Coughing is a natural response of the body as a defense system to expel substances and particles from the respiratory tract, and prevent foreign objects from entering the lower respiratory tract.
The throat and airways are equipped with nerves that sense if there is a disturbing substance or substance. This condition stimulates the nerves to send signals to the brain, which the brain then responds to by sending back signals to expel the substance by coughing.
Coughs can be experienced by adults, but children and infants also experience it quite often. Occasional coughs are normal because they help move phlegm, which is responsible for keeping the airways moist. Sometimes, coughing can be felt worse at night. However, a persistent cough plus other symptoms, such as fever and colored or bloody phlegm, can indicate a medical problem.
Based on its duration, cough can be classified into acute cough that lasts for less than 3 weeks, sub-acute cough that lasts for 3-8 weeks, and chronic cough that lasts more than 8 weeks.
In addition to the body's normal process of expelling foreign objects, coughing can be a symptom of an illness, such as the flu, lung, heart, or nervous system disease. In this case, the appearance of a cough is also accompanied by other symptoms, such as:
- Have a cold.
- Fever.
- Weak.
- Sore throat.
- Difficulty swallowing or coughing when swallowing.
- Wheezing or wheezing.
- Hard to breathe.
To deal with coughs, especially those that are quite severe, many people immediately take cough medicine. In fact, apart from using cough medicine, there are many other ways that can be done to treat coughs.