Dr. Morozov explained when the cough should be anxious and when it is normal.

– Normally when we start coughing we say that we have a cold, that we go out with wet hair, we do not tie the handkerchief. Are we really starting to cough because of this or is it for completely different reasons?

– We are all really coughing and it is very likely that most of us managed to get up today. Coughing is our normal defense mechanism. It is all the mucus that our lungs, the bronchi, need to lubricate them. For the body to function, it generally needs to be slightly damp. In order for the bronchi and lungs to fulfill their function, they must collect all the dirt that is leaving and then lift them with the help of movements. The person then coughs them up and removes the sputum. The most common cause of an exhausting cough is a cold – inflammation of the upper respiratory tract. Whether due to a cold in the legs or in the head, it does not matter: the body entered a certain uncomfortable environment, that the viruses that were on the mucous membranes began to react and became more irritating, or a person “ caught something angrier and that was enough. so that the body begins to respond.

– It is often said that when you cough up green sputum, you need antibiotics. Is this true or not?

– Not quite. If the nature of our cough, sputum changes, we should always consult a doctor. But a morning cough, “ceremonial”, when we get up in the morning, especially during the heating season, we cough and spit something ugly. That green sputum in the morning doesn’t say anything bad, because it’s only the soldiers who died for our health, the leukocytes, which are that color. But if sputum also occurs during the day, it is imperative to consult a doctor.

– You have a man in the office who is coughing for the first month. What can you suspect in such a person that it may have caused a cough?

– There may be many reasons. But if we are talking about an adult or a child who behaves appropriately, the most common cause may be an “overflow” flow. When it drips behind the nose, ears, sinuses into the chords of the voice and causes coughing. There may be allergic irritation from asthma, chronic bronchitis. There may also be reflux, which is the most common cause of a prolonged cough, a 21st century illness that we have already talked about before on the shows. And how rarely can anti-blood pressure medications be to blame. An older smoker should definitely consider whether such a cough is not cancer. And if we are talking about a small child, it is necessary to consider whether it could not have happened that the child interfered with some foreign body in the mucosa.

– How to distinguish between viral, allergic and seasonal cough?

– As with any disease, in the case of cough, most of the diagnosis consists of a medical history and an interview with the patient. If the cough is accompanied by fever, feeling cold, runny nose, broken bones, etc., it is probably a viral cough. If there is no shortness of breath and a lot of fatigue, there is probably nothing wrong with that. If the cough always recurs at certain times of the year, such as June, if it recurs every time you meet an animal or visit a room, you may think of an allergic cough. If the cough starts during the hot season, it will usually be a seasonal cough.

– I know two people: one of them always coughs in the morning before going to work. The other person always starts coughing when handling long clothes that are lying on the shelves. I also know cases where when one person goes to another house, another person also starts coughing.

– Yes, you can even start kissing out of discomfort when you see a certain person. If a person coughs due to dust, they are most likely allergic to dust or dust mites. When it comes to coughing in the morning, maybe it’s the “ceremonial” cough we’re talking about, and maybe sleeping in bedding that you’re allergic to or have reflux to.

– When we go to the pharmacy, we will see a wide range of preparations for the treatment of cough. How much can they really help? Are they worth buying and spending the money?

– A normal uncomplicated cough should go away in a couple of weeks. If you keep improving, everything is fine. When it comes to cough medicine, there is generally nothing wrong with taking them. But there will be no miracles. Yes, if we have a complicated case in which the lungs need a very quick cleaning, a purulent infection, bronchitis, pneumonia, bronchospasm, medication is needed. According to research, whether we drink hot liquids except alcohol: tea with honey, hot milk, compote, or take medicine to help cough, it makes no difference. In both cases, we will probably start coughing on the third day and that cough will end in two weeks. What can be done with medication is to overdo it. This is usually done by women and the people they love the most: children, because men are not loved that much. 3-4 herbal syrups are drunk, which will certainly irritate the stomach more than they will have any effect. But if we choose one and it will give us some positive effect, we can safely use that preparation.

– We have already decided that everyone coughs every day, and when do you have to worry about coughing and see a doctor?

– I have seen two recommendations. One indicates what is unequivocally malignant and the other is what is a non-malignant cough. Coughing for an hour without stopping or experiencing 3 major coughing spells per day; we consider it an infection or other pathological cough. Nothing bad: coughing once or twice an hour, no seizures and no additional discomfort. If we cough very rarely, if we do not have other symptoms, the cough does not cause any discomfort, everything is fine. But if we cough more often, we should pay attention to that.

– What tests can or should be done if we want to examine our cough?

– First of all, you should talk to your doctor. Most of the diagnosis is made during the visit. If you are lucky and the doctor takes you to the office instead of just talking to you on the phone, they will still listen to your lungs and examine you. Blood tests may be done for C-reactive protein. If we are talking about a prolonged cough, for 6-7 weeks, I would definitely take a photo of the lungs, lung samples.

– Thank you, doctor, for the interview.