Cough

 

Cough

Illness & causes

Descriptions of coughing by patients can vary greatly, ranging from agonizing or painful to barking to hoarse.

Coughing may occur at certain times of the day or maybe associated with certain attendant circumstances, such as exercise (exercise or heavy physical labor), or eating certain foods that a patient is allergic to. In some cases, coughing will be like an attack, in others, it will be accompanied by sounds of inhaling or exhaling.

Depending on the form of appearance one distinguishes irritating cough, productive cough and coughing up blood:

Cough

This is a cough without sputum (unproductive cough). This type of cough is caused by irritation of the lower respiratory tract, 

for example by

tumors

Laryngitis (laryngitis)

Inflammation of the trachea (tracheitis)

Inflammation of the bronchial mucosa (bronchitis)

Pollutants (eg dust, gases, chemical vapors)

Also, irritation of the upper respiratory tract (nose, paranasal sinuses, throat) can lead to a cough without sputum. 

Some medications (such as ACE inhibitors used for high blood pressure and congestive heart failure) cause irritant cough as a side effect. In a minor pulmonary embolism, in some cases, irritating cough is the only sign of disease.

Productive cough

By this one understands cough, which goes along with much Schleimbildung. His most common causes are

colds

Chronic bronchitis

COPD

lung infection

Even with asthma or an allergic disease, there is an increased mucus production due to a constant inflammatory readiness in the respiratory tract. Normally, this mucus is crystal clear. 

For additional bacterial colds (secondary or superinfections), however, it is usually yellowish or greenish and clumped.

coughing up blood

This is when coughing bloody sputum, which may have the following causes:

severe bronchitis with mucosal bleeding

pulmonary embolism tuberculosis lung cancer heart failure (myocardial insufficiency)

In very rare cases coagulation disorders, such as those caused by hemophilia or anticoagulant drugs (macular), can lead to coughing up blood.

Depending on the duration one differentiates between acute and chronic cough:

Acute cough

It lasts less than three to four weeks. Most commonly caused by bacteria or viruses upper and lower respiratory infections and colds with inflammation of the respiratory tract (bronchitis) is the cause.

Other causes of acute cough:

Allergies, often accompanied by inflammation of the nasal mucosa (rhinitis) or paranasal sinuses (sinusitis), conjunctivitis, pharyngitis, and laryngitis

Allergic asthma

acute poisoning by pollutants (for example after fires or accidents in the workplace). Frequently, in this case, the period of acute cough is followed by a symptom-free period of six to twenty-four hours. Coughing then occurs again, with severe poisoning also leading to toxic pulmonary edema or acute pneumonia (interstitial pneumonia or bronchiolitis).

Pneumothorax, i.

 An accumulation of air in the thoracic cavity (between the lung and the pleura), which causes the affected lung to partially or completely collapse. Characteristic is the sudden onset of respiratory distress, unilateral stabbing pain, and dry cough.
in acute pulmonary embolism, 50% of those affected have an acute cough.

Chronic cough

If coughing lasts longer than three or four weeks, it is called chronic. It can have different causes and should always be clarified by a doctor. Often it is repeated respiratory infections (so-called circular infections), which lead to a long-lasting cough.

With a cough time of more than 3 months, it must be clarified whether, for example, a smoker's cough or a COPD or asthma is present. Long-term cough can not only lead to years of smoking but also damage caused by industrial dust.

The main causes of chronic cough are:

bronchial asthma

allergies

chronic bronchitis and COPD (common in smokers)

chronic sinusitis (sinusitis)

lung infection

tuberculosis

Destruction of the alveoli (pulmonary emphysema)

Chronic scarring of lung tissue (pulmonary fibrosis)

A side effect of medications (e.g., ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, cortisone)

Lung cancer (bronchial tumor). 

Chronic cough is the most common symptom of the first diagnosis of bronchial carcinoma.

Vocal cord paralysis.

Congestion in the lungs in case of heart failure (heart failure). 

Here, coughing typically occurs during exercise or lying down.

Myocardial infarction or myocarditis

Food intolerance

Reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus (gastroesophageal reflux)

Whooping cough pertussis

Cystic fibrosis (a hereditary metabolic disorder that causes damage to the lungs and pancreas mainly through the production of viscous mucus)

permanently disabled nasal breathing

A persistent cough may also be purely psychological. 

This is known as a "psychogenic cough" or a cough, but it is precisely a difficult to clear or poorly treatable cough, which is actually caused by a multicausal malignant, sometimes misinterpreted by non-pulmonologists as psychogenic. Almost always one also finds in "psychogenic cough" an organic cause.