Chronic cough medically

Help with cough: Chronic cough clarify

02/25/2014

Even though the winter has not been so severe this year, coughing and hawking are still part of the daily noise around us. In addition to cold and hoarseness cough is one of the typical cold symptoms. But coughing is also part of the symptoms of many other diseases. An expert advises to clarify the cause of chronic cough.

Cough is part of the complaint of many diseases
Although winter was very mild this year, coughing and hawking are often part of everyday noise. Cough is one of the common cold symptoms in addition to cold and hoarseness. However, coughing is also part of the symptoms of many other conditions, such as smoker's cough (COPD), asthma, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases. But what happens when we cough and what can we do about it? Sabine Beck from the Berlin University Hospital Charité, like the „world“ reported.

Most common cause are cold infections
As the general practitioner explained, coughing is a reflex, a reaction that is triggered directly by the brainstem. The body wants to get rid of the disturbing factor in the respiratory tract, such as mucus or a foreign body, as quickly as possible and helps with a sudden breath - the cough. This sensible protective function of the body can be triggered by different irritations of the mucous membrane in the respiratory tract. In five- to forty-year-olds, the most common cause of acute cough is a viral disease in the form of a cold infection. On the other hand, for example, smoking is a chemical stimulus, which also leads to coughing, according to Beck. Even when swallowing or by cold, the mucous membrane is physically irritated. The specialist explained: „Some people always cough when they eat ice cream.“

Medication rarely reduces coughing
However, a serious illness could be behind the cough especially in older patients. „With heart failure, blood also accumulates in the lungs“, so Beck. „Especially if the patients lie flat, this leads to a bad coughing.“ In rare cases, coughing can even lead to complications such as vomiting, headaches and cardiac arrhythmia, according to DEGAM Information (German Society for General Medicine and Family Medicine). As the doctor says, this is rare. As the information goes on to say, drugs used in acute cough, such as a viral infection, rarely affected the duration of coughing. But they could alleviate the symptoms.

Natural home remedies for cough
In addition to conventional medicines, numerous home remedies for cough are available. Basically, it is important to drink a lot, ideally warm water or tea. In addition, various wraps, such as the Quarkwickel, full baths with essential oils as an additive or even inhaling with salt, to relieve the coughing stimulus on. But be careful with the well-known home remedy hot milk with honey. Because milk should only be drunk when the cough is still dry. Once mucus has formed, milk would only increase mucus production and make the cough worse.

Have chronic cough examined
But not all forms of coughing can be alleviated by natural means. Experts urgently recommend antibiotics for bacterial diseases such as pneumonia. Especially for older and weakened patients this is a danger. The doctor should definitely clarify in seniors, if swallowing problems (dysphagia) exist. In that case, swallowing food can cause severe pneumonia. Beck also advises that it is very important for chronic cough to clarify the cause. (Sb)