When coughing, many people rush to take various cough medicines to relieve this condition. In fact, coughing can generally subside by itself within 3 weeks without special medications.
Cough is not a disease. Coughing is actually the body's natural response to cleansing the respiratory tract of phlegm and causes of irritation, such as smoke or dust. In very rare cases, coughing can be an early symptom of a more serious condition.
Which Cough Is Which?
Cough management is generally adjusted to the cause. Let's recognize the type of cough that is categorized from the length of time: short-term cough (acute) and long-term (chronic) cough. Here's the explanation.
Short-term cough
Short-term cough is generally caused by the following.
- Upper respiratory tract infections that affect the throat and sinuses, thus risking a cold, laryngitis , sinusitis , or whooping cough .
- Lower respiratory tract infections that cause interference in the lungs and lower respiratory tract. Pneumonia and bronchitis are examples of the disease.
- Allergies, such as rhinitis.
- Exposure to smoke or dust.
- Acute symptoms in chronic conditions, such as attacks on asthma and chronic bronchitis.
Short-term cough caused by a viral infection with non-severe symptoms generally does not require special treatment.
Long-term cough
Coughs that occur continuously or persistently can mainly be caused by
the following.
- Smoking habit.
- Asthma.
- Long-term respiratory tract infections, such as chronic bronchitis .
- Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) or throat irritation due to increased stomach acid.
- Bronchiectasis: abnormalities in the lung airway dilation.
Need Cough Medicine ?
Actually the use of cough medicine is not always recommended because there is not enough medical evidence to state that these drugs can relieve coughing and expel phlegm better than natural home remedies . There are also some limitations of cough medicine that rarely concern people.
- Cough medicines that contain paracetamol should not be consumed excessively and cannot be consumed again along with paracetamol from other drugs.
- Cough medicine should not be consumed more than two weeks without a doctor's prescription.
- People with diabetes should check the levels of sugar in cough medicine.
- In addition to not all drugs suitable for each person, cough and cold medicines that are sold freely on the market should not be given to children under six years. Children aged 6-12 years can only take free cough medicine if prescribed by a doctor.
In addition, these medicines turned out to be no more effective compared to natural treatments that we can do alone at home, namely:
Drink enough water
Respiratory tract infections such as flu can cause irritation to the throat and phlegm that cause coughing. Drinking enough water can help relieve phlegm and keep the throat moist.
Eat warm drinks with added lemon
Consume a mixture of warm water, honey and lemon to comfort the throat. Honey and lemon are relatively safe given to children as a cough treatment. However, honey can only be given to toddlers over the age of one year.
Hot shower
Steam that comes out of warm water can help relieve coughing and snot, including coughing from allergies.
Keep away from irritants
Coughing can be caused by certain ingredients that are inhaled from the air, such as cigarette smoke to perfume sprays. Keep away from these ingredients to avoid coughing.
Apply menthol balsam
Menthol balsam does not cure cough, but can help relieve the throat and relieve a dead nose due to flu.
Rest at home.
Adequate rest is the key to various health problems, including coughing.
Handle directly the cause of cough
The essence of cough handling is to look for causes and treat based on these causes.Visit your doctor to get the right treatment. Cough caused by asthma, can be treated with inhaled steroids. Cough caused by bacterial infection can be treated with antibiotics.While coughing due to allergies can be treated by avoiding the source of allergies. While coughing caused by cigarettes can certainly be alleviated by stopping smoking.
If the cough does not stop after three weeks, immediately see a doctor, especially if you feel symptoms such as coughing that gets worse, there is blood coming out with a cough, shortness of breath, chest pain , weight loss abnormally, and a lump on the neck .
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