Or asthma, tuberculosis, lung cancer symptoms, chronic cough that does not heal, be vigilant

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(Hong Kong News) To stop a cough, one must first understand what a cough is all about.

Otorhinolaryngologist Gu Dezheng 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 unobstructed. “So, coughing itself is not a bad thing, not coughing, but a bigger problem!”

Cough to expel respiratory waste

Cough is not a disease, but a symptom. He continued that there are many reasons for coughing, so it is necessary to find out the focus of the cough in order to relieve the cough. “The most common infection is the upper respiratory tract. When the throat and windpipe are attacked by the virus, it will cause a cough.”

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.

That’s because the body is still clearing the “battlefield,” he points out. “Sometimes a cold or cold 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 respiratory mucosa, causing a large number of tissue cells to die. At this time, immune cells will gather in the respiratory tract to support and kill the virus. When the immune cells complete their tasks, they will die naturally by metabolism, accompanied by the virus Destroyed tissue cells become respiratory waste. We need to cough these things out to repair ourselves.”

Secondary infection cough uninterrupted

Pharmacist Chen Yinglin said that the symptoms of colds and colds often appear in sequence, so there is also a sequence of disappearance.

“Generally speaking, if it’s a cold, you usually have a runny nose first, and then cough (or itchy/sore throat); if it’s the flu, you usually have sore throat, muscle aches, fever and other symptoms first, and then cough .Because the cough appears at the last stage, it disappears in the next step, so it is easy for people to have the illusion that the body has recovered, but the cough is not healed.”

She 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 our more vulnerable places, such as the throat and vocal cords, thus causing a new round of coughing .”

Wannian cough is not caused by cold and cold

However, when it comes to “ten thousand years of 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 entering 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 reappeared intermittently; some patients had their first attack of asthma after adulthood.”

He pointed out that there are many reasons for triggering an asthma attack, including 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.”

Seek medical attention as soon as possible if the medicine does not work

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.

Buying the wrong medicine makes you cough more and more

For common colds and colds, you need to take the right 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!

Dr. Gu Dezheng, an ENT specialist, said that even if two patients are also infected with the virus, the coughing conditions can be different. “One may have a dry cough, and the other may have a phlegm cough, depending on the condition. If the trachea is more irritated or inflamed, mucus secretion will increase, and there will be phlegm in addition to the cough.”

Taking horse urine can help expel phlegm

Pharmacist Chen Yinglin added that phlegm cough can be subdivided into thick phlegm cough and deep phlegm cough, which require different medicines.

“If you can clearly hear sputum sound and spit out sputum, it is a cough with thick phlegm. It is recommended to take drugs with phlegm-reducing ingredients such as bromhexine (see chart), the purpose is to help patients ‘loosen’ phlegm, It is easier to spit out; some patients always feel that there is mucus stuck in the throat, but they cannot cough it out. This is deep phlegm, and drugs that can help expectorant are needed, such as ammonia and ipecacuanha, which are widely known and commonly known as ‘horse urine’ Mixture, after taking it will increase coughing and help expel phlegm.”

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 (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 taking the wrong one will have the opposite effect. “If it’s a dry cough, but buy ‘horse urine’ to increase the cough by mistake, the throat will be even more uncomfortable; on the contrary, if it’s a phlegm cough, and buy antitussives indiscriminately to suppress the cough, the phlegm will not come out.”

Chen Yinglin suggested that citizens can go to pharmacies with pharmacists on site to buy medicines and seek professional advice.

Don’t Blindly Pursue “Power Drugs”

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 drugs”, because the side effects are relatively large.

“For example, cough syrup containing codeine is a relatively strong antitussive, which can suppress cough more effectively. However, after taking it, some patients will feel dizzy and tired, and some people will suffer from constipation. If taken in large quantities, it can become addictive. .Due to many side effects, it is not recommended for children under the age of 6.”

He reminded that in order to relieve cough, in addition to relying on medicine, natural remedies can also be used.

“First of all, patients should drink plenty of warm water; in addition, steam can also help relax the trachea, which is helpful for cough relief. Therefore, during coughing, you might as well take more hot baths or use a steam machine to inhale steam, which will make people feel more comfortable.”

Article by Shen Yashi “Ming Pao”

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