Cough: Causes & Treatments

Cough is a movement that our body takes to clear irritating substances which tries to block air passage. Cough takes place when the cells in our body gets irritated and the air in lungs are enforced with high pressure. This makes our body cough voluntarily or involuntarily. Cough which stays in the body for three weeks or less than three weeks is called as acute cough. Cough that stays for three to eight weeks is called as sabacute cough. A constant cough which stays for more than eight weeks is called as chronic cough. Generally a cough gets improved within two weeks but if it doesn’t gets improved or you cough loudly or blood comes while coughing then you should consult a doctor and start taking treatment for it. Continuous coughing may create problems like exhaustion, chest pain, loss of bladder control, light- headedness and may also affect your sleep and work.

Causes of cough

There are different ways which may cause cough. When some irritating substances like dust or smoke blocks the throat, our body puts a pressure on our lungs to clear all the irritating particles from the throat and enable our body breathe easily.

1. Viruses and Bacteria: Cold and flu which is a type of respiratory tract infection that causes cough commonly. This may last for few days and if a cough is caused due to flu, then it may take some more time to improve.
2. Smoking: Smoking is the second main reason for causing cough. A cough caused due to smoke is mostly called as chronic cough. A person suffering from a cough caused by smoke usually cough loudly.
3. Asthma: Coughing due to asthma is mostly found in young children. A person suffering from asthmatic cough wheeze frequently and in severe case, have to use inhaler.