What can we do at home for cough to help?
Simple measures that can be taken at home when cough first starts are as follows:
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First of all, you need to drink plenty of warm water. The best treatment to soften the secretions is to drink plenty of water, but it is appropriate to drink warm water, not cold. At least two cups of warm water per day, more if possible, is recommended.
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If the cough increases at night - which may increase due to postnasal drip, especially when you first lie down - the head of the bed should be elevated, and if necessary, sleep with two pillows.
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The nose must be kept open. If the nose remains blocked, breathing will be done through the mouth and the throat will dry out and the cough will increase further.
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If the person who is coughing smokes, it is appropriate not to smoke, if not, it is appropriate not to smoke near him and to stay away from all kinds of pungent odors during this period.
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Again, heavy exertion may trigger cough, the patient with cough should avoid heavy exertion.
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If the cause of cough is reflux, precautions should be taken. If the diagnosis has already been made, the physician should be informed and the treatment should be reviewed.
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If the cough exceeds 2 weeks after URTI and/or increases, a physician should be consulted.
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It is not appropriate for the patient to use cough suppressants on his own; they must be used under the supervision of a physician. Moreover, nowadays, the areas of use of cough suppressants are very limited, and it is preferred to treat the cause rather than stopping the cough.
How is cough treated?
How is cough treated? strong>
Cough will only go away if treatment is directed towards the cause. Tickle cough due to asthma If there is a rash, it is useless to use antibiotics and cough syrups, as we often encounter. What needs to be done is to organize and monitor the treatment according to the level of asthma, in line with the recommendations of a pulmonologist. In the presence of cough due to reflux, the patient should be referred to gastroenterology and treated after necessary examinations and follow-up should be carried out by a specialist physician. It is also important to inform the patient about nutrition. It may also be the blood pressure medication used by the patient that causes the cough, in which case the cough will stop by changing the medication. However, sometimes the cough may persist for up to 3 months after discontinuation of treatment, and the patient should be informed about this. In the case of interstitial fibrosis, where there is loss of stretching in the lungs, the necessary treatment should be applied under the supervision of a pulmonologist. Again, if the cough due to postnasal drip is allergic, it would be appropriate to treat the cause in terms of allergy, and to plan surgical treatment with ENT intervention in the presence of a condition that requires surgery, such as bone curvature. Sometimes we may encounter coughs that are not due to a physical cause, which we call psychogenic cough. After all other causes have been ruled out, that is, if the patient's wheezing cough continues even though the patient's examination findings, chest X-ray, respiratory function tests, ENT examination, and evaluation for reflux do not reveal any pathology, and if the patient's history suggests psychic cough, it is useful to request psychiatric consultation in these cases.
When should we go to the doctor if we are coughing?
If there is phlegm along with the cough and the sputum is yellow-green and thick in consistency, If there is a fever, we must go to the doctor. Because pneumonia should not be overlooked, the doctor The patient's lower respiratory tract should also be examined. If bloody sputum is produced along with cough, we should consult a pulmonologist immediately. This may be a simple nosebleed or bleeding due to postnasal drip after sinusitis, or it may be due to a much more serious cause. There may be a tumor mass in the lung or tuberculosis, that is, tuberculosis or bronchiectasis or pulmonary embolism, which is a clot in the lung vessel, and all of these situations require very serious treatment. Apart from this, any long-lasting cough should be investigated. In case of cough lasting more than 2 weeks, a doctor should be consulted. Bronchial hyperreactivity - airway edema - that develops after viral URTI may cause a long-lasting dry cough, or the only symptom of mild asthma may be a long-lasting cough. Again, in the condition that causes loss of elasticity in the lungs, which we call interstitial fibrosis, there is a long-term cough and in the early stages it is only seen during exertion. In other words, if there is cough with exertion, a physician should be consulted. In summary, cough can be a symptom of many serious illnesses, and long-term cough should be investigated.
What are the causes of cough?
Cough can occur due to various reasons. may originate. In order to determine the cause of the cough, it is important to take a detailed history, the duration and character of the cough - that is, whether it is phlegmy or not. In addition, factors that trigger cough and accompanying complaints should be known. All this information is evaluated and the cause of the cough is tried to be determined.
*Cold - although it is the most common cause of cough, it usually gets better in a short time.
* Asthma- The most common cause of long-term cough is asthma. sometimes subordinate The early symptom of my illness is a persistent cough and the patient has no other complaints. Especially if there is a dry cough complaint lasting more than 3 weeks, the patient should apply to the chest diseases department and be evaluated for asthma, examined and respiratory function test performed. Cough being triggered by strong odors, cold weather and exertion are symptoms that support asthma. Again, cough that increases at night should bring asthma disease to mind.
*Nasal drip due to conditions such as chronic sinusitis and allergic rhinitis in the upper respiratory tract, which we call chronic upper airway cough syndrome, can cause a dry cough. can open. It is a condition mostly seen in allergy patients.
*Gastroesophageal reflux – GER is the cause in a significant portion of patients suffering from chronic cough. The cough usually starts a few hours after eating. Sometimes it may occur after going to bed at night. Cough may be accompanied by heartburn, sourness in the stomach, bitter water coming into the mouth, a burning sensation in the chest, and hoarseness.
*It has been determined that 50-90% of asthma patients have reflux. In other words, reflux is more common than normal in people with asthma. This is because asthma relaxes the muscles surrounding the head of the stomach. In this case, it becomes easier for the acidic content in the stomach to escape into the esophagus. In addition, nowadays air pollution, additives, GMO foods, etc. For many reasons, the incidence of allergies and asthma is increasing all over the world. For this reason, especially the association of asthma and reflux should not be overlooked.
*Smoking
*Tuberculosis, that is, tuberculosis, in our country in 2010 16,500 registered tuberculosis patients were identified. Symptoms of tuberculosis include fever, especially in the evening, night sweats, weight loss, loss of appetite. It is fatigue and fatigue. Cough lasting more than two weeks, expectoration, coughing up varying amounts of blood, chest pain and shortness of breath. Complaints usually start mildly and progress slowly. Patients may attribute these complaints to other reasons and visit the doctor late. For this reason, it is important to evaluate coughing patients, especially those with a history of tuberculosis in their relatives. In-house contacts of these patients are screened in VSDs, but there is no problem in the screening and it is important to be more vigilant for patients who have complaints afterwards.
*Diffuse interstitial lung disease, that is, loss of elasticity in the lungs, fibrosis.
*ACE inhibitor blood pressure medications
*Pleura-lung membrane diseases
*Mediastinal diseases
*External ear canal diseases
*Psychogenic
Is cough contagious?
If the cough is caused by an infection, it may also occur in surrounding individuals as the infection spreads. This is due to the transmission of the infection, not the transmission of the cough. Especially children, the elderly, individuals with allergies, those with chronic lung, heart and kidney disease, diabetics, immunosuppressed individuals receiving chemotherapy and radiotherapy are more susceptible to epidemics during the winter months, as they are more sensitive to all kinds of infections, especially respiratory tract viral and bacterial infections. Therefore, cough complaints may also occur. Again, since tuberculosis is contagious, people infected with this disease also have a cough.
DRY COUGH AND ITS TREATMENT**
Dry cough. How is it treated?
Treatment of dry cough should be directed towards the cause. The main causes of dry cough are asthma, postnasal drip and reflux due to upper respiratory tract problems. In the presence of dry cough due to asthma, treatment should be arranged according to the level of asthma, and the required dose of bronchodilators and anti-inflammatory drugs should be given. In addition, the patient should be informed about the disease and the details of the treatment, and he should be ensured to use his medications for the required time and dose. Again, if the dry cough due to postnasal drip is allergic, the cause should be treated in terms of allergy. If the results of allergy tests and the patient's age, respiratory tests and other clinical findings are suitable for vaccine treatment, which we call immunotherapy, the patient should be given immunotherapy, that is, vaccine treatment. In the presence of chronic sinusitis, long-term antibiotic treatment under the supervision of an ear, nose and throat specialist; In the presence of a condition requiring surgical operation such as intranasal polyp or curvature of the nasal bone, it would be appropriate to plan surgical treatment with ENT intervention. If there is a dry cough due to reflux, the patient should be referred to gastroenterology, and if necessary, endoscopy should be performed and treatment should be arranged. It is also important to inform the patient about nutrition. Sometimes, it is the blood pressure medication used by the patient that causes the dry cough. In this case, changing the medication will be sufficient to improve the cough. Sometimes we may encounter coughs that are not due to a physical cause, which we call psychogenic cough. If no other physiological reason can be found to explain the dry cough after all other causes have been excluded and the patient's history suggests psychic cough, it is appropriate to request psychiatric consultation in these cases.
What causes dry cough?
Cough is a mechanical defense barrier that prevents the intake of foreign and harmful objects into the respiratory system and protects the lungs by removing excess secretions from the airways. A cough defined as dry cough is a type of cough in which sputum does not come out or only slightly sticky sputum can be expelled by force. It usually comes in attacks and is a cough that tires the patient. The most common causes of dry cough are:
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