What You Need to Know About Coughing: Types and Causes

Uh, oh! You feel a tickle in your throat, and then a cough soon follows. What is causing your cough, and how should it be treated? We all get a cough occasionally, but a cough that continues for weeks or months could be a sign of a medical problem.

What is a Cough?

A cough, also known as tussis, is a voluntary or involuntary act that clears the throat and breathing passage of foreign particles, microbes, irritants, fluids, and mucus; it is a rapid expulsion of air from the lungs. A cough is your body's response when something irritates your throat or airways.

Types of Coughs

An "acute" cough lasts less than three weeks. A "chronic" cough lasts longer than eight weeks (four weeks in children). While acute coughing can often be attributed to factors such as respiratory infections or environmental pollutants, chronic cough presents a more challenging diagnosis.

Common Causes of Acute (Short-Term) Cough

• Inhaling an irritant (such as smoke, dust, chemicals or a foreign body)
• Pneumonia, an infection in one or both lungs
• Viral infections, such as the common cold or flu
• Whooping cough

Mutual Causes of Chronic (Long-Term) Cough

• Allergies
• Asthma (most common in children)
• Bronchitis
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Postnasal drip

At-Home Remedies for Cough

Here are some at-home treatment options you can try at the onset of a cough.

• Avoid tobacco smoke. Smoking or breathing secondhand smoke can make your cough worse.
• Consider using honey. A teaspoon may help loosen a cough. However, don't give honey to children under 12 months old, because it can contain bacteria harmful to infants.
• Drink fluids. Liquid helps thin the mucus in your throat. Warm liquids like broth or lemon tea can soothe your throat.
• Moisturize the air. Use a cool mist humidifier or take a steamy shower.
• Use cough drops or hard candies. They may ease a dry cough and soothe an irritated throat. Don't give them to a child under age 6, however, because of the risk of choking.

The Effectiveness of Cough Medicine

Cough medicines are usually only used for short-term coughs that cause a lot of discomfort, interfere with sleep, and are not associated with any of the potentially worrisome symptoms indicated above. If you use cough medicine, be sure to follow the dosing instructions.

Over-the-counter cough and cold medicines are intended to treat the symptoms of coughs and colds, not an underlying cause. Research suggests that these medicines haven't been proven to work any better than inactive medicine (placebo). More important, these medications have potentially serious side effects, including fatal overdoses in children younger than 2 years old.

Don't use over-the-counter medicines, except fever reducers and pain relievers, to treat coughs and colds in children younger than 6 years old. Also, consider avoiding using these medicines in children younger than 12 years old.

And remember: Coughing isn't all bad. It helps clear mucus from your airway. If you or your child is otherwise healthy, there's usually no reason to suppress a cough.

When is it an Emergency?

If a doctor decides that a cough is caused by a viral infection, such as the common cold or flu, the advice is typically to rest, drink plenty of fluids, and let it run its course. Generally, such coughs clear up after a few weeks.

A cough caused by a viral infection that persists for more than a few weeks will probably require medical attention.

When to Visit Urgent Care

If a cough has persisted for three weeks without improvement, it’s a good idea to go to urgent care to find out what is causing it.

Symptoms That Warrant a Visit to the ER

Symptoms such as difficulty breathing, chest pain, coughing up blood, or unexplained weight loss serve as red flags and signal the need for a visit to the emergency room.

These warning signs may indicate an underlying condition:

• Coughing up thick, greenish-yellow phlegmExperiencing a fever
• Experiencing fainting
• Experiencing shortness of breath
• Wheezing

Seek emergency care if you or your child is:

• Choking or vomiting
• Coughing up bloody or pink-tinged phlegm
• Experiencing chest pain
• Having difficulty breathing or swallowing

Diagnosis

A doctor will ask about your medical history and perform a physical exam. A thorough medical history and physical exam can provide important clues about a prolonged cough.

Many doctors will choose to start treatment for the common causes of chronic cough. However, if the treatment doesn't work, you may undergo testing for less common causes. The doctor may order some diagnostic tests.

• Computerized tomography (CT) scans: CT scans may also be used to check the lungs for conditions that may produce chronic cough or the sinus cavities for pockets of infection.
• Spirometry: Spirometry is a standard test that doctors use to determine how well your lungs are functioning. The test works by measuring airflow in and out of your lungs. The test is common with asthma.
• X-rays: Although a routine chest X-ray won't reveal the most common reasons for a cough, postnasal drip, acid reflux, or asthma, it may be used to check for lung cancer, pneumonia, and other lung diseases. An X-ray of your sinuses may reveal evidence of a sinus infection.

If asthma is diagnosed, the patient may be prescribed asthma medication. A doctor might refer the patient to a lung or ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist in special cases.

Preventing A Cough

The best way to prevent a cough is to reduce your risk of catching a virus or bacterial infection. You can take the following steps:

• Flu or pneumonia vaccinations for high-risk patients
• Frequent hand washing or using 70% alcohol sanitizer
• Limiting exposure to irritants such as smoke

Care for your Cough at UF Health Emergency & Urgent Care

At UF Health Emergency & Urgent Care Centers, our primary goal is to provide the residents of Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia with exceptional service and the proper billing for the care they need. Our combined emergency room and urgent care is fully equipped to handle everything from allergies to fractures to chest pain, with on-site labs, CT, ultrasound and X-ray, all under one roof. The ER and urgent care centers are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No appointment is necessary — just walk in!

Find the UF Health Emergency & Urgent Care Center in Jacksonville nearest you at https://euc.ufhealthjax.org/locations.