There are likely to be other possible causes, so ask your doctor about your symptoms. 1  Diverticulosis. 2  Ischemic colitis. 3  Inflammatory bowel disease.  Colon 1  cancer. Intestinal worm infestation.  Mesenteric artery 1  ischemia. Proctitis.  Ulcerative colitis.
If you guessed about a week, you are average, but you are wrong. In a new study, doctors who reviewed medical studies found that acute cough, sometimes called acute bronchitis, lasts an average of nearly 18 days.
Skewed expectations may be one reason why antibiotics are over-prescribed, even for viral infections. In a phone survey, researchers asked 493 people how long they thought a case of ACI (acute cough illness, a.k.a. a cold that causes coughing) should last. At the same time, they looked at the existing medical literature to see how long ACI actually lasts on average. Survey respondents guessed that a cough should last 7-9 days. The literature, by contrast, showed that the mean duration of a cough is almost 18 days. Advertisement.