims that they are not smoking but that's a hard one for a person to prove or disprove if lying is on the table.
I don't know if the two are related but I know from my own experience that alcohol can definitely affect the lungs. It is a depressant and so it slows down many things. One of those is the lungs. When they get worn down by excessive drinking the person finds it really difficult to exercise. They get a shortness of breath and maybe this could turn into a lot of coughing fits.
TinVanMan is right - alcohol causes respiratory depression. In other words, it can slow the lungs down, making them work less effectively. So coughing, in this situation, is quite probable. You say you are concerned that this person is actually smoking. Have you found any evidence of this lying around at all? This is slightly stalker-ish, I know, but have you looked in the garbage for butts or empty packs? It's certainly true that drinking and smoking go hand in hand and a drink definitely increases your urge to smoke
lol No, I can't look through this persons trash. She's a client of mine. That might be a bit excessive for the job. During counseling sessions I smell it on her coat. However, she says it has nothing to do with her habit but the habits of others she hangs around. It's not my job to stop her from smoking, I know, but if it's a factor it may explain her other symptoms. Part of me hopes she does not smoke so she can see the full effect alcohol has unleashed on her body. So she can't point fingers at other bad habits.
Yeah, from my experience alcohol can really damage your body respiration-wise, but that doesn't mean that your client isn't smoking. I know that from alcohol the coughing is not that rough, so you should probably pay more attention to her when she meets up with you.
I don't think there's any connection between the two as the effects of excessive drinking are normally felt in the liver and they manifest in the form of liver cirrhosis. If he was also smoking then coughing would be normal as an effect from it.
I have not noticed the connection between those two symptoms in any of the people I know who are excessive, constant drinkers. Was this person smoking? Has this person been a habitual smoker of sorts? I cannot think of any connection unless he was coughing up blood, in which case means he has a serious liver problem and needs to get professional medical help immediately.
I could see coughing being related to alcohol if he started to get water in the lungs as a result, but the coughing is most likely a side effect of smoking. If he does not smoke, then I guess it is possible, or he may just have a respitory infection. Excessive drinking does cause your immune system to suffer as it is trying to process all of the alcohol in your system.
I agree with this. I definitely think she is smoking. Unless the coughing is extremely violent and she is coughing up blood(which means her liver is failing and she needs to go seek help)then it sounds like she is just smoking.
Actually this can be caused by alcohol, smoking and also other things - it's called acid reflux. It's caused by having too much stomach acid, so it starts to irritate the throat, causing coughing and sometimes vomitting, because it can irritate the throat at the 'gag reflex' Im a quite heavy drinker and smoker, and im having problems with this also. But i have noticed that when cutting down on either alcohol or smoking, that it dissapears. It doesn't matter if i cut down on alcohol or cigarettes, as long as i cut down on one or the other, my stomach acid level improves so i don't get the cough. Hope this helps.