The common cold and flu. Lung infections such as pneumonia or acute bronchitis. Sinusitis with postnasal drip. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
Acute cough is a major symptom of viral respiratory tract infection and causes excessive morbidity in human populations across the world. A wide variety of viruses play a role in the development of cough after acute infection and all of these manifest a similar clinical picture across different age groups.
Bronchitis and pneumonia both involve Inflammation in the chest. Both can cause coughs that bring up a slimy substance called phlegm to help clear out germs and pus. And both can cause shortness of breath and wheezing. Bronchitis is a condition in which the bronchial tubes that lead to the lungs become inflamed.
Speak to a GP if:
your cough is particularly severe. you cough up blood. you experience shortness of breath, breathing difficulties or chest pain. you have any other worrying symptoms, such as unexplained weight loss, a persistent change in your voice, or lumps or swellings in your neck.
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.
The four main types of coughs are: wet, dry, paroxysmal and croup. Most coughs do go away on their own.
In addition to lab tests, sputum or mucus from a cough can be visually examined to determine whether bronchitis is viral, bacterial, or both. Clear or white mucus often indicates a viral infection, while yellow or green mucus may suggest a bacterial infection.
Uncontrollable Coughing
Whooping cough is the most serious of these different types of coughs, and it is characterized by deep, fast coughing that gets worse at night and that is followed by a deep inhale that often makes a “whoop” sound.
Rhinoviruses are the most common cause. A cold virus enters the body through the mouth, eyes or nose. The virus can spread by: Droplets in the air when someone who is sick coughs, sneezes or talks.
Dozens of conditions can cause a recurrent, lingering cough, but the lion's share are caused by just five: postnasal drip, asthma, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), chronic bronchitis, and treatment with ACE inhibitors, used for high blood pressure and heart failure.
A bronchitis cough sounds like a rattle with a wheezing or whistling sound. As your condition progresses, you will first have a dry cough that can then progress towards coughing up white mucus.
Common colds and viral infections typically clear up in seven to 10 days. But for one in four adults, a cough can stick around long after other cold symptoms clear up. It may leave you wondering if you should seek medical care, whether you're still contagious or if there's an underlying issue.
Therefore, yellowish or green sputum may be a normal feature in patients with viral bronchitis. Also, sputum production in viral airway infections may be clear, white, or even tinged with blood [15].
A cough that expels mucus (also known as phlegm) from your airways is called a productive, wet, or chesty cough because it serves a function. A cough that does not produce mucus and serves no useful purpose is called a non-productive or dry cough.
Your doctor will listen to your lungs with a stethoscope. If you have pneumonia, your lungs may make crackling, bubbling, and rumbling sounds when you inhale.
Chronic dry coughs are usually caused by irritation from cigarette smoke, environmental irritants, allergies, post-nasal drip, or asthma. Several chronic lung diseases also cause a dry, hacking cough. Some people cough out of habit for no clear reason. Gastric reflux may also cause a chronic dry cough.
See a GP if:
you've had a cough for more than 3 weeks (persistent cough) your cough is very bad or quickly gets worse – for example, you have a hacking cough or cannot stop coughing. you feel very unwell. you have chest pain.
What is a heart cough? In heart failure, your heart muscle has dysfunction that might be due to weak contraction or stiffness. This can allow fluid to back up in yout lungs, creating a condition called pulmonary edema. Your body coughs persistently in an effort to eliminate the excess fluid.
Drinking tea or warm lemon water mixed with honey is a time-honored way to soothe a sore throat. But honey alone may be an effective cough suppressant, too. In one study, children ages 1 to 5 with upper respiratory tract infections were given up to 2 teaspoons (10 milliliters) of honey at bedtime.
Coughing is the body's way of getting irritants out of the lungs, where they could lead to an infection. In most cases, a cough will go away when the illness gets better. It might take a week or even a month or so. Sometimes, a cough might last for longer than 8 weeks.
You are contagious for the entire period of time symptoms are present, all the way until they disappear. Keep in mind, however, when your symptoms are at their worst—generally the first two to three days—you are at your most infectious. Vaccine available? Currently, there's no vaccine for the common cold.