10 things that cause cough that you need to know

When you breathe in polluted air, you may immediately cough. This is normal because coughing is the body's natural response to clear the airways of irritants or dirty particles. However, if the cough is persistent, it could be a problem in your respiratory system. Generally, cough is the most common symptom of colds, flu, or allergies. However, several other cough-causing conditions can indicate a variety of more serious respiratory illnesses.

Various diseases that cause cough

Cough is indeed the main symptom of a respiratory disease. However, coughing is not only caused by problems in the respiratory tract. One particular type of cough, namely a dry cough that is chronic, can also be caused by an increase in stomach acid.

As described in the journal American Family Physician, various diseases that cause coughs include:

1. Viral and bacterial infections

Infections with germs are the main cause of various diseases that cause coughing. The longer the cough lasts, the more you need to be aware of the cause of the cough.

Symptoms of a mild cough from a viral infection that causes a cold usually go away in less than a week. Conversely, chronic viral and bacterial infections, such as tuberculosis or chronic bronchitis, can cause a persistent (chronic) cough for months.

The following are diseases with cough symptoms caused by viral and bacterial infections.

• Cold: The most common cause of a cold cough is due to a viral infection of the upper respiratory tract. Apart from coughing, you can also experience other early symptoms, such as fever, body aches, runny nose, and sore throat. Recovery with natural cough medicine helps to treat this ailment.
• Flu: cough can also arise from influenza virus infection. Cough due to flu can be accompanied by phlegm or a mild dry cough which can be relieved by taking non-prescription cough medicines.
• Acute bronchitis: kThis ondisi causes you to cough with phlegm often, even lasting for more than a few weeks. Bronchitis is an inflammation caused by viruses or bacteria in the bronchial tubes, namely the respiratory tract.
• Whooping cough: the cause of this cough is bacteria Bordetella pertussis which infects the respiratory tract. Generally, whooping cough or pertussis affects children, especially babies under 6 months of age. This bacterial infection results in a buildup of phlegm in the respiratory tract that stimulates a cough with phlegm.
• Chronic bronchitis: This condition is caused by inflammation that occurs in the branches of the windpipe (bronchi) due to a bacterial or viral infection. Chronic bronchitis can trigger a cough with phlegm accompanied by blood.
• Tuberculosis: a cough that doesn't go away (chronic cough) can be a symptom of tuberculosis or tuberculosis. Tuberculosis that is not treated properly can cause complications that reduce lung function, characterized by a cough that produces bloody sputum.
• Pneumonia: infection from bacteria, viruses, or other parasites causing inflammation in the lungs or pneumonia can be the cause of coughing. This condition makes the mucus production around the lungs more and makes you cough with phlegm for a long time.

2. Asthma

Asthma itself is a chronic respiratory disease that can subside and recur at any time of exposure to trigger factors, such as cold temperatures, irritants, and strenuous activity. Typical asthma symptoms are wheezing, shortness of breath, and coughing. When asthma recurs, these symptoms usually get worse at night.

3. Upper

UACS or post-nasal drip is a condition in which excess mucus production from the upper airway, namely the nose, flows down the back of the throat. As a result, this mucus will irritate the respiratory tract, triggering the cough reflex.

Post-nasal drip occurs due to allergic reactions, especially allergies that affect the airways, namely rhinitis. The type of cough that is usually caused by this condition is a dry cough.

4. Cough after infection

Sub-acute cough is a cough that is prolonged, which indicates that the infection with germs persists after recovering from certain respiratory diseases.

These infections do not only occur in the upper airway, but can also attack the lungs as in bronchitis and pneumonia.

5.

Asthma is a condition of narrowing of the airways due to inflammation. One of the asthma conditions that causes sub-acute cough is cough variant asthma with typical symptoms in the form of a dry cough.

6. Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)

GERD is a condition when stomach acid returns to the esophagus or esophagus. GERD is a long-term condition.

Therefore, continuous irritation due to increased stomach acid can cause a chronic dry cough. The danger is that the acid that rises can also be reabsorbed into the lungs and damage lung tissue.

7.Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

The condition of COPD describes a decrease in lung function due to two or one lung disease, namely chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The lung damage will get worse over time, causing chronic breathing problems such as shortness of breath and coughing.

8. Bronchiectasis

This condition is a long-term cause of cough and is usually accompanied by symptoms of shortness of breath, chest pain, and headaches.

The main factor causing lung cancer is smoking. Coughing up blood is a typical symptom that indicates the cancer has spread and is at an advanced stage.

10. Side effects of high blood pressure

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are drugs commonly given to lower high blood pressure or treat heart failure. The side effects of using this drug are known to cause chronic cough in some people. Some types of ACE drugs commonly given by doctors are benazepril, captopril, and ramipril.

Chronic cough can also be caused by several factors, meaning that it is very possible if the sufferer has more than one disease that shows symptoms of a chronic cough.

Risk factors that can cause coughing

Several factors, both including unhealthy daily habits and exposure to intense pollution, can also trigger a cough reflex. In fact, it can also increase your risk of experiencing the diseases that cause the cough above.

Some of the risk factors for your cough include:

1. Smoking

People who smoke also tend to cough more frequently. This happens because cigarette smoke inhaled can irritate the respiratory tract. In addition, the dangers of smoking also increase the risk of long-term lung diseases, such as bronchitis and COPD.

2. Continuous exposure to pollution

Smoke, pollution, dust, and dry air can stimulate the cough reflex when inhaled. If you continue to breathe in the dirty, dry air around you, you may cough more often.

Especially if you have allergies, poor air quality can trigger an allergic reaction, causing a persistent cough.

The cough you experience can be a normal reflex that functions to remove dirty particles from the airway or a symptom of certain diseases. To find out the exact cause of cough, you need to see a doctor so that the doctor can make a diagnosis and determine the disease causing it. That way, you can find out how to treat coughs right.