What causes coughing?

Coughing should be familiar to most of us, because in our daily life, the chances of suffering from cough are quite high. There are many reasons for coughing, which is known to many people. Therefore, it is precisely because of this that cough is often difficult to treat. Common coughs will get better after certain medications; however, some coughs can lead to certain diseases in the human body.

Coughing is an experience that many people have had. When we cough, our throat feels very uncomfortable. Many times, a diseased throat feels itchy. Although cough is a common disease for most people, the incidence of this disease is extremely high, so it cannot be ignored. So, let’s talk about what causes coughing.

Coughing is a protective reflex action of the human body. Pathological secretions in the respiratory tract and foreign objects that enter the respiratory tract from the outside can be expelled from the body through the cough reflex. However, if the cough is frequent and irritating and affects work and rest, it loses its protective significance.

Causes

1. Respiratory diseases

Inhalation of irritating gases in various parts of the respiratory tract, such as the pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi and lungs, as well as stimulation by foreign bodies, inflammation, tumors, bleeding, etc. can all cause coughing.

2. Pleural diseases

Pleurisy or pleural irritation (such as spontaneous pneumothorax) can cause cough.

3. Heart disease

Pulmonary congestion and pulmonary edema caused by left heart failure due to mitral stenosis or other reasons can cause cough. Cough and hemoptysis may also occur when pulmonary embolism is caused by thrombi detaching from the right heart or systemic circulation veins.

4. Central factors

Coughing can also originate from the cerebral cortex (voluntary cough), in which impulses are transmitted from the cerebral cortex to the cough center in the medulla oblongata, causing coughing movements.

Clinical manifestations

1. Nature of cough

Coughing without sputum or with very little sputum is called a dry cough, which is common in the early stages of acute pharyngitis and acute bronchitis, pleurisy, mild pulmonary tuberculosis, etc. Coughing with sputum is called a wet cough, which is common in pneumonia, chronic pharyngitis, chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis, lung abscess and cavitary tuberculosis.

2. Timing and rhythm of cough

Sudden onset of cough is mostly caused by acute upper respiratory tract inflammation (especially caused by inhalation of irritating gases) and foreign bodies in the trachea or bronchi. Long-term chronic cough is often seen in chronic respiratory diseases, such as chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis, chronic lung abscess, cavitary tuberculosis, etc. Paroxysmal cough can be seen in cases of whooping cough, bronchial lymph node tuberculosis, or cancer compressing the tracheal bifurcation. Patients with chronic bronchiectasis and lung abscess often have an aggravated cough and subsequent sputum production when they get up in the early morning or lie down at night (i.e., when changing body position).

3. The timbre of a cough

Hoarseness when coughing is caused by inflammation or tumor of the vocal cords, which can be seen in laryngitis, laryngeal tuberculosis, laryngeal cancer, etc. A barking cough is often seen in epiglottis, laryngeal diseases or tracheal compression. A low-pitched cough may be heard in patients who are extremely debilitated or have vocal cord paralysis. A metallic-toned cough may be caused by direct compression from a mediastinal tumor, aortic aneurysm, or bronchial cancer.

From the above introduction, we can see that there are really many reasons why a person coughs, and there are generally many symptoms about coughing. Therefore, if we encounter a cough in our future life, we must go to the hospital for examination as much as possible, wait for the results to come out, and then take the right medicine. This will make the treatment a little easier.