An agonizing harsh cough

Any cough is unpleasant, even if it is not accompanied by other cold symptoms. In acute respiratory diseases, a dry cough is gradually replaced by a wet one, the throat stops soreness, the phlegm actively leaves, moisturizing the mucous membranes, and the healing process begins. But when a person is tormented by a harsh cough for weeks, a sharp and unproductive cough that does not bring relief, urgent measures must be taken. Moreover, both adults and children can suffer from such attacks.

How does it appear

A harsh, severe cough appears, usually suddenly. Something negatively affects the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract and triggers a cough reflex, the purpose of which is to rid the body of the irritant. With the help of coughing, our body is also freed from excess mucus or foreign bodies that have entered the respiratory system.

The reasons for the appearance of such a cough are very diverse, and there are some differences in adults and children. So, children's cough often has physiological causes. And when an adult coughs, it always means that there are problems in the body. Without understanding the mechanism of the onset of cough, it is impossible to completely eliminate it. Therefore, treatment with alternative methods often gives only temporary relief. It eliminates cough as a symptom without addressing the underlying problem.

Severe dry cough in children

A harsh harsh cough in a child can be caused by purely physiological reasons. His nasal passages and the lumen of the larynx are much narrower than that of an adult. Therefore, if mucus accumulates in the nose or throat, which the baby cannot get rid of on its own, the body tries to do it by coughing. It is enough to clean the nose well and raise the baby's head as the attack stops.

Too dry air in the room also provokes an attack of a sharp barking cough. The baby's mucous membranes are still very delicate and dry out and irritate at the slightest sign of dehydration. The kid feels a sore throat and begins to cough violently, it is enough to give the child a warm drink and humidify the air, and the problem disappears by itself.

But a child's strong dry cough cannot be ignored. It can be a symptom of a dangerous infectious disease: whooping cough, measles, diphtheria, scarlet fever.

Early on, these diseases may not produce fever and other typical respiratory symptoms. But in the absence of treatment, serious complications arise: chronic bronchitis, pleurisy, pneumonia.

External stimuli

In adults, a hacking paroxysmal cough is caused by more varied causes. They can be roughly divided into external and internal. In most cases, it is easy to determine external causes, and simple preventive measures will help prevent the onset of cough:

Environment. A dry, hacking paroxysmal cough can be caused by unfavorable environmental conditions. It is provoked by too dry air, dehydration of the body, low air temperature. A coughing fit in asthmatics can provoke a cold fog, which causes bronchial spasm.
Smoking. Harsh morning cough is a real scourge of experienced smokers. Tobacco smoke contains more than 200 chemical elements and compounds harmful to humans. The thick resins clog the lungs and create inflammation. Also, when smoking, the villi that line the bronchial mucosa are damaged. This makes it difficult to cough up mucus when coughing and makes it easier for infections to enter the upper respiratory tract.
Contaminated air. Harsh coughing attacks, which over time provoke the development of chronic bronchitis and bronchial asthma, are often suffered by residents of megacities. The reason is highly polluted air. Most of the harmful compounds do not rise high into the atmosphere, but rather creep near the ground, forming a poisonous dome over the city. Smog, carbon dioxide, lead compounds enter the respiratory tract, irritate the bronchi and poison the body.
Harmful working conditions. Not so few people suffer from coughs as a symptom of occupational diseases. The risk group primarily includes those who work in "hot shops", at chemical and metallurgical plants, construction sites, and in the textile industry. To a lesser extent, hairdressers, nail technicians, and dry cleaning employees are at risk of injury. These people should try to minimize direct contact with irritants and use personal protective equipment whenever possible.
Poisonous substances. Often, a cough is one of the symptoms of food or chemical poisoning. If inhaled or ingested, the harsh chemical irritates or burns the esophagus and larynx. A reflex paroxysmal cough occurs, often with traces of blood in the sputum, since small blood vessels burst in the damaged mucosa.

Even if it is not possible to completely exclude the effect of external irritants on the respiratory organs, then it is quite possible to minimize them.

The main thing is not to ignore the constant cough. Even if its cause is an occupational or chronic disease, you need to try to prevent exacerbations and prevent the disease from developing further.

Acute and chronic diseases

Acute respiratory infections always begin with a hacking dry cough. They are accompanied by characteristic symptoms: runny nose, lacrimation, swelling of mucous membranes, increased body temperature.

At an early stage, even ARVI can be easily cured with antiviral drugs or proven folk remedies. But they are most effective only in the first 72 hours.

Pharyngitis. Once in the body, the pathogenic microflora settles on the mucous membranes and irritates the back wall of the larynx. In response, there is a reflex sharp cough. A similar reaction occurs to physical or chemical stimuli.
Tracheitis. Sinking further, pharyngitis can smoothly turn into tracheitis (inflammation of the trachea). It is accompanied by an increase in body temperature, severe cough, headaches, weakness, shortness of breath, and frequent coughing fits.
Bronchitis. A characteristic symptom of acute bronchitis is severe shortness of breath, which can appear even without physical exertion. Coughing attacks are frequent, worse at night, there is pus or traces of blood in the coughing up sputum.
Pneumonia. In acute pneumonia, pain in the chest is felt, breathing is very difficult, characteristic wheezing and whistling are heard when inhaling, and the body temperature rises sharply. Chronic pneumonia is sometimes asymptomatic, and only a hacking, regular cough indicates a problem.
Tuberculosis. It develops gradually, starting as a slight cough. Over time, it becomes constant, and then turns into a harsh, barking paroxysmal cough, in which sputum flies out in streaks or blood clots. A person with such a cough is dangerous to others, as he is a distributor of infection.
Lungs' cancer. Lung cancer can be suspected by the presence of blood in the expectorated sputum, the amount of which is usually very small. The characteristic symptoms of cancer are pain syndrome, a sharp decrease in body weight, lack of appetite, mood swings, and a drop in the activity of the immune system.
Heart cough. A hacking, harsh cough accompanies or precedes heart attacks.With severe cardiovascular insufficiency, the body experiences a lack of oxygen, which the body tries to compensate for by expanding the lumen of the bronchi when coughing. Bright red blood that appears during such a cough may indicate a myocardial infarction.
Stomach cough. It occurs when there are malfunctions in the digestive tract: reflux disease, gastritis with high acidity, peptic ulcer. It usually gets worse at night or after eating "heavy" or spicy foods.

The diseases that cause the harsh barking cough are so varied that there is not and cannot be a single treatment regimen for it. And it is almost impossible to figure out its reasons on your own.

Therefore, if a dry cough lasts longer than a month and it is not possible to get rid of it with home methods, it is necessary to consult a doctor and undergo a diagnostic examination.

General treatment regimen

After a medical examination and carrying out the necessary research and laboratory tests, the patient is assigned, depending on the diagnosis, an individually selected course of therapy. The general scheme looks something like this:

initial examination of the patient by a general practitioner;
diagnostic studies and analyzes;
consultation of narrow specialists (otolaryngologist, pulmonologist, etc.);
chest x-ray or bronchoscopy;
a course of drug therapy to treat the underlying disease;
the use of mucolytic or expectorant drugs to eliminate cough and facilitate sputum discharge;
a course of physiotherapy procedures;
traditional medicine as an adjuvant treatment;
the correct daily regimen and a gentle diet;
prevention of possible complications and elimination of residual cough.

Prescribing antibiotics to yourself and taking them on your own is categorically contraindicated, especially if you do not know the exact diagnosis. So when a cough is caused by a fungal infection, antibiotics will create favorable conditions for their reproduction. And in case of an allergic reaction, they can cause anaphylactic shock and even lead to the death of the patient.

The use of antiviral drugs for the bacterial nature of the disease will not give any result, and the disease will develop rapidly. There is no point in them even a few days after the onset of the disease.

If you tried to get rid of a cough with folk remedies, but the condition did not improve, you do not need to continue experimenting - you need to consult a doctor and apply traditional drugs.

The course of treatment recommended by the doctor must be taken to the end in order to exclude the transition of the disease into a chronic form and to prevent possible complications. It is possible to interrupt the treatment on your own only if an allergic reaction has appeared to any of the drugs. It is necessary to inform the doctor about this, and he will replace the medicine with another with a similar effect.

Folk remedies

Although with serious chronic diseases, folk remedies will not completely get rid of a hacking cough, but they can significantly alleviate it and relieve an attack. A pleasant bonus is that home treatment methods provide the body with an additional amount of minerals and trace elements, since vegetables, fruits, and bee products act as a medicine.

Here are some popular folk recipes for dry, hacking cough:

Ghee with honey. Perfectly relieves irritation of the larynx and quickly stops a coughing fit. The components are mixed in a 1: 1 ratio and a small piece must be placed under the tongue and slowly dissolve. After that, it is advisable not to eat or drink for half an hour, so as not to wash off the formed protective film from the mucous membrane.
Warm milk with baking soda and fat. Well softens cough, facilitates coughing up phlegm, helps to restore the mucous membrane. Drink warm milk, one glass 2-3 times a day. Add a pinch of baking soda and a teaspoon of goat or badger fat, cocoa butter, coconut or ghee to it.
Figs in milk. For half a liter of milk, take 2-3 medium fresh or dried fig berries. Boil for 10-15 minutes over low heat, and then drain the milk and drink, and later you can eat the boiled fig itself.
Rubbing with turpentine or camphor oil. They help especially well with bronchitis, as they expand the lumen of the bronchi, making it easier to cough up phlegm. At the same time, beneficial vapors enter the respiratory tract, acting anti-inflammatory and making breathing easier.
Oil wraps. For them, you can use ghee, sunflower, olive oil, goose, goat or bear fat. Melt it in a water bath and apply to the chest. Then wrap the patient with cellophane, insulate with cotton wool and a terry towel folded several times. Keep for at least 2-3 hours, but you can leave it overnight.

Warm drinks must be consumed in large quantities. First, irritated mucous membranes need constant hydration. Second, dehydration occurs faster at high temperatures. And most importantly, during the illness, a large amount of toxins are formed in the body, which are excreted only in a state dissolved in water. You can drink warm water, decoctions of medicinal herbs, compotes from raspberries, currants, dogwood and rose hips.

A good effect is given by frequent gargling of the throat - it moisturizes the mucous membranes, relieves their inflammation and washes away the remnants of mucus.

If there are no contraindications and a very high body temperature, you can do steam or ultrasonic inhalations. A good healing effect is given by deep warming up with paraffin, vodka compresses and even mustard plasters. But for a number of diseases, their use is categorically contraindicated.

It is important to follow the principle of "do no harm", so if there is even the slightest doubt about the advisability of using the method you have chosen, consult your doctor. Tips from the Internet may not suit you - after all, in 90% of cases, they are not written by specialists, but by the same patients who solve the problem on their own.