Coughing is a symptom familiar to everyone. And most often it appears or becomes especially strong in the evening or at night. People habitually associate an unpleasant symptom with problems in the bronchi or lungs, but, as practice shows, the causes of night cough in a child or in an adult, they may be hidden not only in pulmonological diseases, but also in disorders of the digestive tract or in pathologies of the cardiovascular system.
What diseases can cause attacks of nocturnal cough, we will discuss in this article.
Why does a cough get strong at night?
You probably paid attention to the fact that if in the daytime a sick child or an adult only coughs up a little, then at night this symptom turns into a painful process, depriving sleep and rest. Why is this so? What happens to the body at night?
It turns out that night attacks of cough are provoked by the horizontal position of the patient, and also often in the same position. This leads to the fact that the mucus, which continues to accumulate, slowly flows down the back of the throat. Which, in turn, causes irritation of the mucous membrane and causes a cough.
In the supine position, sputum, in addition, tends to stagnate, and this provokes a cough push. Such shocks, by the way, are reflex in nature and contribute to getting rid of pathogenic microorganisms that have accumulated in the airways.
But, in addition, a night cough can provoke dry air in the bedroom (especially during the heating season) - it also irritates the mucous membranes, causing an acute desire to cough.
The baby's teeth are being cut
A night coughing fit in a child, by the way, can sometimes be explained not by a disease, but by a physiological process. For example, the fact that the baby’s teeth are cut.
The fact is that in such cases, the crumb significantly increases the production of saliva, and he simply is not always able to swallow it all. This is especially difficult in a dream, which leads to her getting into the respiratory tract and causes coughing attacks at night, which so frighten mothers. But as soon as the process of teething is completed, the alarming symptom will also stop.
Respiratory viral infection
But the accompanying ARVI night coughing attack in a child or in an adult is perhaps the most common phenomenon. And this usually lasts up to three weeks. And in some (especially in debilitated patients) a viral cough occurs several times a year, which makes it close to relatives that the patient coughs almost constantly.
And it should be noted that with a viral infection, this symptom is usually not single. Weakness, soreness or sore throat, runny nose, fever and other signs known to everyone join him.
In the initial stages of this disease, coughing is fairly easy to handle. To do this, you should only consult a doctor.
Cough for sinusitis, laryngitis and adenoids
The causes of nocturnal cough in adults and children may lie in sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses). By the way, in these cases, he sometimes acts as the only sign of the chronic form of the named disease, so it is very important not to take the symptom that occurs every night lightly.
A cough also accompanies an inflammatory process on the mucous membrane of the larynx, called laryngitis. At the onset of the disease, it is usually strong, dry and barking, but over time, the patient develops sputum discharge. Such a cough at night is especially painful. It is usually accompanied by sore throat, hoarseness, weakness, and headache. And, by the way, a dry night cough in a child, from which he wakes up all in sweat and suffocates, may indicate a serious form of acute laryngitis - false croup.
With adenoids, nocturnal cough is not a typical sign, but it is still quite common. And it occurs, as a rule, with the growth of lymphoid tissue to the 2nd and 3rd degree, which causes irritation of the nerve endings located in the pharynx and nasopharynx. That is, in cases where the disease is already taking a fairly serious form.
Timely appeal to the ENT in all these cases will help to establish the diagnosis correctly, and along with the elimination of the cause, the cough will also pass.
Allergies are a common cause of coughing
An equally common cause of coughing in children and adults is allergies. And in the vast majority of cases, this symptom is one of the first manifestations of this pathology, and then a runny nose, lacrimation and sore throat can join the cough. By the way, with allergies, it very often appears for the first time just at night.
It is impossible not to mention that one of the characteristic features of an allergic cough is its spontaneity and unproductiveness: the patient coughs suddenly, for no apparent reason, cannot cough for a long time, he does not have sputum, and the cough itself does not bring a sense of relief.
Therefore, a repeating nightly dry cough, the reasons for which are difficult to explain, should alert and force to urgently see a doctor, since an allergic reaction in a patient can serve as the beginning of the development of bronchial asthma.
Bronchial asthma also has a cough
A sign of the onset of bronchial asthma may also be a dry night cough in a child or adult. Such a cough persecutes the patient not only at night, but also with any physical effort.
By the way, in addition to the classic form of this disease, there is also coughing asthma. And for her, symptoms in the form of shortness of breath or wheezing are not characteristic. As a rule, it manifests itself only as a chronic cough, lasting about 2 months, which, in the absence of treatment, gradually acquires the well-known signs of asthma: shortness of breath, whistles and wheezing in its process, chest tightness, profuse sweating and bouts of fear.
By the way, it is very important not to miss the initial stage of this disease and consult a doctor in time, which will greatly facilitate the course of the disease.
Heart cough
The causes of night cough in a child or adult may also be due to heart problems. Most of these pathologies lead to the fact that the named organ ceases to cope with the function assigned to it for pumping the required volume of blood. Because of this, it can stagnate in the lungs. The mucous membrane covering the airways swells, which leads to a cough reflex. As a rule, the described symptom is most pronounced in a horizontal position, at night, and is accompanied by a feeling of lack of air, suffocation and shortness of breath.
Such a cough disappears only after eliminating heart failure.
Causes of nocturnal cough in a child and adult: gastroesophageal reflux
With gastroesophageal reflux, relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter is observed, which may be accompanied by the penetration of the contents of the stomach back into the esophagus.
Most often, this is a normal physiological phenomenon, which helps to release the stomach from the air swallowed during eating. But if the functioning of the said sphincter is impaired, a pathological form of reflux develops, in which the outbursts become more frequent, and the contents of the stomach eventually cause irritation or even ulceration of the esophagus mucosa. In some cases, reflux is so strong that it can even damage lung tissue.
All these phenomena are accompanied by heartburn, sour taste in the mouth and dry cough, which is especially intensified at night.
Ascaridosis in the early (migratory) phase
Nighttime coughing can also be a symptom of the initial form of ascariasis. When infected with these helminths, at the beginning of the development of the disease, the most characteristic sign is a dry or phlegm cough, as well as complaints of shortness of breath and chest pain. Upon examination, such a patient listens to dry or wet rales, and on the radiograph, areas of infiltration (inflammation) up to 4 cm in size are distinguished, which change their location due to the movement of roundworm larvae. These foci usually disappear after 5 days, but can last about a month.
In addition to the aforementioned symptom, the disease is also accompanied by an increase in the blood of eosinophils (cells that are part of the leukocyte group and perform protective functions).
Adult cough at night: the reasons lie in smoking
People who often smoke a lot have a lot of reasons for coughing. The cells of the mucous surface of the respiratory tract cannot cope with the withdrawal of accumulated mucus, smokers have frequent bronchitis and a high risk of lung cancer.
Because of all of the above, fans who smoke a cigarette or two have a cough in the morning and night. The accumulation of mucus causes a reflex desire to cough up when changing posture during sleep or when getting out of bed in the morning. This cough is accompanied, as a rule, by the discharge of thick sputum and can cause a lot of trouble.
If this habit has not led to a chronic illness, then simply quitting smoking will get rid of the exhausting symptom.
Night cough is serious
As you can see, the causes of nocturnal cough in a child or in an adult can be very diverse. Infections, inflammatory diseases, cardiovascular pathologies, gastrointestinal problems, allergic reactions, and even bad habits - this is an incomplete list of phenomena that can cause a night cough in a person.
It is clear that only this symptom will not be able to accurately indicate what exactly is happening in the patient’s body, so it is very important to monitor if there are any associated manifestations, and it is imperative to be examined by a doctor. Only in this case, the treatment of night cough will be successful, and you or your child will get rid of the painful symptom that does not allow sleep. Be healthy!