A cough, especially persistent, can take its toll - tire you out during the day and disrupt your night's rest. To alleviate it, you can use a variety of methods - both medications and home remedies. In order for them to work, they must be adjusted primarily to the type of cough. The expert explains what will help with a dry cough and what will help with a wet cough.
Cough - important cause determination
Coughing is an unconditional, protective reflex. It arises as a result of irritation of the respiratory mucosa. Its causes can be very different. - During the infection period, these can of course be both viral and bacterial infections.
But conditions such as heart failure, pulmonary embolism, gastroesophageal reflux disease, as well as lower respiratory tract diseases such as asthma and COPD are also the causes of coughing. Coughing can also be caused by some medications for high blood pressure, it is also associated with allergies, e.g. allergies to dust mites or mold. Some of these causes may coexist in a person, explains the drug. Agnieszka Dmowska-Koroblewska, otolaryngologist from the MML Medical Center.
A cough is not a disease but a symptom. Since we can cough for a variety of reasons, before you reach for syrup, tablets or home remedies for coughing, it is essential to identify the cause of the cough.
Dry cough vs wet cough
Cough is a characteristic symptom accompanying a viral infection - caused, for example, by adenoviruses, influenza or parainfluenza viruses, and even the SARS-CoV-2 virus. As the drug explains. Agnieszka Dmowska-Koroblewska, cough at the beginning of a viral infection is a dry, so-called non-productive cough - the mucosa does not produce a secretion that can be expectorated. - Then there are tiring attacks of coughing, unpleasant attacks, because the chest hurts during them, some also have a problem with urine retention - says the expert.
Wet cough is completely different: it occurs when the infection is prolonged, the mucosa is severely irritated and bacterial superinfection occurs. Then the mucosa produces a secretion which we then expectorate.
It is very important to distinguish between a dry, non-productive cough and a wet or productive cough. Procedure andthe medications for each of these types of cough are completely different.
How to relieve a dry cough? Helpful Techniques
A dry cough that accompanies an infection can be alleviated in a number of ways. "Drugs that suppress the cough reflex are effective," explains the drug. Agnieszka Dmowska-Koroblewska. - The group of centrally acting drugs is reserved for adults, while in children drugs that act on peripheral receptors can be used.
Dry cough syrups contain ingredients such as codeine and dextromethorphan. Although they are effective in reducing troublesome coughing attacks, they can only be used for a few days, as they can be addictive.
Home remedies to relieve dry cough are also effective. Especially worth it:
- moisturize the mucous membranes of the respiratory system - often drink warm water, linseed infusion or warm tea with raspberry juice.
- do inhalations - inhaling warm steam with the addition of herbs (e.g. chamomile) or a few drops of marjoram or pine oil opens up the nose and helps with a dry cough.
- ensure the comfort of the environment - humidify the air in the house, ventilate the room frequently and set the radiators so that the temperature in the room is not too high, the optimal temperature is 18-19 degrees C.
- use herbal infusions with antitussive properties - e.g. mullein, Icelandic lichen, coltsfoot, which soothe inflammation of the respiratory tract.
How to soothe a wet cough?
When the infection continues, a dry cough turns into a wet cough - the mucous membranes then begin to produce a secretion that runs down the back of the throat, causing the urge to cough and sometimes also to gag. - Then, mucolytic drugs are used, thinning the secretion, which allows for its easier evacuation from the respiratory tract, also available without a prescription - explains the drug. Agnieszka Dmowska-Koroblewska.
Mucolytic drugs usually contain cysteine derivatives. They thin the secretion in the respiratory tract, also reduce its viscosity, making it easier to expectorate.
- For these drugs to work, patients need to drink a lot. However, mucolytic drugs can be taken no later than 3-4 hours before bedtime, because they cause more thinned secretions, which may cause coughing during sleep. - explains the drug. Agnieszka Dmowska-Koroblewska.
Another type of expectorant that your doctor may also recommend is guaiacol-derived drugs that irritate the bronchial mucosa, which stimulates the production of thin mucus. It is also worth using preparations with vitamin. A and E moisturizing the pharyngeal mucosa, a similar effect also has agents zectoine.
In the case of a wet cough, home remedies will also work. What will help?
- humidifying and airing rooms. This is just as important for a wet cough as for a dry cough.
- gargling with herbal infusions - sage, thyme, coltsfoot - facilitates expectoration, stimulates the production of liquid mucus that thins the secretion.
- herbal syrups, such as marshmallow syrup, which has an expectorant effect, and syrups with primrose and plantain extracts, thinning thick mucus and helping to clear the respiratory tract.
- onion syrup, garlic syrup - both of them effectively relieve inflammation of the respiratory tract, facilitate expectoration, and are natural antibiotics.
- patting the back. This method can be used in both children and adults. The back should be patted for a few minutes from the bottom up with the hand placed in a boat (bend the fingers in such a way that there is a depression in the hand).
- postural drainage. This is one of the methods of respiratory physiotherapy - in short, it consists in assuming a position in which the airways can be cleared thanks to the action of gravity. For adults, a reclining position is usually best.
The transition from dry to wet cough is the natural course of the infection, and you can't speed things up here. When a viral infection turns into a bacterial infection, the cough naturally changes in nature. But if the doctor decides that a bacterial superinfection has occurred, then it is already an indication for the administration of an antibiotic. However, you can try to stop the infection at the viral level - stay at home, air the rooms, clear the nose, use natural home remedies and medications prescribed by a doctor, get enough sleep and rest, so that the body can activate its own defense mechanisms.