30 Jun All about Coughs
A cough is a sudden, repetitive reflex that originates in the throat and lungs. The ‘aim’ of a cough is to clear breathing passages (throat, lungs, airways) from secretions, irritants, foreign particles and pathogens. The cough reflex consists of three phases: an brief inhalation, a forced exhalation (against a closed glottis,) and an unusually intense release of air from the lungs following opening of the glottis, accompanied by a distinctive sound. Coughing can be either voluntary or involuntary.
Frequent coughing usually indicates the presence of a disease. Evolutionarily speaking, viruses and bacteria benefit by causing the host to cough, because it helps to spread the infection to new hosts. Most of the time, irregular coughing is caused by a respiratory tract infection but it can be triggered by choking, smoking, air pollution, asthma, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, post-nasal drip and also chronic bronchitis.
A cough in your child may be either a normal physiological reflex or have an underlying cause. In healthy children it may be normal in the absence of any disease to cough ten times a day. The most common cause of an acute or subacute cough is a viral respiratory tract infection. The causes of chronic cough are similar in children with the addition of bacterial bronchitis.
A cough can be the result of a respiratory tract infection such as the common cold, pneumonia, pertussis, or tuberculosis. In the vast majority of cases, acute coughs (coughs shorter than 3 weeks,) are due to the common cold. Pertussis is increasingly being recognised as a cause of troublesome coughing in adults.
After a viral infection has cleared, the person may be left with a “post-infectious cough”. This typically is a dry, non-productive cough that produces no phlegm. Symptoms may include tightness in the chest, and a tickle in the lungs. This cough often persists for weeks after an illness. The cause of the cough may be inflammation similar to that observed in repetitive stress disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
It’s a vicious cycle, the repetition of coughing produces inflammation which produces discomfort, which in turn produces more coughing. Postinfectious cough typically does not respond to conventional cough treatments.
Standard medical treatment consists of anti-inflammatory medicine to treat the inflammation, and a cough suppressant to reduce frequency of coughs – until inflammation clears. Inflammation may increase sensitivity to other existing issues such as allergies.
A cough may increase sensitivity to other existing issues such as allergies, making the condition more complex and indicating sub-acute or chronic factors that need to be addressed. This could involve balancing biochemical deficiencies, treating overworked adrenal glands, nourishing the bronchials with respiratory herbs and implementing dietary changes.
There are natural health remedies available for treating coughs that may help alleviate the cough as well as boost the immune system to help fight off the underlying infection. For deep chesty coughs it is often recommended to rub menthol balm into the chest area, which may help soothe the symptoms.
White horehound, comfrey, coltsfoot, liquorice, thyme, sage are all excellent herbal cough relievers.