Introduction
Doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel have a series of duties that they must attend to, and one of them is dealing with patients’ medical grievances. Many of these complaints are quite common, ranging from the mundane to life-threatening. However, it is the job of these medical personnel to pay attention to these complaints, as these are the symptoms and underlying causes of the true medical condition of the patient. Knowing what these complaints mean will prove to be useful in a patient’s diagnosis. In some cases, this can mean the difference between life and death because some of these may appear harmless but are in fact symptoms of a far more serious disease.
One of the complaints that medical personnel frequently hear is that the patients suffer from an intensive case of coughing. Coughing can be a symptom of various medical conditions and diseases, depending on the intensity, frequency, nature, and period of the cough. Therefore, it is important that a medical worker take note of these as they can be the key to successful identification of the patient’s problem and the treatment he or she requires.
Coughing: An Overview
Basically, a cough is defined as one of the human body’s involuntary actions to clear up any obstructions in the respiratory tract, whether it be mucus, irritants, or some other foreign object. It is important to note that coughing is not a disease on its own; rather, it is more of a symptom of another preexisting condition. Fortunately, coughs are not a sign of anything serious, at least most of the time. A cough may be a sign of a respiratory disease, especially if it is frequent.
There are generally two types of cough: the dry cough, which is hollow and produces no phlegm at all, and the chesty cough, in which phlegm is produced so as to clear the lungs and the respiratory passageway. Coughs can also be classified according to their duration. An acute cough lasts in less than three weeks, a subacute cough lasts from three to eight weeks, and a chronic cough persists for more than eight weeks (Goldsobel & Chipps, 2010).
Many medicines that are designed to suppress coughs exist, but most of the time they are described and ineffective. Moreover, they can prove to be harmful if the coughs were designed to relieve the patient in question. It is important, therefore to not deal with the cough itself but rather on what causes the cough in the first place.
Diagnosing Coughs
In order to know what is the cause of the coughing in the patient, doctors and nurses need to collect some data regarding the nature of the cough. Coughs are classified according to how long they last, their nature, their quality and their frequency (Goldsobel & Chipps). Additionally, it is important to note if the coughing comes from a child or an adult, since the diagnosis of a cough can differ when it comes to age groups (Gibson et al, 2010).
For one, the duration of the cough as outlined above can be a major determining factor. For healthy children, it is normal to cough ten times a day. If a cough is acute or subacute, it may be due to disease in the respiratory tract. For chronic cough, however, the causes may be due to asthma, bronchitis, postnasal drip, and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), among others (Goldsobel & Chipps).
The nature of the cough includes the history of the cough itself. A doctor may check if the patient has a history of smoking, shortness of breath, feeding difficulties, production of sputum, and abnormal chest x-rays. For children, a history of shortness of breath, pneumonia, fever, respiratory noises, feeding difficulties and the like will be checked (Gibson et al). A presence of one or more of these will majorly affect the diagnosis. For example, if the patient smokes heavily, there is a chance that the cough is due to a respiratory infection. If the patient has an asthma, then the cough is probably caused by that condition. The nature also includes environmental exposures, which can produce some irritants that will trigger the coughing itself.
The characteristic of the cough is a major determining factor as well. If a cough is wheezy, it may be due to asthma; a “brassy” cough may suggest tracheomalacia (Gibson et al). Additionally, a cough’s quality is also dependent on the cause; a wet cough is associated with problems in mucus secretion, while dry cough suggests asthma, irritants or the like. (Goldsobel & Chipps)
Cough: Health Promotion
Basically, a cough can be caused by irritants, an allergy, or an infection, which is usually indicated whether it is dry or wet. Once the cause of the cough is known, then some steps can be undertaken to remedy it.
A dry cough can be caused by irritants or viral illnesses. To decongest dry cough, the patient must intake plenty of fluids in the body to soothe the throat. For a wet cough, intake of much fluid is recommended as well to thin the mucus. If the cough is chronic, or is accompanied by shortness of breath and the like, then it is best to seek medical help as the cause of these types of coughs are far more serious (Ferrell, Archbold & Cherne, 1998).
References
Ferrell, V., Archbold, E.E., & Cherne, H.M. (1998). The Natural Remedies Encyclopedia. Tennessee: Harvestime Books.
Gibson, P.G., Chang, A.B., Glasgow, N.J., Holmes, P.W., Katelaris, P., Kemp, A.S.,, Vertigan, A. (2010). CICADA: Cough in children and adults: Diagnosis and assessment. Australian cough guidelines summary statement. Medical Journal of Australia 192(5). Retrieved from https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2010/192/5/cicada-cough-children-and-adults-diagnosis-and-assessment-australian-cough#0_CBBCGBIE
Goldsobel, A.B. & Chipps, B.E. (2010). Cough in the pediatric population. Journal of Pediatrics 156(3). doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2009.12.004.
