Cough is one of the symptoms that are very easy to get when exposed to polluted living environment, humid air and sudden weather changes, … Not only there, cough is also a warning sign of infection. respiratory diseases that many people are often subjective. So what is a cough? The cause is where and how to treat it in detail in the article below.
Table of Contents
What is a cough?
Coughing is a protective physiological reflex. This type of reflex helps the body clear the airways, expel phlegm, secretions or foreign objects into the respiratory tract to help the respiratory villi work more efficiently.
Cough is not a disease, but a typical symptom of diseases related to breathing, digestion, and some cardiovascular diseases. Usually, a cough occurs when cells in the respiratory tract are stimulated, causing the lungs to push air out of the body.
An acute cough usually lasts less than 3 weeks and should stop or improve significantly within 2 weeks. But if it lasts about 3-8 weeks and shows signs of improvement at the end, it is called a subacute cough. However, if a cough lasts longer than 8 weeks, it is called a chronic cough.
Common types of cough
Cough is an inflamed respiratory condition and often causes conditions such as chest pain, dizziness, fatigue, … However, if this situation progresses, it will lead to common cough diseases such as:
1. Cough with phlegm
A productive cough is a cough that coughs up mucus or phlegm. In it, phlegm is a secretion consisting of mucus, white blood cells. red blood cells and toxins enter the respiratory tract. A cough with phlegm is usually a symptom after a sore throat, sinus infection or stuffy nose, …
This symptom will make the tired person feel heavy in chest, suffocate, have difficulty breathing, … These symptoms will tend to increase with walking and talking. A cough with sputum can be the cause of chronic bronchitis, pneumonia, bronchial asthma, …
Although the disease does not pose a danger to health, if it is not treated completely, it will cause serious complications such as tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, …
2. Ho khan
Dry cough is a cough that doesn’t produce phlegm and often causes an itchy throat. Patients with a dry cough often feel well, have no chest pressure or have difficulty breathing. However, this type of cough can cause hoarseness, loss of voice, swelling in the throat, …
Dry cough is also a symptom of respiratory tract infections, colds, bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, … In addition, air pollution, sudden changes in weather Climate and tobacco also lead to this phenomenon.
The disease is not dangerous, but often lasts for a long time affecting daily life. At the same time, if the disease is not handled in time, it will seriously affect the respiratory tract such as ear infections, pharyngitis, throat cancer, laryngitis, …
3. Coughing up blood
Hemoptysis is a cough that coughs up blood in the respiratory tract, either saliva or bright red blood. Coughing up blood can be a sign of acute and chronic pneumonia or even lung cancer, …
Coughing up blood will show signs of coughing up sputum with fresh blood, the blood gradually increases, making the patient feel chest pain, tired body, loss of appetite, shortness of breath, fever and weight loss. If coughing up a lot of blood, short of breath, tired, the patient should see a doctor for timely treatment and avoid danger to life.
4. Whooping cough
Pertussis is an acute respiratory infection caused by the pertussis virus. This condition manifests itself as a coughing fit, at the end of which there is a hissing sound similar to the screeching of a rooster and is a common disease in children.
If not treated early, the disease can cause dangerous complications such as bronchitis, alveolar rupture, pneumothorax, meningitis or a high risk of death, …
5. Coughing tuberculosis
Tuberculosis is an infection with the tuberculosis bacterium Mycobacterium Tuberculosis spread through the air. Subjects susceptible to tuberculosis are usually people with weak immune systems or people who have been in contact with TB patients, HIV, cancer, diabetes, …
When symptoms of tuberculosis appear, patients need to quickly visit a doctor to avoid long-term progression and can cause serious complications such as: hemoptysis, pulmonary fungal tumors, pleural effusion, pneumothorax, …
6. Chattering
Hoarseness is a condition that causes the patient to become hoarse and lose his voice. The main cause of this condition is usually due to environmental pollution, allergies to weather, viral infections leading to colds, flu, fever and sore throat, …
In addition, choking is also a symptom related to the respiratory system such as asthma, asthma, pharyngitis, laryngitis, …
Cause of cough
There are many causes affecting lung and bronchial irritation leading to coughing phenomenon:
- Viruses and bacteria: The most common cause of coughs is a respiratory infection such as a cold or the flu. This infection can last from a few days to a week, when the patient must use antibiotics to treat it.
- Asthma: Children with a cough can also be the cause of asthma. Coughs caused by asthma often emit a wheezing sound, making it easier to identify the condition.
- Upper respiratory tract inflammation: Cough symptoms are accompanied by the appearance of phlegm and a sore throat can originate from inflammation of the upper respiratory tract such as sinusitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, …
- Lower respiratory tract inflammation: The cause of cough with sputum, sore throat can be related to some diseases such as pneumonia, laryngitis, tuberculosis, cancer, …
- Bronchiectasis: This will irritate and cause early morning coughs, accompanied by a lot of white sputum.
- Bronchitis: People with bronchitis will often have persistent coughing symptoms. The reason is that damaged bronchi irritates the body and produces a cough. For chronic bronchitis, a cough usually lasts up to about 3 months.
- Gastrointestinal diseases: The phenomenon of gastroesophageal reflux esophagitis is also a leading cause of respiratory tract infections. The reflux of the stomach causes stomach acids to move upwards and into the esophagus, irritating the mucosa, leading to a prolonged cough.
- Habitat: Sudden changes in air, especially when it’s cold, cause cold air to accidentally enter the chest cavity. This leads to coughing, irritation in people with asthma, chronic pneumonia and chronic bronchitis.
- Allergies: Irritants that cause coughing from outside the environment can be caused by pollen dust, difficult smoking, pet hair, industrial chemical dust, pollution from vehicle exhaust or low ambient humidity. , …
- Medication side effects: Using certain medications, such as an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, commonly used to treat high blood pressure, and heart disease can cause the rare effect of coughing.
- Other Causes: In addition, cough can also be caused by damage to the larynx, posterior nasal discharge syndrome, bacterial infection that causes pneumonia, pertussis, or health problems. serious such as pulmonary embolism, heart failure, …
Symptoms of cough
Cough can be an acute or chronic cough and is also a sign of many medical conditions. Symptoms associated with this cough include:
- Mild fever, runny nose, and stuffy nose.
- Feeling of chills or fatigue due to flu or cold.
- Body aches.
- Prolonged cough often causes headaches and sore throat pain.
- Coughing up mucus and phlegm.
- Coughing at night disrupts sleep.
These symptoms should go away or improve within 2 weeks. However, if your cough does not go away and is accompanied by some of the following symptoms, you should be diagnosed and treated as soon as:
- High fever, difficulty breathing
- Headache, chest pain
- Drowsiness, loss of consciousness
- Hemoptisi
Commonly used cough remedies
Cough is a non-dangerous symptom, but if these symptoms persist and are accompanied by serious symptoms, it could be a symptom of a serious medical condition. Therefore, when the above symptoms appear, the patient should seek the assistance of a doctor. Here are some treatments to consider:
1. Coughing with Western medicine
Depending on the cough condition, the patient will be prescribed by a doctor to use some of the following drugs:
- Cough-reducing drugs: Neocodion, Codepect, Atussin, Rhumenol, … are groups of drugs with analgesic and inhibitory effects on the respiratory center. This group of drugs mostly contain codeine, so it is only suitable for use in adults and coughs without sputum. The drug is contraindicated in cases of expectorant cough, people with respiratory failure, hgaasp, asthma, children, pregnant and lactating women.
- Antibiotics: Amoxicillin, Roxithromycin, Penicillin, … are capable of destroying and limiting pathogenic bacteria, helping to reduce coughing attacks effectively.
- Expectorants : Acodin, Terpincod, Passedyl, Terpi, … are used to dilute phlegm, increase secretion to easily expel phlegm. Simultaneously helps to protect mucous membranes and eliminate irritants.
- Sputum-suppressing drugs: Patients can use some drugs such as Ambroxol, Acetylcysteine, Bromhexin, Carbocistein and Erdosteine, … to help reduce the consistency of phlegm and remove phlegm. However, the drug can cause some side effects such as chest pain, nausea, dizziness or rash, …
- Anti-inflammatory drugs: help reduce symptoms of swelling, inflammation, sore throat when coughing is prolonged and phlegm. Some drugs can be used such as Ibupprofene, Diclophenac, …
2. Coughing with folk tricks
In addition, for patients with mild coughs, to save costs, you can also take advantage of natural ingredients available at home to make the following remedies to support cough treatment:
- Honey: The composition of honey contains many antibacterial and anti-inflammatory compounds that help replenish nutrients to heal mucosal damage. You can use raw honey or combine with other ingredients like lemon, ginger, apple cider vinegar to fight the symptoms.
- Ginger: Thanks to the active ingredient Gingerols and anti-inflammatory properties, ginger has anti-inflammatory, anti-inflammatory, cough relief and anti-allergic effects. You can cure coughs by: filling ginger with rock sugar, drinking salted ginger tea, drinking ginger juice with fresh lemon and tamarind leaves, …
- Tangerine peel: The ingredients in tangerine peel are used to hydrate, treat cough and circulate blood. You can use 12g of sharp tangerine peel with 200ml of water until half is left. Then add sugar or honey to drink during the day.
- Chives leaves: With the Allicin component, the chives leaves are capable of inhibiting the growth of bacteria, helping to reduce cough and phlegm removal quickly. Patients can use chives in combination with sugar or honey to water and use regularly 2 times a day.
3. Coughing with oriental medicine
In addition to using the above methods, patients can also use some oriental medicine remedies to cure coughs, help purify the body and strengthen resistance such as:
- Cough treatment with Arhat: Thanks to its high anti-inflammatory and antiseptic activity, the Arhat is effective in relieving burning pain and effectively treating cough. The patient can use the arowana fruit with spleen and male saffron to sharpen into medicine, add a little sugar and drink it 3 times a day.
- Curing cough with khau tree: The composition of khau tree cure sore throat, cough for a long time, hoarseness. Just with 10g kha death combined with 12g sand wings, 8g licorice sharp up to make charcoal and used to drink every day.
- Coughing with phytonutrients: The ingredients in cypress are effective in inhibiting reflexes and effectively reducing cough symptoms. The patient uses 12g of walking, 8g of marjoram, 6g of licorice and fresh ginger root to make a medicine ladder, used to drink while still hot.
Effective measures to prevent coughs
Experts believe that cough is an unpleasant symptom and can progress to a chronic disease. Therefore, what you need to do is proactively prevent coughs with the following measures:
- Clean your nose and throat with saline to disinfect, unclog pores and limit coughing attacks.
- Drink plenty of water every day, you can steam to dilute phlegm, mucus.
- Limit exposure to cold and humid air. At the same time, you should keep your body warm in cold weather, especially in the nose, neck and chest.
- Don’t smoke and stay away from smoky areas.
- Wearing a mask helps to avoid inhaling the triggers that irritate the cough.
- Sufficient supplementation of nutrients to enhance the body’s resistance.
- Periodic health examination and early treatment if any.
Hopefully, the above article will help you understand the causes of the cough as well as therapeutic methods to help control the cough effectively. At the same time, if you find yourself having the above signs, you need to quickly visit a doctor to be diagnosed and use appropriate treatment methods.
