There is a kind of cough, its etiology is complex, and the rate of misdiagnosis and mistreatment is extremely high. According to statistics, about 80% of patients with this disease have been misdiagnosed as "chronic bronchitis" or "chronic pharyngitis", which not only seriously affects work and rest, but sometimes severe cough may also lead to respiratory bleeding.
This is a chronic cough.
What is chronic cough?
Cough can generally be divided into the following three types: cough lasting less than 3 weeks is called acute cough, which is mainly induced by upper respiratory tract infection and virus transmission; Subacute cough lasting within 3 8 weeks; A cough that lasts more than 8 weeks and there is no obvious evidence of lung disease on X-ray chest film is a chronic cough.
Can chronic cough lead to pneumonia?
Many people have this wrong idea. In fact, cough itself does not cause pneumonia. On the contrary, pneumonia causes cough. Cough is just a symptom, and pneumonia is just one of the many causes of cough.
But long-term cough is always bad, which may cause pneumothorax, heart failure, spasm and other diseases. Statistics show that up to 50% of female patients with chronic cough have urinary incontinence due to severe cough ...
Therefore, if you can't recover from a long cough, you should go to the doctor quickly and find out the disease in time.
Find out the cause of chronic cough
There are three things that people can't hide, one of which is cough. Patients with chronic cough cough often cough for weeks to months. Many patients don't know the cause, they don't get better after taking medicine at will, they can't sleep well at night, they have no spirit at work during the day, and they are depressed and miserable all day.
Therefore, it is very important to recognize the cause of chronic cough. According to a large number of clinical investigations, the following reasons are summarized:
1 cough variant asthma
Cough variant asthma is a kind of asthma and one of the main causes of chronic cough. Cough is the main symptom of this kind of asthma. The patient has no obvious shortness of breath and wheezing. It is usually a severe cough with little phlegm and dry cough, which occurs at four or five in the morning.
Antibiotics and general antitussive and expectorant drugs often have no effect on it, while anti-asthma drugs have a significant effect.
2 gastroesophageal reflux cough
This is a clinical syndrome in which gastric acid and other stomach contents enter the esophagus and cause cough. Patients are often accompanied by symptoms such as acid regurgitation, belching, heartburn, bloating, etc. After eating acidic and fatty food or lying flat, the cough is aggravated.
This chronic cough needs to adjust lifestyle, lie on the pillow, avoid spicy, acidic and greasy food, quit smoking and drinking, and overweight people need to control their weight. Drug treatment is also very important, which can inhibit gastric acid and promote gastrointestinal motility. If medical treatment fails, surgical treatment should be considered.
3 Upper airway cough syndrome
This kind of patients usually have chronic rhinitis, sinusitis and other nasal diseases, and nasal mucus flows back to the nose, throat and other parts, leading to cough, mainly dry cough, accompanied by nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing and other symptoms, so it is necessary to treat from nasal diseases.
4 eosinophilic bronchitis
Eosinophilic bronchitis, characterized by eosinophil infiltration, is characterized by chronic dry cough or morning cough with a little phlegm, and a few are accompanied by night cough. Often complicated with allergic rhinitis, it is sensitive to lampblack, dust and cold air.
5 drug-induced cough
Mainly dry cough, some commonly used antihypertensive drugs (such as enalapril and other invertase inhibitors) have the side effect of causing cough, and usually the cough disappears or is obviously relieved within 1-4 weeks after stopping the drug. However, you should consult your doctor when changing medicine and stopping medicine, and do not change it without authorization.
6 psychological cough
Also known as habitual cough, it is usually manifested as a single cough, and the cough is shallow, and it disappears when you concentrate on something or rest at night. This kind of cough needs professional psychological counseling, and anti-anxiety or anti-depression drugs are used when necessary.
7 Cough caused by other reasons
For example, thyroid nodules cough, thyroid nodules compress the trachea, which leads to cough. There are also tonsillar enlargement, bronchial foreign bodies, bronchial tuberculosis, cervical spondylosis, esophageal cysts and other factors, which will cause cough.
Prevent in advance and pass the high-risk season of colds
1 Increase or decrease clothes in time
As the saying goes, "Spring covers the autumn". Don't add clothes too early, which will help to exercise cold tolerance. However, the temperature difference between day and night in autumn is large, and you will get cold if you are not careful. It is recommended that you take a coat with you and pay attention to wind protection and warmth, especially for diabetics.
2 wear a mask
In the period of high incidence of colds, people with low physical fitness should try to avoid or go to some public places less. When going to crowded places, you must take protective measures and wear masks to prevent virus infection.
Eat more white food.
Autumn is a season to nourish the lungs, and the lungs dominate white. Eat more "white food" in the diet, such as lotus root, chicken head rice, lotus seed, tremella, lily, etc. These can nourish the lungs and moisten dryness, get rid of lung fire, moisten viscera, produce fluid and nourish fluid, which can well prevent the impact of autumn dryness on the body.
4 pay attention to keep your neck warm
The neck is one of the most vulnerable parts of the human body to cold. Once it is cold, it will lead to poor blood circulation of the neck muscles, causing stiffness, soreness, muscle spasm, and even a cold and nervous headache. Especially for patients with airway diseases, it is best to wear a scarf when going out.
5 do a good job of hand hygiene
Washing hands frequently is an extremely effective measure to prevent influenza, which can effectively limit the spread of influenza virus. Pay attention to washing hands with running water, and the whole process should not be less than 20 seconds. Don't touch your nose, mouth and eyes in public places. If you sneeze, cover your nose and mouth with your elbow to avoid polluting your hands.
In autumn and winter, there will be more and more people coughing. Everyone must take good protection, maintain personal hygiene and prevent colds in advance. As for people with persistent cough, they should go to the hospital as soon as possible to do relevant examinations so as not to delay their illness.