In daily life, if the cough is not serious, everyone will feel that it will be over. Even some patients cough more serious, will also think that this “minor illness”, buy some cough medicine to eat, there is no need to go to the hospital, there is no need to investigate the reasons. Is that really the case?
What are the causes of cough?
Cough is very common in clinic. According to statistics, 30% to 40% of the patients in the respiratory department are treated with cough as the first symptom. Then there are many causes of cough:
First, respiratory tract infection. For example, viral infection, bacterial infection, and some special pathogenic bacteria, such as parasitic infection, can cause cough, and respiratory tract infection is the main cause of cough.
Second, asthma. Asthma is caused by external inhalations that stimulate the airway, causing airway hyperresponsiveness, and the cough it causes is often severe.
Third, food allergies, especially seafood allergies. There are also very few patients who are allergic to rice and eggs, which can also cause cough.
Fourth, side effects of drugs. Special antihypertensive drugs, such as captopril, and some arrhythmic drugs, such as propranolol hydrochloride, can sometimes induce cough.
Fifth, mental factors. It can cause bronchospasm in a particularly tense situation, thus inducing cough.
Sixth, sports. Some children or adults have a particularly severe cough after exercise, which may also be due to exercise-induced bronchospasm. Seventh, because there are some secretions in the upper respiratory tract choking into the trachea, it can also cause cough. Especially if there is rhinitis, runny nose, sneezing, throat secretions, or more oral secretions in the elderly, inhalation into the trachea can also cause cough.
Eighth, gastroesophageal reflux. It is because of poor gastrointestinal function, food or gastric acid reflux to the pharynx, it will pass through the glottis, inhaling into the trachea can also cause cough. Some patients are due to airway lesions, such as endobronchial tuberculosis, bronchiectasis, pneumonia and so on, which are the causes of cough.
How to treat cough? Do you want to use cough medicine?
If it is a mild cough, occasional cough, and there is an obvious cause, when the cause is removed, the cough will soon stop, this situation does not require any medication. If it is a long-term, more serious cough, we must seek treatment, but the premise of seeking treatment is to identify the cause, and then treat the cause, this is the first. The second is to take symptomatic treatment. For cough, there are many kinds of antitussive drugs, some of which play an antitussive role by inhibiting the central nervous system. Others play an antitussive role by inhibiting various pathways of cough reflex.
Those who need to remind everybody is, if be dry cough, we can use a few antitussive, if phlegmy much word, do not use antitussive below general circumstance. Because cough is a protective measure, through cough can discharge airway secretions, foreign bodies and so on, if the use of antitussive drugs play an antitussive role, sputum can not cough out, but may aggravate the condition.
What circumstance does cough need to use antiphlogistic?
The antiphlogistic drug that we say at ordinary times, it is to point to antibiotic actually, with or without, should see the specific reason that causes cough is what.
If the cough is caused by bacterial infection, antibiotics should be used. If the cough is caused by viral infection, in principle, antibiotics should not be used. For example, the common cold caused by viral infection, simple sore throat, a little runny nose, sneezing, white blood cells are not high, in this case, antibiotics are ineffective. If we judge that there is a bacterial infection, we need to use antibiotics. Of course, as we mentioned earlier, there are many other causes of cough, such as asthma, food allergies, drug side effects and so on. These patients should not use antibiotics. Therefore, cough, do not blindly use antibiotics, should actively identify the causes, according to the actual situation and then choose medication.
What are the serious consequences of long-term severe cough?
As far as cough itself is concerned, it is a self-protection measure of our body, but long-term severe cough can cause serious consequences. The first is hemoptysis. Because severe cough may cause the rupture of small blood vessels on the bronchial mucosa, it will cause hemoptysis. Followed by syncope. Some patients have a particularly severe cough, which can cause fainting. Although they may wake up in a few seconds after fainting, they may be accompanied by serious falls in the process of fainting, which should also be noted. In addition, some elderly people have underlying lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which can be complicated by pneumothorax and sudden wheezing. As an acute symptom, this situation should arouse our attention. Some patients will have hoarseness and even sore throat. At the same time, cough itself can also cause increased mental stress, poor rest and so on, which will also have a certain impact on our normal life. Therefore, cough is not as simple as we imagine, we must seek medical treatment in time, not blindly medication.