Why do we cough?
A cough is your body's way of responding when something irritates your throat or airways.
An irritant stimulates nerves that send a message to your brain. The brain then tells muscles in your chest and abdomen to push air out of your lungs to force out the irritant.
An occasional cough is normal and healthy. A cough that persists for several weeks or one that brings up discolored or bloody mucus may indicate a condition that needs medical attention.
Cough is chronic when an adult coughs for 8 weeks or more. In children, this diagnosis is confirmed if the baby cough does not go away even after 4 weeks.
At times, coughing can be very forceful. Prolonged, vigorous coughing can irritate the lungs and cause even more coughing. It is also exhausting and can cause sleeplessness, dizziness or fainting, headaches, urinary incontinence, vomiting, and even broken ribs.
Chronic cough can be cured by diagnosing the underlying cause and with adequate treatment.
Causes
Some common causes of coughs include:
Common causes — acute
- Common cold
- Influenza (flu)
- Inhaling an irritant (such as smoke, dust, chemicals or a foreign body)
- Pneumonia
- Whooping cough
Common causes — chronic
- Allergies
- Asthma (most common in children)
- Bronchitis
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
Others
- Acute sinusitis (nasal and sinus infection)
- Bronchiolitis (especially in young children)
- Chronic sinusitis
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
- Cystic fibrosis
- Emphysema
- Heart failure
- Laryngitis
- Lung cancer
- Tuberculosis etc.
When to see a doctor
Call your doctor if your cough (or your child's cough) doesn't go away after a few weeks or if it also involves any one of these:
- Coughing up thick, greenish-yellow phlegm
- Wheezing
- Experiencing a fever
- Experiencing shortness of breath
- Experiencing fainting
- Experiencing ankle swelling or weight loss
Seek emergency care if you or your child is:
- Choking or vomiting
- Having difficulty breathing or swallowing
- Coughing up bloody or pink-tinged phlegm
- Experiencing chest pain
Source:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/cough/basics/definition/sym-20050846
