What Is Your Cough Saying?

Everybody coughs every now and then. It’s a reflex you can’t really resist. The body is designed to cough to clear its airways. Even if the trigger is a small tickle in your throat, your lower respiratory tract has something in it that ideally shouldn’t be there. Coughing is the way your body addresses the issue.
 
Observing Your Cough
 
It may not be verbal, but that odd noise that explodes out of your respiratory tract is very telling. It can say that you have a very minor irritation or that your condition needs deeper probing. You have to observe your cough to find out all sorts of information about your physical well-being.
 
1.      How long has your cough been around?
 
This obviously only applies when your coughing has been sustained for a certain period of time. You know when it’s just a fleeting episode that was caused by something irritating the nerves in your respiratory tract, such as choking on your own saliva or inhaling pepper powder. As soon as your airways clear, the coughing also goes.
 
If, however, your cough has been lingering for weeks now, it’s definitely a nuisance. The most common culprit behind coughing is the common cold. The virus runs its course for a little over a week, but the coughing doesn’t go with it.
 
Coughs from colds tend to linger a week or two after the actual duration of the infection. Unfortunately, the airways remain inflamed and sensitive in its wake. Nonetheless, this kind of cough usually doesn’t need any medicine to go away. Unless aggravated, it should also leave you shortly. You might still want to take advantage of cough treatment for adults to get more immediate relief.
 
What if you’ve been coughing for more than a month? A cough that has been around one to two months is considered subacute. There’s still the possibility it will go away soon or it might be a sign of an underlying disease. After two months, your cough would be labeled “chronic.”
 
The most common causes of chronic cough are:
 
·         Post-nasal drip
·         Asthma
·         Gastroesophageal acid reflux disease (GERD)
·         Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD — either emphysema or chronic bronchitis)
 
Whether you’re suffering from a short-term or a long-term cough, the rule of thumb is to treat the cause to successfully get rid of it.
 
2.      Is there a pattern to your coughing?
 
Does your cough happen at certain times of the year? Does it occur right before, during, or after a certain activity?
 
If your coughing takes place during allergy season, the allergens are most likely the cause. If it happens during cold weather, vigorous movement could trigger a coughing condition called “hyperactive airways.”
 
Did you start coughing since taking ACE inhibitors for your blood pressure? Coughing is a known side effect. Do you cough or clear your throat when you’re about to speak? It could be a nervous habit.
 
If your cough is persistent and uncontrollable, however, then it’s probably caused by an underlying disease.
 
3.      Is your cough wet or dry?
 
A dry cough is a non-productive cough. This means that you expel nothing but air. It’s common after a cold or during an asthma attack. If you’re a smoker, it can also be a tell-tale sign of a developing lung dysfunction.
 
Persistent wet cough, on the other hand, is also called a productive cough since it involves phlegm. Coughs from colds and the flu usually produce colorless or pale phlegm. Green or yellow phlegm indicates a bacterial infection. Possibilities also include COPD and pneumonia.
 
Reddish, pinkish, or rusty-colored phlegm warrants a trip to the doctor. It could be tuberculosis, lung cancer, etc.  It’s definitely serious if you’re coughing up blood. If you’re expelling frothy pinkish mucus, rush to the ER as it indicates pulmonary edema.
 
Heeding Your Cough
 
Your body has ways of telling you when something is wrong. If you’re coughing, you can have a good idea of what you have by gathering the above clues.