[Ming Pao News]The weather can be hot and cold, and if one is not careful, one will catch a cold, a cold, and a cough. But why do you know that when most of the symptoms of colds and colds are relieved one by one, the cough does not stop. What are the factors that cause “perpetual cough”? Is a cough really that difficult to treat? Some otolaryngologists pointed out that even if two patients are infected with the same virus, the cough may be different. One may be a dry cough and the other may be a phlegm cough, depending on the condition.Among the cough medicines, there are different purposes such as antitussive, phlegm elimination, phlegm resolving, allergy relief, and throat moistening.
Cough medicine? How to prevent the more you eat, the more you cough, and the more you eat, the more phlegm?
Dry cough, phlegm cough, endless cold and cold seem to relieve cough and expel respiratory “garbage”
To stop a cough, we must first understand what a cough is all about. Gu Dezheng, a specialist in otolaryngology, explained that coughing is a reflex reaction. When the trachea is stimulated by foreign objects, the self-protection mechanism will be activated to try to remove the foreign objects through forceful exhalation to keep the trachea unblocked. “So coughing itself is not a bad thing, not coughing, but a bigger problem!”
Cough is not a disease, but a symptom. He continued to point out that there are many reasons for coughing, so it is necessary to find out the lesions to stop coughing. “The most common is upper respiratory tract infection. When the throat and trachea are attacked by viruses, it will cause coughing.”
However, I believe that many people have experienced that after being sick for a week, the series of symptoms caused by colds and colds have gradually disappeared, except for the endless cough, which is very annoying. Gu Dezheng said that it is because the body is still cleaning up the “battlefield”. “Sometimes a cold or flu seems to be relieved, but in fact the immune system is still launching an offensive. It needs to expel the “garbage” in the respiratory tract through coughing.”
He further explained: “In the beginning, the virus breaks through the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract, causing the death of a large number of tissue cells. At this time, immune cells will gather in the respiratory tract to support and kill the virus. After the immune cells complete their tasks, they will die naturally by metabolism, accompanied by the virus that was originally infected. Destroyed tissue cells become respiratory waste. We need to cough up these things to repair ourselves.”
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Causes of Cough Multiple Infection Relay Cough
Chen Yinglin, a senior lecturer and a registered pharmacist at the School of Health Sciences of Caritas Institute of Higher Education, said that the symptoms of colds and colds often appear in sequence, so there is also a difference in their disappearance. “Generally speaking, if it is a cold, it usually appears first. Runny nose, followed by coughing (or itchy/sore throat); if it is flu, most of them will have sore throat, muscle aches, fever and other symptoms first, and then cough. Because coughing occurs at the last stage, it is also It disappears after one step, and it is easy for people to have the illusion that the body has recovered, except that the cough does not heal.”
She also said that the continuous coughing may also be caused by secondary infection. “Because of viral or bacterial infection, we suffer from colds and colds. At this time, the body’s immunity is weakened, and other viruses or bacteria may also take the opportunity to invade and attack. Where we are more vulnerable, such as the throat and vocal cords, it causes a new round of coughing.”
Cough caused by laryngitis recovers in 1 or 2 weeks
However, when it comes to “every year cough”, the two also pointed out that sometimes it is not caused by a cold or a cold at all!
Gu Dezheng said that coughs usually caused by inflammation of the throat will gradually heal within a week or two. However, many patients with chronic coughs have been found clinically. The cough is actually caused by asthma. “Asthma is a disease of airway allergies. The age of onset is between 3 and 6 years old. Some patients will “dock their tails” after puberty, but some will continue into adulthood. Some have had asthma attacks when they were young, and they have been fine since then. Nothing happened until adulthood and it reoccurred intermittently; some patients had their first attack of asthma after adulthood.”
He continued that there are many reasons for triggering an asthma attack, common ones include severe colds, colds, bronchitis, sinusitis, etc., or due to changes in the weather. “So if the cough persists, even for more than 8 weeks, it means that the original assumption needs to be revised. The cough may not be caused by a cold or a cold, but other causes are hidden behind it.”
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Acid reflux, tuberculosis, lung cancer can cause chronic cough
Chen Yinglin also reminded that in addition to asthma, bronchial allergies, acid reflux, drug side effects and other reasons that may cause chronic cough, people suffering from serious diseases such as tuberculosis (commonly known as tuberculosis), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer may also have symptoms of long-term cough. Taking cough medicine alone will not help, so you should seek medical advice as soon as possible.
Know more: Differentiate between cough medicines and prevent coughing
For common colds and colds, you need to take cough medicine to get rid of the disease. Otherwise, the more you eat, the more you cough, and the more you eat, the more phlegm!
Throat stuck phlegm, taking “horse urine” to increase cough and expel
Gu Dezheng, a specialist in otolaryngology, said that even if two patients are also infected with the virus, the coughing situation can be different. “One may have a dry cough, and the other may have a phlegm cough, depending on the condition. Or if there is inflammation, mucus secretion will increase, and besides the cough, there will be phlegm.”
Registered pharmacist Chen Yinglin added that phlegm cough can be subdivided into thick phlegm cough and deep phlegm cough. It is recommended to take drugs with phlegm-reducing ingredients such as bromhexine (see the table on the right for details), the purpose is to help patients “loosen” phlegm and spit it out more easily; some patients always feel that there is mucus stuck in the throat, but they cannot cough it out. This is deep phlegm, and it is necessary to use drugs that can help expectorant, such as the well-known ammonia and ipecacuanha mixture commonly known as “horse urine”, after taking it, it will increase coughing and help expel phlegm.”
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Dry cough easily hurts the throat and requires antitussives
As for dry cough, it is easy to cough and hurt because there is no phlegm to moisten the throat. Chen Yinglin said that it is necessary to use antitussives to help relieve coughs, “For example, cough medicines containing codeine can help depress the respiratory tract, reduce tracheal reactions, and have a strong antitussive effect; but some patients, because of itchy throat If the cough persists, it is an allergic reaction, and it is recommended to take antihistamine drugs, which can also help relieve dry cough.”
There are a variety of cough medicines on the market, and the public may not know what they need. Buying the wrong one and eating the wrong one will have the opposite effect. Cough, I bought antitussives indiscriminately, suppressed the cough, and couldn’t spit out the phlegm.” Chen Yinglin suggested that citizens can go to pharmacies with registered pharmacists to buy medicines and seek professional advice.
Codeine should not be used under the age of 6
Gu Dezheng said that although there are many patented medicines for dry cough or phlegm cough, the ingredients are actually the same, but there are a few differences in the combination. Some patented medicines have fewer ingredients and milder potency; , strong medicinal power. However, citizens should not blindly pursue “powerful medicines” because the side effects are relatively large. “For example, cough syrup containing codeine is a relatively strong antitussive medicine, which can suppress cough more effectively. However, after taking it, some patients will Feel dizzy, tired, and some people experience constipation, and it can become addictive if taken in large quantities. Due to many side effects, it is not recommended for children under the age of 6.”
He continued that in order to relieve cough, in addition to relying on medicine, natural therapy can also be used. “First of all, patients should drink more warm water; in addition, steam can also help relax the trachea, which is helpful for cough relief. Therefore, during coughing, you may as well bubble more A hot bath, or using a steam machine to inhale steam, can make people feel better.”
Text: Shen Yashi
Editor: Liang Xiaoling
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