BRONCHITIS
Bronchiitis is a term that refers to an inflammation of the bronchial tubes-the main air passages that bring air to the lung tissue. When these passages become irritated they produce mucus, which stimulates a cough in our effort to clear the air passages. A cough is the primary symptom of bronchitis. Not all coughs are due to bronchitis, but bronchitis almost invariably causes coughing. Whether you suffer from bronchitis or a simple cough, you need to determine the cause in order to find relief.
If you have had a cough for a few weeks and it’s becoming more severe; if you have an unexplained cough for more than three weeks; if you are having difficulty breathing; if you have a dry cough with no other symptoms, you should consult your doctor, as these types of’ coughs could be indications of a more serious problem.
If a cough is productive, that is, if sputum or phlegm is brought up, and the sputum is clear or white, then it’s a cough you should probably endure for a few days. It’s probably the result of a bout with a cold or flu and is the body’s effort to rid itself of the sputum that has collected in your lungs as you fight off the infection. This kind of cough, which could be termed acute bronchitis caused by a viral infection, is annoying but necessary. If your throat is irritated by the cough, you can gargle with salt dissolved in warm water to ease any pain. In addition, a humidifier at night will help relieve the cough and encourage sleep.
If your cough is producing sputum but the sputum is yellow or green in color, you probably have an infection that will need to be treated with antibiotics, and you should consult your doctor.
If the cough is a dry or nonproductive cough, you need to determine the cause and eliminate it.
There are some likely causes of coughs:
Cigarette smoking is a primary cause. That’s because the smoke is constantly irritating the bronchial passages. Many smokers wake in the morning with a cough that produces some sputum that’s lightly tinged in color. Obviously the cure for this is to stop smoking. Some patients have complained to me that once they stopped smoking, their coughing actually got worse. This is because nicotine relaxes the cilia in the lungs, allowing smoke and toxins to enter. When you stop smoking, the cilia become reactivated, and any increased coughing is a good sign: It’s the cilia cleaning out the lungs.
Many people suffer from a chronic morning cough. Often these people are also cigarette smokers and they come to believe that this morning cough is normal. But if it lasts for weeks at a time, particularly in the winter, and it recurs for at least two winters in a row, it could well be chronic bronchitis and you must visit your doctor for a definitive diagnosis. If you do have chronic bronchitis, the first thing you must do is stop smoking and avoid secondhand smoke.
Asthma can cause chronic coughing. Once you get the asthma under control, the coughing will diminish or stop entirely.
Sinusitis and a chronic postnasal drip can cause irritation when the mucus from the sinuses drips down into the bronchi at night. This usually results in morning coughing-though you can also experience coughing all day long-with clear to whitish phlegm.
I’ve had patients who have had persistent coughs for months following a cold. Seeing that the cough was no longer related to an infection, I tested for food allergies and, sure enough, the patients were allergic-in most cases to dairy products. Such an allergy, even one you have never noticed before, can manifest itself following a cold, when the immune system is weak. The cure is to eliminate the food that’s causing the problem. In most cases, any allergenic food may be reintroduced in a few months, after the body has built up its immunity again.
Certain blood pressure medications can cause a chronic cough. The most common ones include Vasotec, Zestri, Capoten, and Prinivil. If you are oil a medication to control blood pressure and are troubled by a persistent cough, talk to you doctor about changing your medication. If the drug was the problem, the cough will clear up in a few days.
Some people develop a cough as a result of acid reflux which occurs when the contents of the stomach regurgitate into your esophagus. You also experience acid indigestion with this condition. A visit to your doctor and a series of x-rays can pinpoint this problem.
Finally, it is possible to develop a cough after inhaling irritants such as cleaning fluids that contain ammonia, which can irritate your lungs. Of course such a cough will rapidly diminish and, assuming that you aren’t exposed again to the irritating agent, should disappear in a few hours at most.
NATURAL PRESCRIPTION FOR COUGH/BRONCHITIS
Determine the source of the cough:
If it’s a productive cough with clear sputum and lasts for a day or two, it is usually due to a cold or viral flu. Relieve sore throat with a saltwater gargle (one teaspoon of salt dissolved In warm water) every few hours and allow the cough to continue to rid your lungs of sputum.
If the cough is a dry, nonproductive cough, see information above on the following causes: smoking, asthma, sinusitis, food allergy, blood pressure medication acid reflux, or inhalation of irritants.
If the cough is productive but the sputum is yellow or green, it’s probably the result of an infection and may need to be treated with antibiotics. In that case, you should consult with your doctor.
