Everyone, from babies to people well into their old age, have experienced episodes of coughing.
When we are ill with an upper respiratory tract infection we might cough. These episodes of coughing are often short lived ranging from a few days to less than two weeks. Coughing can greatly impact your quality of life.
Coughing for longer can also be a sign of a more severe or serious problem. This is typically a cough lasting more than 2 weeks.
Why do we cough? Coughing under normal circumstances is protective for the airways. The body clears mucus and foreign bodies by coughing. The airway get irritated and then triggers a reflex.
Short term coughing can be triggered by
- Infections
- Allergies
- Exposure to chemical inhalants
A chronic cough can be due to
- Lung disease like COPD (Emphysema)
- Asthma
- Medication
- Chronic bronchitis and Infections like TB
- Reflux
- Cancer
There are different over the counter treatment options available to treat an acute cough but we rarely want to suppress the cough completely. Only in rare cases would an acute cough need antibiotics.
If you are worried – please consult your doctor and never ignore a chronic cough