<s>[INST] Hello. My boyfriend has been experiencing a cough for close to two months. There was a time when it got better. A doctor gave him a zpack (and something else) but it didn t help. He has pain in his chest. He has a dark stool. There is nothing in the cough (mucous) I don t think. Any ideas? There is no fever. [/INST] Hello dear, thanks for your question on Chat Doctor. I can understand your boyfriends situation and problem. He is having chronic cough with chest pain. So we need to rule out lung infection (pneumonia) first. Pneumonia can cause pleurisy (inflammation of pleura) and chest pain with coughing is characteristic feature of pleurisy. And pneumonia is the most common cause for pleurisy. So get done chest x-ray first to rule pneumonia. Also get done stool microscopic examination to rule out blood in stool because he is having dark stool. So consult pulmonologist and discuss all these. First diagnose himself and then start appropriate treatment. He may need antibiotic Chat Doctor.  </s>