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SELF-HELP PREVENTION FOR VARIOUS CONDITIONS: COUGH
23 April 2009
by
admin
Filed under
General health
What is it?
An abrupt intake of air followed by a forcible, explosive blowing out. Coughing is a protective reflex aimed at ridding the body of mucus or debris that is irritating the breathing passages. Often, though, a cough has no such protective effect and is simply a nuisance. The dry, unproductive cough of tonsillitis and laryngitis is an example of this. If you cough up anything there is usually trouble in the lungs themselves and you need a medical opinion.
What causes it?
Most coughs are associated with colds and other mild respiratory infections. Any long-standing cough should always be reported to your doctor. Some of the more common causes are:
• Going into the cold suddenly.
• Smoking.
• Cold weather.
• A nervous cough.
• Lung diseases.
• Certain digestive disorders.
• Problems in the larynx (voice box).
• Whooping cough (a very specific cough).
• Asthma.
• Bronchitis.
Obviously, as there are so many causes of a cough, the individual with a cough must first be sure what is causing it. This can often only be established with medical help. Prevention is clearly aimed at dealing with causes.
When it comes to the common cough for which most people medicate themselves a few things are worth knowing. Recent US research has found that cough medicines taken to cure or prevent coughs often do not live up to their claims:
• Expectorants are supposed to loosen phlegm in the nose, throat and upper respiratory passages but they often do not work. Unfortunately, some may actually do harm. Large doses of aluminum chloride, for example, can upset the body’s acid-base balance. Syrup of ipecac, commonly used in children, can be toxic to them, and terpin hydrate can cause nausea and vomiting. Some expectorants contain a lot of alcohol too.
• Cough suppressants are not necessarily good for you. They inactivate the cough reflex and certainly should not be used if you have a productive cough. The phlegm or pus should be coming up-not staying down. Those with asthma or chronic bronchitis should not take cough suppressants because such people rely on their cough reflex to clear their lungs.
• Antihistamines thicken mucus and so make it more difficult to bring up. Some people who have a ‘post-nasal drip’ that keeps them awake at night use these medications but this can be harmful.
• Decongestants should not be used for a cough. Those with high blood pressure, diabetes, or a heart or thyroid disease, should avoid them anyway. Unless you are severely stuffy stay away from these preparations. They dry up the very places that need moisturizing!
• Cough syrups are bad for children because they soothe the cough for only a very short time yet bathe the teeth in sugar for hours. Similarly, cough drops cause tooth decay, especially in those who carry them around with them all day and suck them much of the time.
• A condition that is increasingly being recognized is a cough that hangs around after a cold or ‘flu. This is now thou ã I it to be due to a food allergy in certain individuals. The symptoms of the food allergy are triggered by the cold or ‘flu. Going on an elimination diet is the only way of finding out if this is so. One researcher has found that within even a week of eliminating the offending food(s) the cough stops. The individual should then stay away from the offending food for a month or so. One British expert thinks that most coughs, if not caused by colds, are allergic in origin.
• A dab of honey on the back of the tongue seems to work wonders.
• Supplement the diet with vitamins Ñ and E.
• If post-nasal drip at night is a problem, sleep on your stomach.
• Drink plenty of fluids.
• Have a humidifier going.
• Use a herbal chest rub.
*132/72/5*
