Decipher the cough that lasts

Cough is not a disease but a warning sign of health problems such as pneumonia, gastroesophageal or asthma.

Cough is a common symptom every time it cools, divided into an acute cough (lasting less than 4 weeks) and chronic cough (lasting 8 weeks or more). For effective treatment, you need to determine what causes coughing and below are 8 reasons you can refer to Men's Health.

Acute bronchitis

The common cold causes a dry cough with a runny nose, sore throat or congestion. In the case of a lot of cough and sputum, you may have acute bronchitis.

Most cases of acute viral bronchitis caused by antibiotics should be ineffective. According to the University of Georgia study, when you get sick, you will need an average of 18 days to recover.

Pneumonia

A persistent cough with colorless sputum or blood mixed is a sign of pneumonia. The accompanying manifestations include fever, general tiredness, difficulty breathing and cold. Notably, a cough due to pneumonia does not appear immediately but comes after a few days of using antibiotics. The cause of pneumonia is virus or more dangerous than bacteria.

For effective treatment, you need to determine what causes coughing.(Photo: Men's Health).

Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors)

ACE inhibitors are used to treat high blood pressure. When they enter the body, they increase the amount of bradykinin that causes coughing.

A cough comes from an ACE inhibitor that is often very dry, similar to whooping cough. The strange thing is that you may suddenly cough even though you have been taking the medicine for a long time without any problems. In this case, contact your doctor to change treatment if possible. The cough will stop after 3-4 weeks of stopping ACE inhibitors.

Post nasal discharge syndrome

One of the most common causes of chronic cough is the following nasal discharge syndrome. The nose drops from the throat instead of the nostrils to stimulate coughing, especially bad at night or early in the morning when the nose drops easily.

The disease is usually treated with antihistamines.

Gastroesophageal reflux

Gastroesophageal reflux is another common reason for chronic cough. However, many people do not know they have a cough because of this disease.

When refluxed, the acid from the stomach to the esophagus, come and "burn" the larynx makes you cough. People who get sick often cough a lot after eating too much. Symptoms get worse at night or early in the morning because when lying down acid easily move to the esophagus.

The doctor may detect gastroesophageal reflux disease by measuring the amount of acid in the esophagus. To improve your health, change your lifestyle by limiting alcohol, coffee, late supper and spicy or fatty foods.

Asthma

Along with the syndrome of postnasal drip and gastric reflux, asthma is the third most common cause of chronic cough. Atrophic air ducts make it hard to breathe, wheeze and have a dry cough.

Asthma is often diagnosed through breathing tests or pulmonary function tests.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

COPD is a serious disease that is easily acquired if you regularly smoke or get in contact with dust and smoke, damaging your airways and making breathing difficult.

There are two types of COPD: chronic bronchitis and emphysema. In chronic bronchitis, the lining of the airways is inflamed leading to chronic cough. Meanwhile, emphysema affects air pockets in the lungs, reducing the amount of oxygen in the blood. The result is a dry cough and difficulty breathing.

COPD is treated similarly to asthma but so far there is no cure.

Lung cancer

If you have coughed for weeks, think about lung cancer. So far, the prognosis of lung cancer is very bad, only 17% of patients live for 5 years or more.

However, don't worry because you can't get lung cancer if you cough for 8 weeks without other symptoms like weight loss, coughing up blood, fatigue, chest pain.