Cough Causes And Symptoms
A cough is a sudden and often repetitively occurring, protective reflex, which helps to clear the large breathing passages from fluids, irritants, foreign particles and microbes. A Infection is a surprising and frequently repetitively happening, protective reflex, which will help to clear the huge breathing passages out of fluids, including irritants, foreign particles and germs. The cough reflex is made up of 3 stages: a inhalation, a driven exhalation from a closed glottis, along with also a violent release of air in the lungs after opening of the glottis, usually accompanied by a unique sound. Coughing is either voluntary or involuntary.
Frequent coughing usually suggests the existence of a disorder. Most viruses and germs gain, from an evolutionary standpoint, by inducing the host to cough, that will help to spread the disease into new hosts. The majority of the time, intermittent coughing is due to a respiratory tract disease but may also be actuated by choking, smoking, air pollution, asthma, gastroesophageal reflux disease, post-nasal trickle, chronic bronchitis, lung cysts, heart failure and drugs like ACE inhibitors.
While an occasional cough is normal, a cough that persists may be a sign of a medical problem.
A cough is considered “acute” if it lasts less than three weeks. It is considered “chronic” if it lasts longer than eight weeks (four weeks in children).
Treatment must aim the cause; as an instance, smoking cessation or quitting ACE inhibitors. Cough suppressants like codeine or dextromethorphan are often prescribed, but are proven to have little impact. Other treatment options could aim airway inflammation or might encourage mucus expectoration. Since it’s a natural protective reflex, suppressing the cough reflex may have harmful consequences, especially when the cough is effective.
Cough causes
Common causes — acute
- Common cold
- Influenza
- Inhaling an irritant
- Strained or pulled abdominal muscle
- Whooping cough
Common causes — chronic
- Allergies
- Asthma (most common in children)
- Bronchitis
- Gastroesophagal reflux diseas (GERD)(gastroesophageal reflux disease)
- Postnasal drip
Treatment
The treatment of a cough in children is based on the underlying cause. In children half of cases go away without treatment in 10 days and 90% in 25 days.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics the use of cough medicine to relieve cough symptoms is supported by little evidence and thus not recommended for treating cough symptoms in children. There is tentative evidence that the use of honey is better than no treatment or diphenhydramine in decreasing coughing. It does not alleviate coughing to the same extent as dextromethorphan. A trial of antibiotics or inhaled corticosteroids may be tried in children with a chronic cough in an attempt to treat protracted bacterial bronchitis or asthma respectively.
