In rare cases, they stop on their own, but most patients need medication to alleviate the condition.
Often, diseases in which the throat itches and an unproductive cough occurs are chronic, so the symptoms recur sporadically.
How can a patient be helped? What non-drug methods and medications are used in the treatment process?
Choice of treatment
Treatment that relieves symptoms is called symptomatic. It is used in various forms of diseases to quickly alleviate the patient's condition. However, the most effective is the impact on the cause of pathological changes - both by non-drug methods and with the help of drugs. To get rid of a tickle in the throat and dry cough, you need to know what caused them.
Feeling of irritation, itching and dry cough are characterized by:
- allergic pharyngitis;
- allergic laryngitis.
These diseases are classified as minor respiratory allergies. They are associated with the occurrence of allergic inflammation in various parts of the respiratory tract - the pharynx and larynx. The development of symptoms is due to contact with allergens. The patient begins to itch in his throat, a cough appears after eating any food, staying in a dusty room.
Allergic pathologies can have a chronic course, so even single symptoms cannot be ignored.
Subsequently, with the recurrence of episodes of an allergic reaction, the patient's condition may deteriorate significantly - the cough becomes painful, paroxysmal, extremely intrusive, and the itching is accompanied by pronounced swelling of the mucous membrane. When the larynx is affected, edema creates an obstacle to the passage of air flow and threatens the rapid development of respiratory disorders.
What to do when it tickles in the throat and dry cough - how to treat it? For diseases of the pharynx and larynx of an allergic nature, therapy is used:
- Elimination.
- Medicinal.
- Allergen-specific.
Elimination therapy is an essential component of the treatment regimen. Allergen-specific immunotherapy can be extremely useful, but the appropriateness of the application is considered on a case-by-case basis.
Elimination therapy
Elimination therapy refers to the separation of the patient from the causative allergen. There is a concept of the maximum antigenic sparing regime, which means that all possible contacts of a patient with provocateurs of an allergic reaction are minimized or impossible. Since the cause of the reaction - the allergen - is eliminated, the patient ceases to notice symptoms.
For elimination therapy to be effective, you need to know what the allergen is for the patient. Elimination is not an easy task, since it often turns out that the patient is sensitized (sensitive) not to one or even several allergens - their number can be in the tens. In addition, it is sometimes impossible to completely eliminate the allergen on your own - for example, if the patient reacts to pollen from trees that grow everywhere. Therefore, it is important to discuss the issue of elimination therapy with the attending physician in order to find the optimal solution.
There is also a universal elimination therapy regimen that is useful for all patients with allergic pharyngitis and laryngitis. It includes:
- Elimination diet. This is a hypoallergenic diet, the main principle of which is the refusal of food of high and medium degree of allergenicity, as well as the complete exclusion of foods that cause allergies in a particular patient. Causally significant foods to be eliminated from the diet are confirmed using laboratory methods and objective observation (keeping a food diary, taking anamnesis). Potential allergens are citrus fruits, cow's milk, peanuts; a complete list should be checked with your doctor.
- Elimination measures in the house. Household allergens include dust, feather pillow fillers, mold, soft toys, pet hair. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out regular wet cleaning (it is not performed by the patient himself, but by a person who does not suffer from sensitivity to dust), glaze cabinets where books are stored, systematically knock out, vacuum and clean carpets. It is best to remove carpets, books, and stuffed animals altogether, as they accumulate dust and are difficult to remove when cleaning. Naturally filled pillows should be replaced with hypoallergenic synthetic materials. Mold must also be destroyed.
- Prevention of seasonal exacerbations. This is the best, but not always available option for patients to avoid recurrence of symptoms. If the patient is allergic to pollen, he is advised to leave for a "safer" region until the flowering stops.
Separately, the danger of contact with household chemicals, paints and varnishes, professional irritants should be emphasized. If the premises are being renovated, the allergy-prone person should avoid staying in it. It is better to clean the rooms using the safest means possible, or thoroughly ventilate the room, complete all activities two hours before the allergic patient returns to it.
Elimination therapy is the most effective, reliable and preferred treatment for allergic pharyngitis and laryngitis.
Without the elimination of causally significant allergens, all other measures are reduced only to suppression of the reaction - that is, to a decrease in the severity of symptoms. This increases the risk of developing other allergic pathologies. Medicines are good for quickly relieving symptoms, but they cannot completely cure the disease.
Drug therapy
When it starts tickling in the throat, you need to take action: contact with the allergen has already occurred. For allergic pharyngitis and laryngitis, drugs such as:
- blockers of H1-histamine receptors (Cetirizine, Loratadin, Tavegil, Desloratadin);
- stabilizers of mast cell membranes, or cromones (Zaditen, Cromoglycic acid);
- systemic and topical glucocorticosteroids (Prednisolone, Dexamethasone, Fluticasone);
- antileukotriene drugs (Montelukast, Singular).
The first two groups of drugs are most commonly used, which can also be classified as antihistamines. Blockers of H1-histamine receptors allow you to count on a quick effect, and cromones are suitable for long-term therapy.
Antihistamines are usually used symptomatically - when complaints arise. They prevent the pathological effects of histamine, which is clinically manifested by a decrease in itching, sneezing, and coughing. If the patient is constantly in contact with the allergen, and long-term administration of the medication is required, preference is given to forms of prolonged action, the effect of which after a single use lasts from 12 to 24 hours.
In the treatment of minor forms of respiratory allergies, a course reception of cromones can be used.
Usually Zaditen is used, which is prescribed for a long time, up to 3 months. It is also important to follow the rules of elimination therapy. Patients who suffer from respiratory allergies are shown vitamin therapy (Pyridoxine, Tocopherol Acetate, etc.).
Glucocorticosteroids are hormones of the adrenal cortex. They are not intended for routine use, they are indicated only in severe or acute conditions - for example, false croup (allergic laryngitis) with the development of stenosis (narrowing) of the larynx. Also, this group of drugs, like antileukotriene drugs, is used in the development of allergic pharyngitis or laryngitis in combination with bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis.
Allergen specific immunotherapy
Allergen-specific immunotherapy, or ASIT, is a variant of the pathogenetic treatment of allergies, which is based on the systematic introduction of a causally significant allergen into the patient's body with a sequential increase in the dose. This method is also called allergy vaccination. It is believed that in the process of performing ASIT, a kind of "training" of the immune system takes place, which makes it possible to develop tolerance (decrease in the severity of the reaction) to the allergen-provocateur.
For minor forms of respiratory allergies, ASIT is needed if:
- the patient is sensitive to a specific allergen;
- the significance of this allergen in the development of symptoms has been confirmed by laboratory methods;
- contact with an allergen cannot be excluded (for example, tree pollen);
- the patient is contraindicated in pharmacological therapy;
- the patient refuses to use drugs.
With the successful application of the method, the drug load is reduced, since the patient does not need to take drugs to stop the allergic reaction. The likelihood of the progression of pathology, the development of new forms (for example, bronchial asthma) also decreases. At the same time, ASIT allows you to get the best effect in the initial period of the disease.
ASIT is not used during exacerbation of symptoms of allergic pathology.
The procedure should be postponed until remission (no symptoms) is achieved; to stop the manifestations of allergies, it is advisable to use antihistamines according to the doctor's recommendation.
Treatment for allergic pharyngitis and laryngitis should be prescribed by an allergist after diagnosis. However, it is worth remembering that much depends on the patient - no drug can replace elimination therapy. If the allergen is known and it is possible to exclude contact with it, you should definitely do this. Treatment is most effective at the initial stage of the development of pathology, so you should not postpone a visit to the doctor.
