HYDERABAD: Coughing continuously not only brings uneasiness to our body it adds to the stress level as well, making us worry for the cause behind it. In the recent times, more and more people are complaining of continuous coughing. While some have gone for home remedies or popping pills to get relief, many others have chosen to ignore it thinking of it as merely a cough. CE speaks to experts to unravel the mystery behind the continuous coughs and find a solution.
According to Dr Chaitanya Challa, Consultant, General Medicine, continuous cough can be infectious and needs to be rectified. “There are two to three elements behind the cause. But the most important thing that we should fear about is that, is this a new Covid-19 wave? There is an increase of 20 per cent of Covid-19 cases, so, we do not know if it is an old variant or a new variant or a mutated old variant. Generally any Covid-19 is an infection in the upper respiratory tract which is the nose and throat areas and the lower respiratory tract which is the bronchitis and both the lungs. Cough will generally come when you have irritation in the throat or in the broncos and that is a sign of concern.
It means you are having an infection. If you have a nose block or throat congestion you will have a little cough and running nose. If you are coughing and able to bring out some sputum with it then that means the broncos or the lung parenchyma is involved. It could also mean that the seasonal change with rains some amount of viral infections in the air which is non-Covid-19 viral infections could be there. Most of us are already vaccinated with double doses and some of us have taken three doses, so we might be having a good protection level in the body.
Any infection that comes, we already have a good amount of antibody level and immunity in the body which will kill off these infections fast. When these infections are killed off there is not much for us to be concerned about. But again if its a new mutation of COVID-19, the scenario will change.” Dr Sailaja Consultant Pulmonologist, CARE Hospitals, Hitech City sharing about how one should be conscious about the cough and go for regular test, says, “Season change could be one of the reasons for this cough.
If the cough becomes bad, get it tested with your doctor and get your chest and lungs scanned, if there is nothing to worry then the cough will reduce automatically once the infection subsides in your lungs. It is also important to understand that if you have pets in and around your house, that could also be the reason behind your cough, they have ceratin allergies that could create congestion to your throat.”
Dr Chaitanya further explains that if the bronchitis is involved till the inflammation is completely gone you will have cough. “This could be for two to three weeks or more. Try not to get wet in the rain and protect yourself by wearing a mask,” he concludes.
“Cough will generally come when you have irritation in the throat or in the broncos and that is a sign of concern,” says Dr Chaitanya Challa
“It is also important to understand that if you have pets in and around your house, that could also be the reason behind your cough, they have ceratin allergies that could create congestion to your throat,” says Dr Sailaja