Chronic Cough Definition in Children Differential Diagnosis

It is normal to cough occasionally. Coughing with a cold, flu or allergies is normal.

Coughing has a purpose. It is your body’s way of keeping unwanted stuff from getting into your lungs. Coughing helps clear extra mucus from your airways (small tubes in your lungs). This extra mucus could be caused by smoking, a cold, nasal or sinus problems, a lung infection or a lung disease, like asthma or COPD.

 Chronic Cough Definition

A cough may be caused by a condition not related to your lungs, such as heartburn, some medications, or throat irritants (for example, dust, pollution, chemicals in your workplace or home).

Coughing is not normal if you are coughing up blood or thick mucus. If your cough makes you very tired, or light-headed, or causing chest or stomach pain, or causing you to “wet” yourself, you should talk to your doctor to find out the cause.

What are the different types of cough?

Doctors divide coughing into three groups, based on how long the cough has lasted. There are three types: acute (coughing less than 3 weeks), sub-acute (coughing 3-8 weeks), or chronic (coughing longer than 8 weeks).

Allergists have particular expertise in allergic rhinitis (or hay fever) and sinus infections, which may contribute to postnasal drainage, a common cause of chronic cough. Allergists are also experts at diagnosing and treating asthma, which may be present in 25% of patients with chronic cough. Cough from asthma may be associated with wheeze, shortness of breath or chest tightness and may be worsened by colds, exercise, smoke exposure and laughter, among other things. In addition, allergists are experienced in dealing with GERD, or heartburn, which may produce cough.

When to see an allergist:
• If you have a cough that lasts more than eight weeks.
• If your cough is associated with symptoms of asthma.
• If your cough is associated with nasal symptoms or tobacco use.
• If your cough is severe and affecting your quality of life.

The differential diagnosis of chronic cough in children includes subacute and chronic infections (eg, bacterial bronchitis, pertussis, mycoplasma, and tuberculosis), foreign body aspiration, and cough-dominant asthma Gastroesophageal reflux, upper airway cough syndrome (formerly known as postnasal drip syndrome), and sinusitis are sometimes implicated because of associations with chronic cough in adults, but their role in causing chronic cough in children is controversial. Less common disorders must be excluded if the cough is unusually severe and/or frequent, or when there is evidence of failure to thrive, growth retardation, purulent sputum, exertional dyspnea, hypoxemia, chest pain, or hemoptysis. (See "Causes of chronic cough in children".)

Persistent Cough Bloody Phlegm and Images

A persistent cough (chronic cough) is a common symptom with many possible causes. Annoying effects of coughing, such as loss of sleep, sore chest muscles and leaking urine, can affect your quality of life and interfere with your daily activities. What does it mean if you have a cough that just won't go away?

It's important to note that a persistent cough doesn’t necessarily mean you need to be worried about lung cancer.

There are many possible causes of this symptom, only one of which is lung cancer. But since the less common causes are often missed for some time, it is important to make an appointment to see your doctor even if you believe there is a good explanation.
What Is the Definition of a Persistent Cough?

A persistent cough is defined as a cough that persists for a period of 8 weeks or longer. The cough may be dry, or you may cough up mucous. This is in contrast to an "acute" cough that lasts less than 8 weeks, such as those that occur with the common cold.

Ref : http://lungcancer.about.com/od/symptoms/a/Persistent-Cough.htm

Dry Cough Constant Fever Runny Nose for Adults

Both dry coughs and tickly coughs are known as non-productive coughs, as distinct from chesty coughs where mucus is produced.

Dry Cough Constant Fever Runny Nose  for Adults

A dry cough is most often the result of infection by cold and flu viruses. It can also be triggered by atmospheric pollutants (such as cigarette smoke) irritating your throat. In most of these situations, dry coughs occur because the back of your throat (or pharynx) becomes irritated or inflamed, but may also arise from deeper in the chest.

However, sometimes, specific cough remedies are needed to help ease the symptoms of a dry cough:

Home remedies such as honey soothe the lining of the tissues at the back of the throat.

Conventional medicines such as cough suppressants reduce the activity of the cough reflex. These may be prescribed by your doctor or available without a prescription from a pharmacy

Herbal remedies such as extracts of spruce or pine shoots are ideal for treating dry and tickly coughs coming from the throat

Referensi : http://www.avogel.co.uk/health/immune-system/cough/dry/

How to Soothe Deep chest cough

Deep chest cough often happens and it can really bother your activity. Chest cough is different from a dry cough. It has mucus lines in the lungs. However, instead of having medicine, you can heal yourself with natural treatment at home. All you need is only pure honey, spoon, and antibacterial soap and then iodized salt.

First thing you are going to do is preparing hot water or tea, and then pour 1 teaspoon of pure honey and stir it well. You need to drink it before going to bed. It will help you to soothe a chest cough.

Second, for loosening your mucus inside the lungs. Drink water and natural juices that contain vitamin C. it will help you to suppress the cough. Drink 235 ml pineapple, orange or grapefruit juice for several times a day in seven days.

The last, you can break up any phlegm in the lungs with inhale steam. You need to boil hot water and then place in the boiling pot. Pour two or three drops of menthol oil in it and then position a towel over your head. Place your face over the pot to inhale the menthol steam.

Rather than take some medicine, it will be better to take the natural ways above to heal deep chest cough.

3 Great Ways on How to Get Rid of a Chest Cough

how to get rid of a chest cough can be done either by taking some drugstore medicine or by home remedy. As cough is the way of your body tells you that you are in a kind of infection, inflammation or infection in the upper respiratory tract, it will be so much irritating to have it even in your special day. We are going to share 3 great ways to get rid of chest cough.

First way, you can drink a cup of peppermint tea. The content inside it suppresses your cough reflex as well as soothing the throat. It is better for you to not add any sweeteners as it is going to make your throat get worse.

The second way, drinking ginger tea is good as it can be such kind of expectorant to force the mucus come out. You can have ginger tea before you go to bed. Natural ginger candy is also good if you cannot prepare for the ginger tea.

The last, you can try to consume slippery elm bark tablets. it is such kind of herb that can coat the throat as well as sooth the itchiness. You can take the tablets twice in a day daily.

You can try one of those three ways whether to know how to get rid of a chest cough.

Barking Cough in Adults , Causes ,Symptoms , Signs , Treatments

Barking Cough in Adults

You need to have heard a person coughing with very disturbing sounds. The impression that it creates is similar to that of the barking seal. A person shouldn't be snug along with his state and coughs continually with wheezing sounds that can't be ignored.

Barking cough is a situation during which the person is inflicted with cough that's harsh and dry in nature. It's because of the dryness that the sound is emitted when the person coughs. It has been recorded that barking cough in adults is a case of rarity, as an alternative it's all the extra prevalent in youngsters. Nonetheless, one should concentrate on what causes barking cough and what are the signs of the identical.

 Barking Cough in Adults

A trigger that's thought to be the offender in inflicting a croup cough is the irritation of the larynx and the trachea. The larynx and the trachea get infected as a result of viral infections. Parainfluenza virus is discovered to be afflicting the trachea and inflicting it to swell up with redness and heaviness felt within the throat. Different causes of barking cough are as follows:

Causes of barking cough

Influenza

Widespread chilly and cough elevate and trigger the throat to get scratched, thereby resulting in irritation within the throat. When the throat is irritated, it results in the individual having a relentless urge to cough resulting from which the bouts of cough change into extreme to endure.

Allergy symptoms

There are occasions when a person is totally aversive to sure supplies or herbs and can't bear to remain within the neighborhood of the identical. Mud allergic reactions, allergy because of mildew infestation, varnish allergy and pollen allergy are among the potential allergy varieties that show to be a reason behind extreme cough.

Acid Reflux

It's when an individual is susceptible to hyperacidity or gastrointestinal assaults that barking cough might happen. Usually observed after meals, there may be an episode of regurgitation that assaults the digestive system. It is because of this that the person might endure issue in respiratory, resulting in barking cough. When the cough turns into persistent in nature, it results in bronchial asthma as effectively.

Pertussis

Often known as whooping-cough, this ailment is extra frequent in kids than adults. Nevertheless, adults too could possibly be victims of pertussis. Whooping cough is characterised by a 'whoop' sound that's prompted on the finish of every coughing episode. One is certain to expertise wheezing, harsh coughing sound, watery eyes and runny nostril with tongue seldom protruding and turning blue in response to the depth of the cough.

Signs of Barking Cough

Croup or laryngotracheobronchitis as barking cough is known as, has a peculiar sound to it. It carries with it a typical harshness through the spasmodic coughing episodes. You've barking cough should you expertise:

• Wheezing; sounds which might be elicited on account of heavy respiration. You need to name a physician in the event you really feel extraordinarily uneasy.
• Harsh Cough; don't ignore this cough as this will additional scratch your throat resulting in throat infections.
• Hoarseness; the voice turns into tough and there's a screechy sound embedded in your tone once you converse.
• Fatigue; there's an rising quantity of fatigue. Your system will get drained as a result of fixed tremors and extreme coughing assaults that it endures.
• Ache close to the rib cage; that is because of the depth with which the person is coughing. The ache oscillates to being extra when the individual coughs and subsides when there are not any assaults of coughing exhausting.
• Fever; it's as a result of coughing that your system is exerted and as a result of extreme fatigue that your system endures, fever is the resultant symptom.

Barking Cough Treatment

You might take pleasure in:

• Inhaling steam and consuming lukewarm, or boiled water.
• Staying away from dusty setting that elicits sneezes and bouts of cough.
• Making a syrup by mixing honey and contemporary ginger items. Simply ½ a teaspoon thrice a day might assist in curbing the depth of your croup.
• Gargling with heat saline water three to 4 instances a day. This may assist soothe the throat.
• Including just a few drops of lemon squeezed in a glass of water, that could possibly be sipped at common intervals, helps soothe the throat and scale back sturdy bouts of cough.
• Stacking on just a few pillows beneath your head when you sleep, particularly throughout nighttime. Together with your head elevated, you might be much less susceptible to assaults or bouts of dry cough.
• Utilizing Bee balm, also called Oswego tea or horsemint is a perennial herb that helps struggle chilly, cough and flu. Place two to 3 leaves of bee balm right into a glass of sizzling water. Hold the combination coated for a couple of minutes. Simply sip via the combination a number of occasions throughout the day. A really helpful treatment, particularly when your nasal passage is blocked or you've a extreme respiratory an infection.
• Ingesting a scorching beverage is a welcome when our nostril runs a water provide for hours on finish. Nevertheless, moreover ingesting ginger tea, you might attempt onion tea. Reduce one onion into 4 items and place it in water. Let the water boil with the onion added to it. The onion leaves its spicy juices in water. Drink the tea to appease a scratched throat and open your nasal tract.

If these treatments don't work too properly for you and there's no vital enchancment in your state, you have to:

Seek the advice of your physician with none additional delay.

Take into account the antibiotic course administered to you by the physician and finishing the prescribed course. Leaving the course midway may end up in barking cough affecting you another time. That is, certainly true with any medicine course you're taking and holds good for the therapy for all circumstances.

Settle for and cling to his advise of getting sure examinations carried out. CBC (Full Blood Rely) and a routine Hemogram to verify your hemoglobin could reveal the discrepancies in your system.

With these cures, one could also be geared up to counter the causes and signs of barking cough. As talked about earlier, barking cough in adults is much less prevalent; nonetheless, one could not rule out its efficiency fully.

The Excellent Home Remedy for Chest Cough Remedies

Chest cough remedies can be done at home with natural treatments and herbs. This way will work as well as drugstore medicine. When you have already felt that your throat is starting to be itch and your lungs are wracked. You can take some treatments below to heal it.

Herbal tea
since tea has been known to treat the cough for thousands of years ago. You can use this to heal your cough. Prepare a mug of hot water with the tea inside. Add a splash of lemon juice and a table spoon of honey. The lemon juice is going to release the heal enzymes while the honey will help to lubricate your throat and stop the cough.

Garlic cough syrup
chop a few cloves of garlic and then put them in a mason jar. Pour some tablespoons of honey and then close the jar tightly. Put it in the refrigerator and let it mix for at least 24 hours. Take a tablespoon of the liquid mixture right after you wake up in the morning to subdue your cough.

Ginger chewing gum
when you feel the urge cough, take a slice of ginger and then chew it until your cough is stopped. Do it as regularly as you need to have the excellent chest cough remedies.