Why Do I Cough After a Night Out?

Going out with friends seems like a good idea until the next morning. Whether you drank too much, stayed up too late, or spent too much time yelling and singing to your favorite songs, you may wake up feeling terrible.

You may have a habit of thinking you caught something at the bar or club due to the fact you have a cough after going out. You may find that this gets worse when the weather is on the colder side.

Our ENT doctors try to get to the bottom of why your throat may feel hoarse or dry after a night of drinking.

A dry mouth, sore throat, or cough after a night of drinking can be attributed to a number of factors.

First, alcohol dries out your mouth and throat, so it increases the likelihood that you will wake up in pain. On top of that, being drunk makes you more likely to speak at louder volumes. Bars and clubs are loud, so you have to scream at your friends to be heard.

This can create inflammation in your vocal cords and throat.

On top of that, alcohol is a diuretic, which means that it will induce frequent urination. Urinating often will increase the amount of water lost from your body, so this can lead to dehydration. Additionally, drinking too much alcohol often leads to nausea and lightheadedness, so it’s possible that these factors are also causing you to cough.

If you find yourself coughing every time you drink, you may need to make an appointment with a chronic cough doctor, as this may signal an underlying position. Asthma is often triggered by alcohol, and alcohol can also lower your immune system.

It’s possible that when your immune system was lowered, you picked up an illness.