Contents:
- Medical Video: Cold & Flu Treatments : How to Treat a Cough Without Medicine
- What is a chronic cough?
- Why doesn't the cough heal?
- 1. Asthma and allergies
- 2. Increased gastric acid (GERD)
- 3. Respiratory tract infections
- 4. Air pollution
- 5. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- 6. Acute bronchitis
- 7. Pertussis
Medical Video: Cold & Flu Treatments : How to Treat a Cough Without Medicine
When you have a cough, you can expect the cough medicine you take to help relieve symptoms. Instead of making you better, sometimes coughing gets worse and feels torturous. If the cough doesn't heal too for more than eight weeks, then this means you have a chronic cough. So, what are the causes of chronic cough?
What is a chronic cough?
An American Lung Association chief medical officer, Norman H. Edelman, MD, revealed to Health that the cough will usually heal within four weeks. However, your body will usually feel better and recover after 7-9 days.
If the cough does not heal too and lasts more than eight weeks, then this is a sign that you have a chronic cough. Coughing in a child can be classified as a chronic cough if it occurs for four weeks. This type of cough is one of the five most common complaints for someone to see a doctor.
Why doesn't the cough heal?
Most cases of chronic cough are experienced by active smokers. On the other hand, this condition can also be experienced by those who do not smoke in their daily lives, both men and women of any age.
In addition to smoking, the cause of coughing does not heal aka chronic cough can also be caused by the following conditions.
1. Asthma and allergies
Asthma is a condition of chronic inflammation and swelling in the airways in the lungs. Besides being characterized by shortness of breath, coughing does not heal can also be a sign that you have asthma, usually often appearing at night.
You may be confused when determining whether your chronic cough is due to asthma or not. How to distinguish this like this: If your cough gets worse when you touch animal hair, breathe pollen or dust, then your cough is most likely caused by allergies or asthma.
2. Increased gastric acid (GERD)
Cough that doesn't heal can also be a sign that you have GERD. GERD itself is a condition that occurs when stomach acid rises into the esophagus and causes irritation.
Typical symptoms of increased stomach acid due to GERD are generally characterized by the appearance of a burning sensation in the chest (heartburn) Not only that, coughing does not heal can also be a result of increased stomach acid. GERD is even one of the most common causes of chronic cough, but unfortunately there is no known cause to date.
3. Respiratory tract infections
When you have a cold, flu, or other respiratory infections, you may also experience a cough. The entry of the virus that causes cough can also cause nasal congestion and fever for several days.
When fever and runny nose begin to decrease, sometimes the cough still exists and does not heal. This may occur because the airways in your lungs are still inflamed. This condition is called postnasal drip.
4. Air pollution
The entry of pollutants and chemicals in the air can be the mastermind of why the cough does not heal too, aka chronic cough. In fact, exposure to smoke in just a few seconds can immediately trigger coughing, itchy nose, lung irritation, to aggravate the symptoms of allergies or asthma.
5. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most common causes of chronic cough. COPD is a disease that causes the lungs to produce excessive mucus.
As a result, the body will try to clean the slime with a cough reflex. Over time, lung tissue damage due to COPD also makes sufferers experience shortness of breath at the same time.
6. Acute bronchitis
Coughing does not heal for weeks may signal acute bronchitis. This disease, also known as flu in the chest, results from inflammation and swelling of the respiratory tract located in the lungs.
In addition to coughing, symptoms of acute bronchitis are also characterized by fever, chills, sore throat, which are all similar to the symptoms of the common cold. These symptoms usually disappear within a few days, but unfortunately you may experience persistent coughing for weeks.
7. Pertussis
Commonly known as whooping cough, pertussis is a respiratory disease that is highly contagious through the mouth and nose. Whooping cough is usually characterized by a severe cough that doesn't heal for weeks to cause difficulty breathing.
When trying to catch his breath, a distinctive high-pitched breath will be heard. The chest feels tight and is accompanied by a severe cough that does not heal.
