Health Network News

During common flu, you are generally afflicted with painful cough and sore throat. These symptoms must not be neglected and one should seek medical advice immediately and get these properly treated.

The defence mechanism of the body instigates coughs to clear the passage of air in the throat which restricts proper air flow to the lungs. Physiological problems alone do not cause coughs, sometimes psychological problems can also trigger them. The former is caused when a person gets afflicted with cough caused by external agents like dust, cigarette smoke, environmental pollutants etc or because of a medical disorder. The other types of coughing are the ones driven psychologically and are generally habitual. This type of coughing habit is known as Streruphilia and is not caused by any physical ailment or disorder.

Cough can often be chronic or even acute, and can have an identifiable nature which depends on the intensity and duration of coughing seizures. Acute coughing which last less than 3 weeks can be an offshoot of either infectious or non-infectious diseases. Examples of physical ailments of one time nature which result in painful coughing are pneumonia and sinusitis and examples of complications triggering chronic coughs are bronchitis and asthma.

In order to ensure that you get proper treatment for your coughing problem, you have to consult a doctor to identify the nature and root cause of the problem. Doctors prescribe many types of medicines to control the coughing symptoms and pain like antihistamines, antibiotics and other suppressants. In many chronic cases where patient suffers from persistent cough, the medical treatment can even take months to be able to cure the problem.

Like with all physical disorders, it is always better to take precautions to prevent cough rather than having to bear the pain and undergo prolonged treatment later. To stay away from cough, leading a healthy lifestyle is important, for which you should keep away from smoking and take a healthy and nourishing diet.