Cough types of causes. Types of cough: characteristic signs. General treatment includes

Types of cough differ depending on its cause, the location of the pathological focus, the presence of sputum, time of day, duration... It is specific diagnostic sign at various diseases: ARVI, bronchitis, pneumonia, lung cancer... Treatment for each type of cough is different.

Cough, as a reflex, occurs when certain sensitive areas are irritated respiratory tract with a large number of receptors. These zones are localized mainly on the back of the epiglottis, the front of the larynx, around vocal cords, at the level of the main and segmental sections of the bronchi, bifurcation (division of the trachea into bronchi), on the pleura. The smaller the caliber of the bronchi, the fewer receptors. The periphery of the lungs is practically devoid of them.

Acute respiratory infections as the main cause

In the vast majority of cases, acute respiratory infections are the initial cause of damage to the epithelium of the respiratory tract. ARIs include acute respiratory viral infections, the infectious agent of which is exclusively a virus. Any ARVI is characterized by a respiratory syndrome. It manifests itself as a sore throat, sore throat, and a dry to productive cough.

The main culprits of ARVI are influenza viruses, parainfluenza, adenovirus infection. Depending on the pathogen, the types of cough differ. So, with the flu, the tracheal area suffers more. Dry cough, sore throat and chest pain. Parainfluenza affects the larynx more, causing laryngitis. Therefore, the cough of this ARVI is dry, barking, painful, with a sore throat, which is difficult to get rid of.

Characteristic of rhinovirus infection moist cough.

Dry and wet

So, what kind of cough does it depend on the presence of sputum? Productive and unproductive or dry and wet. This division is most important with clinical point vision is fundamental in diagnosing diseases.

A dry cough is a type of cough with the absence of any sputum. It often appears initially, followed by a transition to wet.

A non-productive cough occurs from irritation of the mucous membrane during acute respiratory infections, when exposed to various foreign bodies. It is generally accepted that a cough defense mechanism, which is designed to get rid of germs, dust, and other foreign particles from the respiratory tract. However, it is not always of a protective nature. When infectious agents enter the epithelium of the larynx and trachea, they multiply, irritate, and destroy the epithelium. However, there is no phlegm, which is necessary to remove them from the body. It will appear only later, when the infection reaches the bronchi. Destroyed epithelial cells can no longer impede the flow of air and delay the penetration of infection. Further destruction of the protective epithelium occurs. A sore throat due to damage and inflammation of the mucous membrane causes a dry, intense cough. This contributes to the fact that some of the newly formed viruses with a small amount of mucus spread in the surrounding air, infecting other people.

Dry, painful, “barking”

It is acute respiratory infections that cause more laryngitis. A dry cough is sharp, painful, and can occur suddenly. The inflamed mucous membrane of the larynx and ligaments is red and swollen. It causes constant feeling sore throat. The mucous membrane becomes especially sensitive to any particles, viruses, bacteria that come into contact with it, as well as to the effects of cold.

The lumen of the larynx itself decreases due to swelling of the mucous membrane. This causes a sore throat. Inflammation, decreased lumen and a large number of makes sensitive receptors nonproductive cough With constant irritation in the throat heavy and painful. The temperature is often subfebrile, 37 degrees.

In children, the mucous membrane is characterized by significant looseness, thickness and blood supply. It swells more than in adults, reducing the lumen. May cause false croup, a life-threatening condition. Moreover, it can occur against the background of a slight malaise with a low temperature, about 37 degrees.

Considering that the inflammatory process often affects the vocal cords, hoarseness occurs, even to the point of loss. This state continues for a long time. Timely treatment is important. The use of sputum thinners does not produce results.

This non-productive cough is called a “dry barking cough” for its similarity to a dog barking. It is sharp, with a constant irritating sore throat, with short intervals in which there is barely time to take in air.

In acute respiratory infections, the inflammatory process spreads through the epithelium of the respiratory tract from top to bottom. Damage to the bronchi is characterized by the appearance of a dry cough, which turns into a wet cough after a few days. If left untreated, it can cause pneumonia. Converting a dry cough to a wet one is the goal of treatment.

When the pleura is inflamed (pleurisy), it is extremely painful. The pain is characteristically localized in the chest area. It occurs or intensifies with movement, changing body position, even with a full breath.

The leading symptom is a nonproductive cough with whooping cough. Acute respiratory infections can provoke its appearance. It is strong, lasts a long time, with attacks that can lead to vomiting. With whooping cough, it may be the only symptom. The temperature rarely rises above 37. It is characterized by the absence of a positive effect from treatment with drugs that bring relief for any other etiology.

Its attack occurs during bronchial asthma and can quickly lead to respiratory failure.

Tuberculosis dry cough has its own characteristics. If appeared once, at timely treatment it does not go away for a long time and does not change for several weeks, then it is worth thinking about tuberculosis and the use of specific treatment.

A non-productive cough can be a cause of occupational diseases.

It is called productive because it removes pathological contents from the respiratory tract along with sputum.

There is also an unproductive cough, in which a small amount of sputum is produced, which is not enough to perform its cleansing function. This can be a chronic variant, when the mucous membrane is significantly damaged and not much mucus is produced.

Moist, productive, protective

A cough that produces sputum is considered productive. The type of sputum can suggest the nature of the disease.

With ARVI and bronchitis, a wet cough is the result of the formation of secretions on the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract. This is how the villous epithelium of the respiratory tract mucosa reacts to inflammation, the ingress of foreign particles and infectious agents. After this, the airways are cleared, and the manifestations of ARVI begin to subside.

Sputum can also appear as a result of sweating of blood plasma from blood vessels into the respiratory tract during pulmonary edema. It has a pink tint and a foamy consistency. This cough with sputum without fever is the result of severe heart failure.

Purulent sputum appears in the presence of purulent foci in the lungs (abscess, chronic bronchiectasis), after opening them into the lumen of the bronchi. A severe cough with purulent sputum that persists for a long time indicates the presence of poorly drained infectious foci.

In asthma, the sputum is thick, glassy, ​​may have the appearance of casts of the bronchi, and appears after stopping an attack of dry asthmatic cough. The temperature can rise to 37 or not change at all.

Pneumonia in different stages characterized by different sputum. It may have translucent White color or be rusty, or streaked with blood.

Sputum with blood in small quantities can occur with intense coughing as a result of inflammation and tension of the mucous membrane. In lung cancer with decay phenomena, the appearance of sputum with blood is characteristic.

Even coughing with sputum categorically excludes the use of antitussives. It is necessary to dilute the sputum and use any means that improve its discharge.

A productive cough is much easier for patients to tolerate than a dry cough. It is rarely accompanied by pain, does not last as long, and coughing up sputum brings relief.

A cough with sputum without fever or with high temperatures is possible. The absence of temperature or its slight increase to 37 is characteristic of allergies, occupational contamination of the lungs, chronic pathologies. A high temperature indicates the progression of the infectious process, which may be accompanied by the release of purulent sputum.

Morning and night

In the morning, a cough occurs as a result of the accumulation of sputum while in horizontal position, after which there is a desire to cough it up. Moreover, in the morning this can be due to lung diseases and physiologically. The presence of mites in the pillow and allergic reaction they will also cause coughing at night and in the morning.

Coughing in the morning can be the result of a runny nose and accumulation of mucus in the back of the throat. When a person takes in the morning vertical position, then flowing down and irritating the receptors, sputum causes morning coughing.

Morning chronic cough is typical for smokers who have hypersecretion bronchial mucus. Mostly in the morning, it can accumulate in large quantities overnight.

Chronic cough is also characterized by worsening in the morning.

Coughing

This variety occurs in long-term respiratory tract pathologies.

This chronic cough begins with a characteristic slight sore throat. It is quiet, weak, infrequent, and does not lead to significant attacks. However, coughing may indicate that a chronic cough is developing due to tuberculosis, pharyngitis, and circulatory disorders. Is it possible and how residual cough after suffering pathologies. Coughing often increases in the morning and decreases during the day.

Residual cough

Residual cough is normal occurrence after suffering from acute respiratory infections. This type of cough also appears after untreated respiratory diseases. Most often, after bronchitis. It may also occur after laryngitis, as a result of changes in the mucous membrane and be caused by a feeling of lightness sore throat. In order for the residual cough to go away completely, the use of traditional medicine is recommended.

A cough is a voluntary or involuntary sharp exhalation. It is needed to clear the airways of foreign particles, microorganisms, liquids and mucus. We can all cough at least 1-2 times a day to clear our throat. But this cannot be considered the norm: a cough always signals that something is wrong with us. Because they exist different kinds cough, it can be difficult to diagnose the problem. To pick up correct treatment, you should know when and what to pay attention to.

Why does cough occur?

The most common reasons the occurrence of cough is long stay in the cold and the penetration of harmful microorganisms into the respiratory system. With weakened immunity, they cause increased mucus production in the bronchi. The ciliated epithelium cannot cope with the volume of secretions secreted by the bronchi and reduces the reflex protection of the respiratory tract. Mucus accumulates in the bronchi and an infection develops, which causes inflammation of the airways. The body can no longer clear itself of phlegm on its own, and a cough begins.

Types of cough and what diseases they are typical for

Types of cough in adults can be classified according to several criteria.

By the presence or absence of sputum:

  • Dry appearance, characteristic of tuberculosis, allergies, bronchial asthma, whooping cough, pneumonia, pleurisy and tumors.
  • Wet appearance - occurs with bronchitis, pneumonia, acute respiratory viral infections.

Based on the duration of the cough, cough can be divided into types:

  • acute form - lasts no more than two to three weeks and occurs with a respiratory tract infection;
  • chronic type - lasts longer than 3 weeks, occurs due to mental disorders or long-term use medications, as well as bronchitis.

To understand what kind of cough occurs in children, you need to know its causes, which are very different from the reasons for its appearance in adults. U infants it occurs due to milk entering respiratory system after feeding. When teething, babies produce a lot of saliva, which, if swallowed, can also cause coughing. This type of symptom is not considered a disease and does not need to be treated.

Many people wonder how to determine the type of cough on their own, without medical help. Here are some tips.

Dry

If you and your surroundings do not smoke, are not exposed to chemical irritants, and you have a type of symptom that bothers you for a long time, that is, a cough for no reason, then it signals the development of asthma, reflux esophagitis, heart disease, benign and malignant tumors. This is the main and often the only symptom characteristic of these pathologies.

The dry appearance appears as a result of inflammatory processes in the mucous tissues of the larynx; cough suppressants are used to treat it.

The following types of dry cough are distinguished:

  • Tubercular appearance. Usually strong immunity a person copes with Koch's bacillus on his own, but if he is weakened, the tuberculosis bacterium is activated and affects the lungs and bronchi. The cough impulse in tuberculosis is dry, accompanied by frequent coughing, general weakness and an increase in temperature to 37.5.
  • Allergic type. Caused by overreaction immune system for dust, animal hair, plant pollen, drugs household chemicals. It is characterized by attacks of suffocation, which are provoked by anaphylactic shock.
  • At helminthic infestations. It's incredible, but worms also cause coughing. This happens when the larvae migrate through the bloodstream, due to which they penetrate the lungs, trachea and bronchi. There, irritating cough receptors, they cause bouts of dry cough.
  • For diseases digestive system. This type of cough appears after eating. Due to organic changes such as protrusion of the esophageal wall, reflux esophagitis, fistulas between the esophagus and trachea, pieces of food enter the respiratory passages or are thrown from the stomach into the esophagus.
  • Medicinal type. Usually caused by blood pressure and heart medications.
  • Cough due to cancerous tumors in the lungs, bronchi, trachea and throat.
  • For lesions of mycoplasma and chlamydia, causing wave-like attacks of atypical pneumonia and bronchial pathology.

Wet

It is important to determine what diseases cause cough with sputum in order to correctly diagnose and treat it. This type of symptom develops with seasonal colds, bronchial lesions, pneumonia, bronchial asthma and allergies. After coughing, the temperature rises, shortness of breath appears, appetite decreases, sometimes the sputum is greenish in color and contains blood clots. The wet appearance usually bothers you at night and causes wheezing and chest pain.

The wet appearance occurs due to the fact that a lot of sputum accumulates in the bronchi, so expectorant medications are used to clear it.

Whooping cough

This type is more common in children under 10 years of age, who can get whooping cough (adults rarely get sick). Its presence in adults indicates tuberculosis or pharyngitis in a chronic form.

Cough with whooping cough bothers the child at night. The accumulation of too viscous mucus in the respiratory passages prevents the child from breathing.

The presence of a foreign body in the respiratory tract also causes such suffocation. To push it out you need a strong cough push.

Barking

The barking appearance occurs more often in children than in adults, since the respiratory passages of an adult are much wider than those of a child. Breathing is difficult, hoarseness appears. Debilitating attacks do not help the patient to cough. They are symptoms of ARVI, false croup, whooping cough, laryngitis, diphtheria (a very dangerous disease), and also occur due to the inhalation of small objects by children.

Paroxysmal

Attacks of suffocation, which greatly torment the patient, especially at night, are most often signs of bronchial asthma. The insidiousness of this type of cough is that it is rarely associated with the onset of a serious illness. Only a thorough diagnosis will reveal the real reason seizures.

Staccato

This type develops in newborns and is caused by chlamydia infection of the respiratory tract. It is dry, short, sonorous and sharp. It is not accompanied by an increase in temperature and goes away quickly when the underlying cause of the disease is eliminated.

With loss of consciousness

Bettolepsy is when a person loses consciousness during severe coughing. With prolonged and intense coughing, a spasm of the lungs occurs and intrathoracic pressure rises. This violates cerebral circulation and causes brief fainting, convulsions, amnesia and severe headache.

This type is characteristic of pulmonary emphysema, bronchial asthma and chronic bronchitis.

Other options

IN medical practice There are other, rarer types of cough:

  • The dry psychogenic type manifests itself only in the daytime; by the evening its symptoms subside. At night and during conversation he disappears. It is distinguished by rapid and frequent coughing. The cause is stress. It usually affects children living in families with irritable and restless environments.
  • Residual view. It remains in a person after a sore throat, bronchitis or pneumonia. Due to the fact that the normal function of the mucous membranes respiratory organs recovers for at least a month after illness; during this period they are extremely vulnerable to cold, high humidity, cigarette smoke, and dust.

Diagnostics

Depending on the stage of cough, the patient’s well-being and the course of the disease itself change.

  • On initial stage it is dry, causes headaches, chest pain, and sore throat.
  • At the climax stage, the frequency and number of coughing impulses increase, disturbing even at night. They get loud, they get louder painful sensations in the peritoneum and chest area.
  • During the fading stage, it becomes moist and accompanied by a large amount of mucus, then recovery occurs.

Making a diagnosis begins with collecting anamnesis, prescribing laboratory tests, the results of which can show the following additional examinations: X-ray of the lungs, bronchoscopy, echocardiogram, ultrasound, sputum culture. If necessary, consultations with an ENT specialist, TB specialist, neurologist, or cardiologist may be required.

Why is a dry cough dangerous?

When the first signs of cough appear, we rarely immediately go to the doctor and try to calm it down on our own. If after 2-3 weeks you cannot get rid of the attacks, it means that serious inflammation is developing.

  • A prolonged cough provokes an increase in blood pressure.
  • The cough “descends” into the bronchi, becomes wet, causes wheezing and high fever. Pneumonia develops due to respiratory failure.
  • The sputum becomes thicker, stagnates, and microbes multiply in it.
  • Symptoms lasting more than 3 weeks become chronic disease, it cannot be cured on its own.

Treatment

Types of cough and their treatment are closely related to the cause of the underlying disease:

  • If a person coughs due to hypothermia, home treatments will be enough to get rid of it.
  • If a foreign object gets into the respiratory tract, it is necessary to rinse and rinse the nasopharynx and throat.
  • An allergic type will require the prescription of antihistamines.
  • If the symptom occurs as a result of infection or chemical damage respiratory organs, then treatment will be required medications which can only be carried out by the attending physician.

For any type of cough, the patient needs to drink a lot, eat a balanced diet and ventilate the air in the room.

Medications

If the patient suffers from a dry cough, then drugs are prescribed that suppress the excitation of the cough center. Glauvent, Stoptussin, Tusuprex, Libexin, Codeine will help here. The doctor prescribes the dosage and duration of taking the drug individually.

Do not take cough suppressants at the same time as expectorants or when there is phlegm!

When it is wet, mucolytics are prescribed, which facilitate the discharge of sputum. These include Ambrobene, Ambroxol, Bromhexine, Carbocysteine, Acetylcysteine. These products are incompatible with codeine-containing medications; asthmatics should take them with caution.

Herbal preparations Mukaltin, Tussin, Solutan, Pertusin also dilute sputum and facilitate its evacuation.

No matter how simple a cough may seem, self-medication can lead to serious pathologies. If you do not know the exact cause of its occurrence, choosing medications on your own will only worsen your condition. For example, symptoms may be caused by bronchospasms or pneumonia, and you will need not just products to thin and evacuate mucus, but antispasmodics and antibiotics.

ethnoscience

At the first signs of a cold, you need to start rinsing your mouth and throat with disinfectant solutions:

  • In a warm glass boiled water put 1 tbsp. sea ​​salt and 1 tbsp. baking soda, stir thoroughly until the ingredients are completely dissolved, then gargle. Depending on how you feel, you can do up to 5-7 rinses a day.
  • If a dry cough bothers you, prepare the following healing drink. Mix 1⁄2 cup lemon juice, 2 tbsp. honey, 1 tbsp. glycerin. Shake everything until smooth and take 1 tsp. half an hour before meals 7 times a day.
  • If you have a cough with phlegm, prepare a decoction based on elecampane rhizomes. 1 tbsp. pour a glass of water over the herbs, boil for 15 minutes, then let it brew for 3 hours. Take 1 tbsp of the strained broth. 30 minutes before each meal.
  • To speed up the separation of mucus, you can do inhalations. Boil the potatoes in their jackets, pour the broth into a separate bowl, and, covering your head, breathe in the steam for 10-15 minutes.

Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy is used to speed up recovery. It not only has a local effect on diseased organs, but also strengthens the entire body. Basic physiotherapeutic techniques for cough are as follows.

Breathing adjustments

  • Coachman - a person sits on the edge of a chair, spreads his legs, puts his elbows on his knees, his back should be straight and his gaze directed forward. Breathing is free, without tension.
  • Prayer: you need to get on all fours, put your forearms on the floor, and put your head on your palms. Relax the breathing muscles.
  • You can just lie down to top part the torso was hanging over the edge of the bed. Place your head on your crossed arms.

Massage

For a person suffering from a persistent cough, it is better to have a massage in the evening, for half an hour, with a warming ointment. It relaxes well and speeds up the removal of phlegm. The massage begins with pinching, moving from the spine to the sides. Then they move on to light tapping. Finish with stroking. The spine itself is not massaged.

Other methods

Cough of any kind is annoying and disturbing. Therefore, immediately after its appearance, the question arises - how to treat it.

Sanatorium methods will help cope with severe attacks.

  • For bronchial asthma and chronic pneumonia dry carbon dioxide baths are shown, which eliminate bronchospasms and suppress cough.
  • Normobaric hypoxic therapy or treatment mountain air is the inhalation of gas mixtures with low content oxygen, which increases physical endurance and prevents acute respiratory diseases.
  • Halotherapy is a treatment with special salt aerosols that are sprayed indoors. They purify the air of allergens and microorganisms, normalize the microflora of the respiratory system, and in patients with asthma, reduce the severity of the disease and increase periods of remission.
  • To speed up recovery, the patient is recommended to visit the bathhouse, but only if normal temperature bodies. Bath procedures increase the body's immunity and strengthen lung function.

Prevention

A person needs a cough to clear the airways, but it is better to prevent other types of cough.

  • You will have to quit smoking. Smoking is a source of chronic cough, and it can be very difficult to cure a smoker's cough.
  • Make changes to your diet. People who get plenty of fiber and flavonoids suffer less from chronic type cough.
  • Stay away from those with contagious diseases, wash your hands frequently, and do not share cutlery, towels or pillows.

The cough can often go away on its own. But if it continues for a long time and gets worse, you should still talk to your doctor.

Cough is a natural reflex phenomenon that occurs when the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract is irritated by vapors of substances or foreign bodies. The symptom appears as a defensive reaction in which the respiratory tract is rid of sputum or dust in order to achieve normal breathing.

The symptom manifests itself not only in the form of a dry or wet cough. It also has other characteristics that affect the patient’s condition. Constant cough may occur with pathological processes(pneumonia, ARVI, bronchitis, etc.) and with mechanical damage paths with food, dust or foreign bodies.

Etiology

Many people are interested in the question of how to treat a cough in a child or adult patient. But before looking for therapy, the doctor and the patient need to understand why the symptom arose. A sore throat and cough occur under the influence of various factors, which in medicine are divided into several categories:

  • mechanical - foreign bodies in the respiratory tract, ear canal, enlarged lymph nodes, inflammation of the trachea and bronchi;
  • allergic;
  • chemical - exposure to chemical vapors;
  • thermal - at low temperature.

Often a cough does not go away and may appear again due to the fact that it irritates the cough areas - the posterior wall of the larynx, pleura, branching of the trachea and bronchi.

Cough in children and adults cannot be ignored, since the symptom may manifest itself in more severe form, when the sign already indicates chronic or serious health problems. Before you start treatment folk remedies and medications, doctors need to figure out what illness the symptom indicates.

A cough that is wet, dry or of any other nature indicates the following pathologies:

  • - manifests itself as a dry cough, which develops into a wet one;
  • - barking cough, hoarseness of voice;
  • - rough, can be felt when coughing severe pain;
  • acute bronchitis- severe cough with sputum production;
  • - a painful attack of cough, first dry, and then wet with phlegm;
  • and - attacks at night, when nasal discharge irritates back wall throats.

As for newborns, the reasons for the appearance of symptoms in them differ from adults. Often, a baby’s cough appears after feeding, when milk enters the respiratory tract. Also appears during strong discharge saliva, during teething. Coughing after eating and with excessive salivation is not a pathological process and therefore does not require treatment.

Classification

Based on the nature of cough, clinicians have identified two types of symptoms:

  • - no sputum. It is divided into two forms - accompanied by painful attacks or sore throat, decreased voice volume. And also paroxysmal - characteristic of tracheitis and bronchitis;
  • - accompanied by expectoration, wheezing, heaviness and unpleasant feeling in the chest. Marked at and.

Depending on the duration of the course, a severe cough in a child and an adult can take the following forms:

  • acute - lasts no more than three weeks for infectious diseases;
  • - exceeds the duration acute form for a few weeks. This type of cough occurs with pathology of the bronchi and lungs, with the accumulation of mucus in the nasopharynx, with mental disorders and frequent use of medications.

By frequency we identified:

  • regular - manifests itself in severe attacks, in which a person cannot breathe normally. In a child and an adult, such a cough can lead to vomiting, respiratory arrest and fainting;
  • temporary - a single coughing attack without side effects.

Dry cough

Many people believe that if a cough does not go away for a long time, then this already indicates a pathology, but this is not so. This symptom is a protective reflex in response to various stimuli.

In medicine, it is believed that the dry type of cough is the safest and can be quickly cured. The cough does not manifest itself in the release of mucus or sputum from the lungs. The patient feels only a slight sore throat, as well as other symptoms:

  • barking character;
  • heat;
  • labored breathing;

These unpleasant manifestations not only indicate a developed illness in the body, but also lead to insomnia, headaches and nervous breakdowns. Clinicians argue that a non-productive, that is, dry, attack is more exhausting for the body than the other type.

The treating doctor, before determining how to quickly cure a cough, must determine the cause of the symptom. Quite often, this symptom appears in heavy smokers, but there are other root causes for the appearance of the symptom:

  • respiratory tract infections;
  • allergies;
  • inflammation of the pharyngeal mucosa;
  • pneumonia;
  • inflammation in the trachea;
  • bronchial asthma;
  • tumors.

A child’s cough without fever may manifest itself as a consequence passive smoking. Doctors have long been saying that a person who stands next to a smoker is also exposed to smoke. Therefore, a child may develop a cough that does not go away for a long time and does not indicate the development of pathologies.

Before starting treatment for cough in an adult or child, the patient needs to undergo a series of examinations to establish the exact cause of the appearance. similar symptom. After conducting diagnostics and establishing an accurate diagnosis, the doctor can decide how to quickly cure a cough at home.

With timely initiation of therapy, the patient’s condition immediately improves and obvious symptoms subside. To eliminate cough it is prescribed various methods treatment:

  • use of medications;
  • physiotherapy;
  • inhalation therapy.

Within drug treatment the following drugs are prescribed:

  • antispasmodics;
  • thinning phlegm;
  • dilating bronchi;
  • decongestants;
  • sedatives;
  • antitussives;
  • antibacterial.

If a cough in an infant or an older patient is due to allergies, then the patient is prescribed antihistamines, sorbents and bronchodilators.

Wet cough

To answer the question of how to treat wet cough in a child, the doctor first needs to diagnose this illness in the person. It may be accompanied by the appearance of such a clinic:

  • sudden attacks of coughing;
  • dyspnea;
  • heat;
  • loss of appetite;
  • wheezing;
  • blood in sputum;
  • greenish tint sputum;
  • pain syndrome in the chest;
  • night cough.

Cough and snot, which occur with other symptoms, appear characteristic symptoms such pathologies:

  • and ARVI;
  • bronchitis;
  • pneumonia;
  • bronchial asthma;
  • allergies.

Sputum with this sign is detected in different types. Clinicians have identified 6 main types of mucus:

  • abundant;
  • with a rusty tint;
  • watery;
  • viscous;
  • mixed with blood;
  • purulent.

When a patient has a cough with sputum, the question arises how to cure the cough at home. Only a doctor can give an answer, since treatment for a symptom directly depends on the intensity of the manifestation and type.

During treatment, the patient is allowed to adhere to the following measures:

  • The use of folk remedies is allowed, namely hot tea with lemon, raspberries, honey, lingonberry syrup or hot milk. Each remedy is aimed at thinning sputum;
  • humidify the air regularly.

As for medicines, then doctors prescribe medications that improve the expectorant effect and thin the mucus.

To cure a cough in a 1-year-old child, parents are allowed to massage the chest and back. This effect on the lungs and bronchi improves the discharge of sputum. A coughing baby can also clear his throat on his own. active games. This therapy process is considered much better than taking medications.

It is recommended to treat cough in a child over 3 years old with inhalations. Preference is given to inhalation through a nebulizer. This machine sprays medicinal substance, with which it is filled, and facilitates the delivery of the drug directly to the bronchi. However, before treating children, you should consult a doctor, especially if the child is 2 years old. Otherwise, the child may continue to cough until he vomits for a long time.

When choosing medications for a child, you need to be very careful so that they do not harm the body. In medicine, there are drugs that can treat cough in a 2-year-old child. All these medicines will be based on plant extracts and active ingredients. Also, all medications for children at this age are offered in the form of syrup, which is convenient to take several times a day.

Cough without fever

People are accustomed to the fact that if a person gets sick, his body temperature always rises, his condition worsens, a cough, runny nose and other symptoms appear. However, doctors say that there are pathologies that manifest themselves with a slight increase in grades or, without any increase at all.

Cough without fever occurs with the same pathological processes as described above. However, the patient is not bothered by one of the many symptoms. Cough without fever manifests itself in the following pathologies:

  • cold;
  • allergy;
  • stress;
  • cancer;
  • heart pathology;
  • diseases of the ENT organs;
  • tuberculosis;
  • thyroid diseases.

Quite often, a cough without fever occurs in children who have just had an acute respiratory viral infection. It's connected with high level vulnerability and sensitivity of the respiratory mucosa. What to do in this case? Doctors claim that there is nothing pathological in this process. It is enough for the child to follow all the recommendations of doctors and continue the course of treatment. With such an illness, it is not advisable for children to go to a group, but it is better to sit at home for two or three days in order to finally recover from the infection. Otherwise, the child may develop chronic inflammation or complications.

Cough during pregnancy

During pregnancy, women's bodies become very vulnerable. Therefore, even short contact with sick people can contribute to the disease. A cough is only a symptom of a particular pathology, so if such a symptom is detected, you need to look for the root cause, and not try to get rid of the unpleasant symptom.

If a woman has a symptom due to illness, then it remains topical issue How to treat a cough during pregnancy so as not to harm the baby. The best place to look for an answer is in a doctor's office. To eliminate the symptom, the patient is prescribed gentle syrups, tablets and vitamins. Under no circumstances should a woman be given cupping or mustard plasters, or take hot bath and steam your feet to warm up. You also need to be careful with the dose of vitamin C.

So how to treat cough during pregnancy at home? Despite all the prohibitions that the doctor imposes on treatment, the woman is recommended to undergo simple physiotherapeutic procedures. At home, you can do inhalations with different herbs and gargling.

Doctors do not particularly recommend using it alternative methods treatments, but several options remain available and permitted. At the appointment, the doctor can tell you how to treat a cough with folk remedies and how often they can be used.

For cough treatment it is recommended to use:

  • honey - grind on the chest, make compresses, eat a few teaspoons, add to tea;
  • milk - drink slightly warmed, you can add sage, figs;
  • garlic and onion - chopped vegetables, take one spoon three times a day.

Prevention

To prevent the recurrence of cough, doctors advise what can be done for prevention:

  • There is healthy food;
  • do not smoke and avoid inhalation cigarette smoke;
  • treat illnesses in a timely manner;
  • observe the rules of hygiene;
  • during the cold season, do not overcool.

To get a consultation

We invite doctors

We invite practicing doctors with confirmed medical education for online consultation of site visitors.

Apply now

In order to clearly understand what disease is accompanied by a cough, it is necessary to distinguish between the main types of cough and know him key characteristics. According to duration, they are classified as acute, chronic form, and the intensity is a normal cough, a hysterical cough.

In addition, they are divided according to the presence of secretions: wet, dry. Considerable importance is given to the issue of ascertaining the nature of the secreted sputum, which can be with purulent impurities, with bloody discharge, or watery. Based on the timbre of the cough, a loud, muffled appearance can be distinguished.

The time factor has a significant impact on the accurate diagnosis, and therefore the competent selection of medications. When it occurs: in the morning, in the evening, or as an annoyance throughout the day. The seasonality of cough (spring, winter) is also a weighty argument that should not be discounted when diagnosing. The doctor takes all of the above into account when determining the disease, a sign of which is the cough that is tormenting you.

It is strongly not recommended to do this on your own. Be sure to call a doctor or go to a clinic.

How does a cough occur?

This pathology has a specific development scenario. Conventionally, the process of emergence and development is divided into the following stages:

  1. The infection enters the body through the mouth and nose.
  2. Pathogenic microorganisms (viruses, bacteria) provoke the onset inflammatory process mucous membrane covering the inside of the above-mentioned parts of the face. The following factors contribute to inflammation of the mucous membrane: hypothermia, weakened immunity.
  3. When normal, the “secretory fluid” regularly formed in the bronchi is reliable protector from microscopic dust particles and pathogens. The daily volume of such mucous bronchial secretions can reach 100 ml.
  4. Ciliated epithelium is a layer of corresponding cells with mobile “cilia” located on inner surface respiratory tract. Responsible for the movement of bronchial mucus up the bronchi, towards the pharynx. In other words, it pushes mucous secretions out of the respiratory system. Subsequently, they are quietly swallowed, the person does not feel it at all.
  5. With respiratory disease, there is a sharp increase in mucus formed in the bronchi. The volume of produced bronchial secretions is tens of times higher than the permissible values. Cell activity ciliated epithelium, with the development of the inflammatory process sharply decreases. The upward movement of mucus is inhibited.
  6. Excessive amount of phlegm provokes “congestion” in the bronchi, creating favorable conditions for the proliferation of microbes. Self-cleansing from dust particles and pathogenic microorganisms it becomes impossible, and the body “calls for help” to cough.

Finally, we come to the final stage - the process itself. The chronology of actions is as follows:

  • inhale, cover your mouth
  • respiratory muscles are tense
  • air pressure increases in the lungs

The opening of the glottis forces air to forcefully leave the oral cavity along with sputum. If the symptomatic picture of the disease is limited to one cough, then therapy does not last more than two weeks. The situation is different when a cough does not give rest for a month - an alarming signal from the body about serious health problems than a common cold.

In such a situation, if you have not yet consulted a doctor, you can no longer put off visiting a therapist.

Diseases accompanied by cough

Bronchitis is a cough in which the disease is painful (acute), giving the patient a lot of negative sensations. Initially, in the first days it is dry, but later it becomes wet. As for sputum, during bronchitis it is first watery and then mucous.

Negative signs associated with a cough include a sore throat, pain in the sternum, and difficulty breathing. The combination of the above mentioned signs is a strong argument in favor of suspicion in the patient bronchitis.

Obstructive bronchitis- another form of cough indicates the possibility of this pathology. Long lasting, tiring for the patient, deaf, and exposure to cold air can cause its aggravation.

If the disease is seriously advanced, then sputum with purulent discharge.

Treatment of obstructive bronchitis is not an easy task; it is much more difficult than the fight against ordinary bronchitis. By consulting a doctor in a timely manner, you increase the chances of successful therapy.

For bronchial asthma characterized by a dry type of cough, manifested together with a feeling of tension in the chest.

However, it’s not a cough at all, just dangerous symptom similar disease. The undisputed leader is a sign called suffocation. It is imperative to respond to such a signal from the body, and as quickly as possible.

Pneumonia is a characteristic feature, a constant, hysterical cough. In the chest, on the side of the diseased lung, piercing pain is felt. Sputum secreted with cough, with a “rusty” tint. Full list accompanying symptoms, reveals the criticality of the current situation:

  • the patient experiences significant difficulties with the breathing process (rapid breathing, sometimes with groans)
  • skin around oral cavity takes on a blue tint
  • high fever accompanied by chills
  • pain, very strong, localized in the chest, abdomen

Such an arsenal of symptoms, I think, leaves no doubt that you need to seek help immediately.

Tracheitis - characterized by a dry cough, which is very disturbing at night. In addition, coughing attacks can be provoked take a deep breath, loud crying, changes in air temperature. The sputum discharged has a viscous consistency. It comes off extremely problematically in small quantities.

Pulmonary tuberculosis- initially, a single sign indicating the possible presence of a disease. At first, a dry and obsessive cough is noted, with exacerbations at night. Later, as the disease develops, the type of cough can undergo changes, becoming moist and causing “torment” to the patient.

The sputum is likely to contain bleeding. A person with tuberculosis coughs chronically, the problem is constant.

If you have been unable to cope with your cough problem for several (2-3) weeks, then this is an alarm signal from your body to be seriously wary and a compelling argument for seeking help from a doctor.

Cough treatment methods

To combat dry cough, medications are used to help alleviate the patient’s condition with an incessant, non-productive (without sputum) cough. By suppressing it, they reduce the excitability of the cough center.

These include:

  • glauvent
  • stoptussin
  • broncholithin
  • codeine

The range of indications for which the use of such medicines. In addition to whooping cough, these are pathologies when the cough, due to characteristic features disease does not bring any relief to the patient. For example, .

There are a number of significant contraindications:

  • wet form of cough
  • combined use with sputum thinners

The next group of drugs used to combat cough are mucolytics, making sputum more liquid, watery, and easier to remove. In addition, they have an anti-inflammatory effect, although weak.

IN this group includes the following medications:

  • ambrobene
  • acetylcysteine

There are contraindications: incompatibility with drugs containing codeine, alkaline solutions. In combination with anti-asthma medications (possible increased bronchospasm), take with caution and strictly as prescribed by your doctor.



Random articles

Up