Cough is a natural reaction of the body to irritation of the internal membrane of the respiratory system. Each person has experienced coughing in contact with contaminated air or with a cold. As a rule, the symptom disappears after the provocateur of its appearance disappears.
But persistent coughing is a very alarming symptom that requires immediate medical attention and a thorough diagnosis. If the phenomenon does not disappear in 2-3 weeks, there is every reason to suspect the presence of somatic pathology, which can be dangerous to human life and health.
Smoker's cough
As a rule, a persistent cough torments heavy smokers. There is nothing pathological in this phenomenon: when inhaling tobacco smoke, tar and various metals settle on the tissues of the respiratory system. As a result of this, tissues begin to produce mucus, which protects the delicate membranes of organs. But mucus interferes with the natural ventilation of the lungs, so the body tries to get rid of it, pushing it out with air and rhythmic contractions of the chest. This process we call - cough.
Persistent coughing in an adult who is a smoker is treated in one way - giving up addiction. Depending on the smoking experience, it takes from several months to several years for the lungs to clear completely, so the cough will continue after smoking cessation, gradually decreasing.
It is important to note that absolutely all cigarettes, of any lightness and brand, as well as electronic devices for smoking and hookahs, have such a detrimental effect.
Cold
The most common cause of coughing is a cold, that is, an acute respiratory illness. In most cases, coughing occurs after the main symptoms of the disease - sore throat, high body temperature, intoxication have already passed. Thus, a person may already feel healthy, but a constant cough will worsen his overall well-being.
In this case, it is important to fully rely on the attending physician and follow his recommendations. Listening to the lungs through a phonendoscope, the doctor controls the process, preventing inflammation or pleural effusion. If necessary, he can prescribe the patient a fluorography or chest x-ray.
In order to get rid of coughing as soon as possible, it is necessary to keep the chest warm, before going to bed, press it with special warming ointments, drink hot milk, and also take medications prescribed by a doctor.
Throat Cough
Sometimes patients complain of a persistent cough that comes not from the chest, but from the throat. That is, when inhaling air through the nose or through the mouth, an unpleasant tickling sensation arises, followed by a cough.
This happens in smokers, since hot smoke passing through the laryngeal mucosa causes chronic irritation, and the phenomenon is also observed in chronic diseases of the nasopharynx. Tonsillitis, pharyngitis, sinusitis are diseases in which microorganisms that cause inflammation are present on the tissues of the nasopharynx. To protect tissues, the body increases the secretion of mucus, and the body tries to get rid of it by coughing.
Therefore, a constant cough coming from the throat is an occasion to immediately visit an otolaryngologist, pass a smear for culture and undergo the necessary treatment, after which the cough disappears on its own.
Chest cough
If the cough comes from the chest but does not produce sputum, or is excreted in very small amounts, tracheitis can be diagnosed.
Trachea is a section of the respiratory system located between the larynx and bronchi. As a rule, the infection falls on these tissues in a descending line, develops against the background of the presence of tonsillitis, pharyngitis, sinusitis. Sometimes tracheitis occurs as an independent disease, and a constant dry cough is the only symptom of the disease.
When tracheitis, the patient maintains good health. Attacks of severe coughing, irritating the larynx, torment at night, and pass on their own in the morning.
There is a way to differential diagnosis of this disease: the doctor asks the patient to inhale a large amount of air into the lungs, and slowly exhale it. As a rule, in patients with tracheitis, this causes an attack of severe coughing. Also, people suffering from tracheitis can be recognized by the manner of conversation - they try to talk without filling their lungs completely, breathing “half-heartedly”.
Pleurisy
If a strong persistent cough without fever is a sure sign of tracheitis, then a similar clinical picture against a background of elevated body temperature is called pleurisy. Speaking in a language that is understandable to a person far from medicine, pleura is the shell surrounding each lung. It can become inflamed by viruses, bacteria, or allergens.
A constant cough, the causes of which lurk in the inflammatory processes of the pleura, can hardly go unnoticed for a long time. The clinical picture of the pathology is extremely difficult, patients complain of a feeling of chest pain when the diaphragm moves, high temperature.
Diagnosis of the disease includes not only mandatory measures for the treatment of inflammatory processes, but also the collection of pleural fluid for laboratory analysis, tomography of the lungs and even a pleural biopsy. For therapy, it is extremely important to differentiate pathology from other diseases and determine the causative agent of the pathological process.
Tuberculosis
A cough that lasts a long time, coupled with fever, chills, and weight loss with a normal diet is a sure sign that you should be tested for tuberculosis. This can be done using fluorography.
Allergy
An allergic cough can occur for a long time, but in most cases it is periodic seasonal in nature. An exacerbation can occur in spring, when there is a lot of pollen from plants in the air, or in winter, when the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract is irritated under the influence of cold inhaled air.
An allergic cough is a symptom, the elimination of which requires the treatment of allergies directly.
Cough in children
According to statistics, such a problem as persistent cough is more common in a child than in adults. Firstly, the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract in a child is more tender and sensitive, therefore inhaling contaminated air causes a strong cough in it with a greater degree of probability than in an adult under similar conditions.
A constant cough in a child under the age of 2-3 years can be triggered by a small object entering the respiratory tract. Therefore, if the symptom does not fit into the clinical picture of respiratory infections, it is possible to suspect a child inhaling a foreign object, and this fact should be checked using x-rays or endoscopy.
Do not worry if coughing occurs rarely and without sputum in a child - this way the lungs just try to clear themselves of dust and dirt, such a cough can be called physiological. But a constant cough and sore throat are alarming signs that require a doctor's visit, diagnosis and systematic treatment.
How to get rid of a cough?
In order to cure a cough, there are two groups of drugs: the first group eliminates the cause of the cough, the second drowns out the symptom. Often people use only drugs from the second group, but this leads to the fact that the disease, if not cured, becomes chronic.
In order to eliminate a cough, you need to identify what is causing it: a virus, a bacterium, or an allergen. This is done using a blood test and sputum culture from the lungs. Based on the results, the doctor prescribes antibiotics, antiviral or antihistamines to the patient.
But as long as they work, it is necessary to use funds that relieve spasms that cause coughing attacks and remove phlegm.
The duration of treatment and the frequency of taking the drugs per day is determined by the attending physician. For maximum effectiveness, drug treatment can be supplemented with physiotherapy, climatotherapy, and traditional medicine recipes.
ethnoscience
To make an expectorant for coughing at home is not difficult. But for this you need to know about the need for prior consultation with your doctor, remember that herbs have active components, an overdose of which can be dangerous.
When coughing, drinking plenty of fluids is useful, so herbal decoctions are very useful for coughing any etiology. For a decoction, you must choose grass:
- peppermint;
- chamomile;
- coltsfoot.
Before making an expectorant for coughing at home, you need to bring half a liter of water to a boil, add 2 tablespoons of dry grass there, remove the dishes from the fire, cover and insist for two hours.
The order of drinking is different, depending on which herbs are used. As a rule, a drink is consumed three times a day half an hour before a meal. More specific recommendations should be obtained from your doctor.
Thus, persistent coughing and sore throat is an alarming sign that requires medical attention and treatment. Modern medicine is able to effectively treat all diseases, the symptom of which is a cough, so the prognosis is usually good.