How to cure a cough

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

More often than not, you just need to wait.

Experts from the British National Health Service (NHS) say that in most cases, the cough goes away on its own within a maximum of 3-4 weeks. The help of a doctor is usually not needed. And if you are irritated by a dry throat and an uncontrollable desire to cough, it is enough to use warm drinks: compote, fruit drink, tea with lemon.

However, not all types of cough respond equally well to home treatments. It's worth figuring out if you can really handle the problem yourself.

What is a cough and where does it come from

Doctors divide cough into two fundamentally different types: acute and chronic.

Acute cough

This type of malaise begins suddenly and usually lasts no more than 2-3 weeks. The most common causes of it are colds, flu, or acute bronchitis. But this cough can be a symptom of more serious infections. For example, whooping cough or pneumonia, as well as life-threatening conditions such as pulmonary embolism, pneumothorax, or congestive heart failure.

Sometimes an acute cough lasts up to 8 weeks, becoming less frequent and quieter.

Chronic cough

They talk about it if the symptoms do not disappear for more than 8 weeks. Experts from the reputable American medical organization Cleveland Clinic list the five most common causes of this condition:

1. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This term denotes a whole group of diseases, the most famous of which are pulmonary emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Patients often have both of these pathologies at once. With COPD, it becomes difficult to breathe and the problem progresses over time.
2. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). This is a disease in which stomach acid regularly enters the esophagus, irritating the walls of the esophagus and causing heartburn.
3. Allergies, chronic colds and sinus infections. In this case, the cause of the prolonged cough is mucus, which constantly flows down the back of the throat.
4. Asthma. With it, the airways become inflamed and swollen, so a person regularly experiences a lack of air and a desire to cough.
5. Taking some medications. For example, ACE inhibitors - these drugs are prescribed for hypertension, heart and kidney failure.

But these are not all reasons. Other conditions, such as tuberculosis, cystic fibrosis, heart disease, and lung tumors, sometimes manifest themselves as chronic coughs. Also, symptoms can be psychogenic, that is, caused by stress.

When to see a doctor

You should go to a therapist immediately if the cough has become chronic. This is necessary for the doctor to rule out the most dangerous diseases - the same COPD, tuberculosis or lung cancer.

An acute cough is considered less dangerous. However, there are symptoms that indicate that you need urgent medical attention. Talk to your doctor or even dial 103 if:

• you cough constantly and heavily and the situation gets worse;
• you obviously feel bad: there is not enough air, your head is spinning, it darkens in your eyes;
• there was chest pain;
• It's difficult to breathe;
• the side of the neck, in the region of the lymph nodes, looks very swollen and hurts when touched.

It is also important to see a doctor as soon as possible if you start to lose weight dramatically against the background of persistent coughing. Or if you have a weakened immune system, say after chemotherapy or as a consequence of diabetes.

How a doctor will treat a cough

To begin with, the physician will try to establish its cause. To do this, he will conduct an examination, ask you about the symptoms, prescribe an examination - a blood test, an X-ray or an ultrasound of the chest.

If any medical condition is found, you will be referred to a specialist, such as a pulmonologist, allergist, or oncologist. Once you have healed or corrected the underlying disorder, the cough will go away on its own.

In about every fifth patient, the cause of chronic cough cannot be established. In this case, therapy is only symptomatic.

If you have an acute form and no danger signs, treatment is not required. Rest and plenty of warm drinks are enough. In some cases, your doctor may recommend medications that make you feel better:

• Antitussives. These are drugs that suppress the cough center in the brain and suppress the reflex. These drugs contain codeine, dextromethorphan or other active ingredients (there are many of them). They are prescribed for dry coughs when there is no phlegm.
• Expectorants (mucolytics). They help to thin phlegm and get rid of it, moving it along the respiratory tract. This group includes medicines with herbal extracts, as well as ambroxol, acetylcysteine. They are prescribed for a wet cough, when there is sputum, but it is not possible to completely clear your throat.

How to relieve a cough at home

Here's what the Mayo Clinic experts recommend.

Eat a spoonful of honey or add it to warm tea

A spoonful of honey at night is a proven remedy that really helps calm coughs and get a good night's sleep.

Just don't give honey to small children. For at least a year, the product is banned: due to the peculiarities of the intestinal microflora, babies may develop a severe form of botulism.

Try lollipops

When you suck on lozenges, salivation increases. Saliva and frequent swallowing will help moisturize your throat and relieve irritation, which will make you cough less.

Monitor the humidity in the room

This is also an important factor in helping to relieve sore throat irritation. The ideal room humidity is 40-60%.

Avoid tobacco smoke

Smoking, including passive smoking - when you have to inhale someone else's cigarette smoke, irritates the throat.

Why you shouldn't self-medicate with cough suppressants

Often in the pharmacy you can hear: "Advise something for a cough." Usually, in such cases, pharmacists offer the two types of drugs already mentioned above: mucolytics and antitussives. However, using them is a bad decision. For two reasons.

1. These drugs do not cure

There is no conclusive evidence that taking such drugs will shorten the duration of the illness or alleviate its acute manifestation.

Antitussives and mucolytics can only slightly alleviate the condition - just like rest, humidified air and plenty of drink do.

2. These drugs can harm

Imagine that someone decided that he had a dry (but in fact does not) cough with ARVI, and took a pill. The cough stopped, but sputum stopped coming out along with it, even if there was not much of it. The mucus remained in the respiratory tract, bacteria began to multiply in it. This means that the risk of bronchitis and pneumonia increased.

Or another case: with a wet version, a person began to take expectorants. They made the sputum runny, its amount increased, which means that the cough became more frequent and more difficult.

Both antitussives and expectorants can be used as symptomatic therapy while the doctor is looking for the cause of the painful condition. However, it is unacceptable to assign them to yourself.

This material was first published in October 2018. In September 2021, we updated the text.