Chronic tickly cough
Symptoms: You don’t have any phlegm but you feel like mucus is dripping down the back of your throat.
Cause: Post-nasal drip. oucus normally drips unnoticed down the back of your throat, but if it becomes thick or there’s a lot of it – which is often the result of having an allergy or a cold – it can trigger a cough.
Treatment: over-the-counter treatments may give quick relief. If you suspect it’s due to an allergy, you may want to see a specialist for allergy tests.
Barking cough
Symptoms: You sound like a sea lion. It often happens at night and you may wheeze, but there’s unlikely to be phlegm.
Cause: It may be the legacy of a cold or the flu and is thought to be caused by inflammation in the airways.
Treatment: It usually goes away by itself after a few weeks. Lozenges increase saliva, which coat and soothe a sore throat. You could also ease the symptoms by inhaling steam.
Hacking cough
Symptoms: A nasty cough in which you bring up thick yellowy-green coloured mucus. It’s usually worse first thing in the morning.
Cause: It’s often due to acute bronchitis – an infection of the airways.
Treatment: Drinking fluid will help to thin the mucus, making it easier to cough up. over-the-counter cough medicines can also relieve the coughing.
Dry cough with a wheeze
Symptoms: It’s worse at night or first thing in the morning and is accompanied by a wheeze.
Cause: Asthma is a possibility. If you have asthma and your airway is irritated, the muscles around it tighten.
Treatment: Inhalers open the airways and make it easier to breathe. In severe cases steroids may be prescribed.
Chesty cough
Symptoms: Lots of phlegm, wheezing, chest tightness and difficulty breathing. It’s worse in the mornings and winter.
Cause: It could be Chronic obstructive Pulmonary Disease (CoPD) – the name given to a variety of lung conditions like emphysema and chronic bronchitis. It is often caused by smoking.
Treatment: There’s no cure, but damage can be slowed. Inhalers can often help with breathlessness, while steam inhalation can loosen mucus.
See a doctor if:
You have shortness of breath as well as a cough.
Your cough has lasted for weeks and is not getting better.
You’re coughing up blood or rust-coloured phlegm.
You have a sharp pain or dull ache in your chest when you cough.
other possible causes:
Lung diseases
Whooping cough
Health watch:
Here’s another reason to eat an apple a day. New research shows a substance found in apple peel reduces muscle waste and promotes muscle growth in mice. It may also reduce fat, blood-sugar levels, cholesterol and triglycercides.
Having a dog or cat doesn’t increase children’s chances of developing allergies, and in fact may decrease them, according to a new study. Researchers found children who lived with a cat in the first year of their lives halved their risks of becoming sensitive to them later in life.