Cough-variant asthma is stressful on it's own but causes extreme anxiety in social situations. Despite precautions that one might take to minimize the cough - rescue inhaler, cough drops, water bottle - it can strike without warning and cause extreme social and emotional distress. It is embarrassing and humiliating when people tell you to
stop coughing! I can't even recall how many embarrassing situations I've encountered when I had an asthma coughing attack. People looked at me like I was committing a major crime
![Eek! :eek: :eek:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Perhaps they'd be more sympathetic towards more typical asthmatics who wheeze and, literally, can't catch their breath. Cough-variant asthma, it seems, is a curse and socially unacceptable.