Cold or something more serious?

It's that time of year when everyone is reaching for the Kleenex and cold relief medicine. But for some, a nagging cough is cause for concern. Even when the runny nose or sore throat goes away, that cough can linger.

Doctors tell us it could be winter allergies or a much more serious infection that makes it hard to breathe.

Sheila Dial will be celebrating her son's seventh birthday Thursday, but first she's taking Levi to the Oklahoma Allergy and Asthma Clinic to stop his cough, which would be quite a gift to this concerned mom.

"Very frustrated because you try to help him," she says. "You don't know how. He's had a cough, runny nose and severe sinus infections all the time, so we decided to get the allergy testing done."

Dr. Greg Metz, an allergist at the clinic, says Levi isn't alone.

He says our dry and windy weather has made mold spores an allergen that is making a lot of Oklahomans cough lately.

"With the dry, kind of cold air, (mold) can irritate the lining of the airway and it can lead to drainage in sort of an irritant fashion," Metz says.

Upper respiratory infections can cause a cough that lingers for weeks.

But one pediatrician says prolonged coughing could be caused by a highly contagious infection called "whooping cough."

"You can have these repeated, violent coughing spells to the point where you literally can't breathe anymore," Dr. Savannah Stumph says, with Mercy Edmond Signal Ridge Clinic, "All the air is completely expelled from the lungs and then a violent rerespiratory 'whoop' to start breathing again can be noticed."

She says vaccines are the most important way to prevent whooping cough, also known as Pertussis, especially in infants that can stop breathing during coughing fits.

It can be treated with antibiotics, but the cough can last up to 10 weeks.

"In other parts of the world, Pertussis is actually known as the 'hundred day cough' because that's literally how long it can last," Stumph says.

Whooping cough vaccines fade over time, so Stumph says adults should get vaccinated every 10 years.

Sinus infections, acid reflux and asthma may also be causing that cough.

Levi completed the  allergy testing.

The results are forcing Sheila to find the family cat a new home.