If you have a cough that has not cleared up for more than a month, it is important to identify the cause of the cough and treat it for the cause to be most effective. A CT scan of the chest should be done. If the CT scan shows bronchiectasis, chronic bronchitis or pneumonia, hospitalization for anti-infective treatment is often required. If the infection is bacterial, intravenous levofloxacin, ceftriaxone or penicillin anti-inflammatory treatment is required. If the infection is mycoplasma, it is often positive for mycoplasma antibodies and can be treated with intravenous azithromycin or erythromycin. Longer coughs often do not have viral infections and usually do not require treatment with antiviral medications. In addition, cough variant asthma may occur due to airway hyperreactivity and can be relieved by inhalation of Cymbalta, or in children, by nebulized inhalation of terbutaline sulfate and budesonide.