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Cough
Cough is generally considered a symptom of something
else going on. The causes can be varied and unusual. A list of causes might
include:
A viral syndrome
Mucous running down the back of your throat from your
nose or sinuses
Mucous coming up from the lung at night and pooling in
the back of your throat
Mild asthma
Medication, such as an ACE inhibitor, which are known
to cause a chronic annoying dry cough
Chronic bronchitis, as often results from long term
smoking, or exposure to someone else who smokes
Allergic reactions to any of a number of household or
work environment substances
Any of a variety of serious medical conditions such as
congestive heart failure, fibrosis in the lung, lung cancer, or certain other unusual lung
problems
Let's suppose you seem to have a run of the mill cough
due to an infection such as from influenza. What should you do ?
Drink plenty of fluids to keep the mucous thin and
therefore, hopefully easy to cough up
Use a cough preparation such as Robitussin DM, or any
other product containing dextromethorphan. It is a narcotic without pain relieving
properties. It only suppresses cough. I would take about 2tsp. by mouth every
4 to 6 hours. It also contains guaifenesin which helps to make mucous more liquid,
which makes it easier to cough up, so you cough less
You should check your temperature. If you are an
adult and your temperature is over 101.0 f. then you have a pretty good temperature and
may want to consider being seen in the office for evaluation
Some people cough because they are making a lot of
mucous in their nose which is running down the back of their throat. If this seems
to be happening then you may want to consider a decongestant or decongestant/antihistamine
combination. I don't routinely recommend nasal spray decongestants, but they do work
good. I personally take Dimetapp liquid, it works, tastes good, and my children like
it, too. There are many other preparations available. If your blood pressure
is poorly controlled or you are prone to palpitations you may want to be cautious.
If you are growing more short of breath, you are
wheezing, your temperature remains above 101.0, you cannot lay flat, you become very
dizzy, you have a lot of pain in your chest out to one side, your legs or one calf swell,
or you have pain in your heart area, then you should see me in the office or call and we
should consider whether you need evaluation in the emergency room.
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