It is hardly possible to find a person who has never coughed in his life. After all, a cough is an absolutely natural protective reaction of the body. It can appear in contact with any provoking factors, ranging from viruses and bacteria that seek to get inside the body, and ending unsuccessfully swallowed pieces of food that “stand across the throat.”
Why does a person begin to suffer from coughing? What is this unpleasant symptom? And, most importantly, why before starting treatment, it is necessary to consult a doctor?
Why do I get cough
Coughing seems like a simple process if you don’t think about the mechanisms that trigger it. Meanwhile, for the formation of a cough reflex, first mechanical irritation of the respiratory tract should occur, where the cough receptors are located; from them the signal enters the brain, where the cough center is located, which, in turn, triggers a reflex physiological reaction — cough.
What can irritate the respiratory tract? Doctors call the following reasons:
- pathogenic viruses and bacteria trying to settle on mucous membranes for further reproduction;
- allergens: animal hair, household dust, chemical particles, plant pollen and others;
- crumbs, food particles;
- air temperature too low or too high;
- mucous discharge from blocked nasal passages;
- some medicines;
- various abnormalities (esophageal-tracheal fistula, laryngeal cleft, paralysis of the vocal cords and others);
- some diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, among which in the first place is gastroesophageal reflux;
- expressed emotional instability, diseases of the nervous system;
- other irritant.
There is a huge number of causes of cough, ranging from fairly harmless (experience strong emotions, for example) and ending with life — threatening and health-such as cancer or whooping cough.
Varieties of cough
Doctors today use several classifications to determine cough. Pay attention to the strength of the symptom, its duration, character. All these features with careful analysis help to establish a circle of diagnostic search and choose the right treatment.
Strength cough share for coughing and hysterical. This is the simplest classification.
By duration you can select:
- acute cough lasting less than two weeks;
- prolonged, in which the symptom bothers a person from two to four weeks;
- subacute, lasting from four to eight weeks;
- chronic cough, which is characterized by a duration of more than two months.
Acute cough, as a rule, indicates the contact of the body with any infection, which with proper treatment will pass without a trace. In chronic cough, there is reason to assume either a running infectious disease or chronic respiratory tract damage.
It will be important to establish the nature of the cough. By nature, the symptom is divided into:
- dry cough (non-productive)
Usually accompanied by pain in the chest. A characteristic feature is the absence of sputum. Often this type of cough precedes wet, and the goal of the doctor is to transfer a dry cough into a wet one to relieve the patient’s condition.
- wet cough (productive)
The main difference between wet and dry cough-active sputum. Sputum helps the body to get rid of pathogenic viruses or bacteria, remove the allergen from the respiratory tract. Its active selection is aimed at stopping respiratory irritation.
The transition of dry cough to wet indicates that the patient’s condition is improving.
Why do I need a doctor’s advice
Not all people understand why it is necessary to consult a doctor when coughing. After all, this symptom from time to time faces any person — do not run the same every time in the clinic!
However, a person alone can only assume the factors that provoked the appearance of a symptom. It is one thing when a person coughed because of a piece of food stuck in the throat or inhaling air of inadequate temperature, and quite another-if he coughs for a long time. In the first case, the situation can be resolved quickly, it is enough to eliminate the irritant factor. In the second case, the irritant factor is unknown, and it can only be determined by a doctor.
Anyone who encounters a cough should remember that cough is just a symptom, but not a disease! Therefore, you need to find the cause of the symptom, and this can often be done only by a specialist.
Medical care is urgently required in the following cases:
- cough bothers a person for more than 2-3 weeks;
- in addition to the cough, the patient complains of choking, wheezing in the chest, breathing disorders;
- wet cough is accompanied by the release of purulent sputum or sputum with blood veins;
- after prescribing antibiotics cough and temperature do not disappear for 36-48 hours;
- the child suffers from a barking cough that may indicate whooping cough or diphtheria;
- the man complains of severe chest pain when coughing.
How to treat different types of cough
The choice of suitable means for the treatment of cough depends on its nature and cause. Approaches to the treatment of dry and wet cough are radically different, which should be remembered by any patient.
Dry cough
The first thing you need to focus efforts in this case, a translation of dry cough in the wet. To do this, the body should provide a large amount of fluid (you can drink alkaline mineral water, tea with raspberries, lemon, honey, various herbal teas and breast fees). Additional effect have humidification, inhalation and chest massage.
If a person suffers from a dry cough, which can not be translated into wet, in some cases, means are used to suppress the cough reflex. These include:
- drugs of Central action;
- drugs peripheral actions.
Drugs that suppress cough should be prescribed only by a doctor, since they have many contraindications. Only a specialist will be able to assess the feasibility of using antitussive agents in a particular case.
Wet cough
If a person suffers from a wet cough, it is necessary to achieve liquefaction and rapid excretion of sputum. Enhanced drinking regime is recommended to maintain, as a large amount of moisture entering the body, helps to liquefy sputum.
Of medicine give preference to Mucolytics and expectorant means. Mucolytics-dilute sputum, thereby accelerating the process of its removal from the respiratory tract. Expectorants make it easier to cough up.
If you have a cough, you need to direct efforts not only to its relief, but also to identify and eliminate the cause that caused it. Depending on what caused the cough, the doctor may prescribe antiviral drugs, antibiotics, antihistamines. The choice of the most appropriate combination of drugs in a particular case should be made by a specialist, based on additional symptoms and the General condition of the patient, self-treatment can exacerbate the problem.
Cough is an unpleasant symptom, which is often treated lightly. But it could indicate a life-threatening disease! Timely access to a doctor in case of cough will help to protect your health, and sometimes life.