Five Common Mistakes in the Treatment of Cough

Cough is an unpleasant symptom, from the collision with which no one is insured. But many mistakenly equate the concepts of “symptom” and “disease”, which sometimes greatly complicates the treatment.

Doctors distinguish several common mistakes that people often make, deciding to self-medicate when coughing.

The first mistake: using the same tools that helped to cope with the cough last time

It is understandable why a person who was helped last time by certain pills, medicine or cough syrup, reflexively reaches for them when the symptom appears again. However, this is a fundamentally wrong tactic, which can at best not affect the health of the patient, and at worst-will affect him only negatively!

What is the reason? The fact that cause cough can be a variety of reasons — but many do not think about it. A person who previously successfully got rid of the cough on their own, quite naturally believes that the tool, which proved effective last time, will help now. But the factors that triggered the disease can be completely different, and an attempt to be treated with the same means will only aggravate the human condition.

In addition, the use of incorrect methods of treatment sometimes leads to the fact that the clinical picture of the disease is erased, and even a qualified doctor has difficulties with the correct diagnosis. Therefore, it is not recommended to use any drugs without medical advice.

The second mistake: self-selection of antibiotics

Most people can be divided into two types in relation to antibiotics: those who consider drugs in this group are very harmful and are not ready to take them even on pain of death, and those who drink antibacterial agents in any incomprehensible situation. But both are wrong.

First, remember: antibiotics should always be prescribed by a doctor. Self-use of drugs from this group is unacceptable, and the reason here is not so much in the mythical danger to health, but in the fact that coughing can banal resist antibiotic therapy.

Antibacterial drugs are drugs that are prescribed when it is known that the cause of the disease are microorganisms sensitive to them. If it is established, for example, that cough caused by a virus or is the result of allergies or any anatomical defect, the effect of antibiotic treatment will not. But if the indications for the use of drugs of this group are revealed, it is not necessary to refuse them in order to prevent the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms into other organs and systems.

What is the danger of self-administration of antibiotics? The fact is that different drugs of this group act on different pathogens. Accordingly, not knowing what the causative agent was having a cough, you can’t choose the medicine. Moreover, the irrational use of antibiotics not only harms the human immune system, destroying the natural microflora, but also contributes to the development of drug resistance in pathogenic strains.

The third mistake: the combination of mucolytics and expectorants with antitussives

Among people who are not associated with medicine, there is a misconception that the means to stimulate the formation and discharge of sputum, can be combined with antitussive drugs to speed up the healing process. This misconception is not only wrong, but also very dangerous for health!

Thanks to mucolytics and expectorants significantly increases the amount of sputum, which should be promptly evacuated (displayed). This can be achieved only if you do not suppress the cough reflex — it is a cough that helps to eliminate sputum. What do antitussives do? Do not allow a person to cough!

Taking antitussives simultaneously with expectorants and mucolytics, the patient with his hands creates an excellent nutrient medium in the lungs for the reproduction of a variety of pathogens. As a result, for example, bronchitis may well turn into severe pneumonia or lead to other infectious complications.

The fourth mistake: maintaining the wrong temperature and humidity in the room

One of the common misconceptions, entrenched in the people, says that the patient’s room should be very warm (and sometimes even hot) and dry. In fact, doctors give the exact opposite recommendations.

If a person suffers from a cough, it is recommended to be in a fairly cool, regularly ventilated room with moist air. The optimum temperature is +18…+23ºC; humidity contributes to thinning and removal of phlegm. If the patient is in a room with very dry air, cough may increase, and sputum becomes more viscous, which adversely affect the General condition.

At this point, perhaps, is attributed the habit to be treated too-hot tea with lots of honey. Drinking should not be scalding. The optimum temperature of tea or other liquid — no more than +40ºC, otherwise you can get a burn of the mucous membranes or provoke increased cough. Consumption of honey, which is a strong natural allergen, it is recommended to limit to 1-2 spoons per day.

The fifth mistake: the use of heating agents in the period of exacerbation and chronic cough

As soon as a child or an adult begins to cough, many immediately insist on carrying out thermal procedures. This is another common mistake that can lead to serious complications in both acute and chronic cough.

It should be known that thermal procedures are contraindicated in tumor, infectious, cardiovascular diseases. If the cough is caused by one of these causes, then warming up can provoke serious complications that will endanger the life and health of the patient.

Coughing is just a symptom, not a disease. And before carrying out any procedures or use of therapeutic agents, it is necessary to establish what disease is caused by its appearance. And only a doctor can do it competently.

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