The Hyfe Mind
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We at Hyfe, Inc., are a company devoted to working on tools to better understand the importance of cough. It is Hyfe’s intention in the future to seek regulatory approval for medical products that analyze cough in order that they may be used to diagnose, monitor, and facilitate better treatment of respiratory illnesses.
You may think, “Why am I coughing for no reason?”. Occasional coughing can happen without a particular reason, but if your cough lasts longer, it's likely something is causing it. This may be an indication of infection or any other condition that has cough as a symptom.
Coughing is one of the best ways to tell you that something is wrong with you. Even if you feel healthy and everything seems fine. However, having a stubborn situation when you’re fine is annoying.
Fortunately, there are plenty of causes behind your uncomfortable condition. Find out all you need to know about this irritation and some underlying reasons below.
To clarify, it’s a misconception that you can’t get these annoying symptoms if you’re not sick. On the contrary, you are capable of coughing even when you’re feeling on top of your game. Since the causes of cough vary quite a bit, we’ll explore the most common ones.
Coughing is one of the body’s most important mechanisms. It helps your body to get rid of foreign irritants or clears your throat of mucus. You can experience coughing, especially when dust, phlegm, mucus, and other allergies gather up in your windpipes and lungs.
A discussion about Occupational and Environmental Contributions to Chronic Cough in Adults. This article shares the causes involving environmental triggers.
Have you gotten over a common cold recently? An infection can have an apparent lingering effect after your body has healed and you feel fine; this is because of the mucus buildup in your throat (Postnasal drip). Consequently, coughing is how your body tries to get rid of it.
The mucus builds up in your sinuses and nasal passages and then keeps dripping down the back of your throat. Thus, creating the tickle sensation, which results in whooping cough. So when you expel out, it’s your body trying to remove the cold left behind.
Besides coughing, asthma includes other symptoms such as chest pain, wheezing, and difficulty breathing. But there are times that the only symptom when you have asthma, is a persistent cough. So, it can be hard for you to diagnose it without healthcare professionals’ help.
Chronic Cough Due to Asthma: ACCP Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines - It says that asthma may be a fundamental cause of these regular episodes.
ACE inhibitor medications are a group of drugs used to treat heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. They are usually responsible for a persistent dry cough.
“ACE inhibitors for blood pressure often cause a chronic dry cough,” says David Hill, MD, clinical research director at Waterbury Pulmonary Associates in Waterbury, CT, and a volunteer medical spokesperson for the American Lung Association.
Bronchial Hyperreactivity and Cough due to Angiotensin-converting Enzyme Inhibitors - As per this research paper, people with asthma or other chronic respiratory disorder should not be given such type of medicine. This is because it can lead to medical emergencies as well.
Find out more on drug-induced cough here and consult with your doctor if you use any of such medications.
Post-nasal drip syndrome is the primary cause of frequent respiratory illness. It often occurs when you have chronic rhinitis, also known as upper airway cough syndrome, also known as stuffy nose.
When you have this, you will be experiencing the sensation of liquid dripping down behind your throat. For this reason, coughing helps you to clear the toxins away.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can be the cause of throat soreness. This symptom occurs after having food when some of your stomach acid reaches your throat. Therefore, you feel discomfort or irritation, which makes you cough as a result. People with GERD tend to have trouble swallowing and have to clear their throats continuously.
Read this in-detail study: A Causal Relationship Between Cough and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) has been established: A Pro/Con Debate
Everyone knows smoking is not good for your health, especially your chest. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, cigarette smoking accounts for about 1 in 5 deaths in the United States. Accordingly, your disease could be due to chronic bronchitis, where cumulative lung damage prevents the body’s normal ability to clear particles.
Have a look at this research: Indoor and outdoor smoking.
Perhaps you are wondering how to differentiate between a regular cough and a coughing due to a condition or disease. Firstly, if it lasts in less than three weeks, it indicates acute illness. On the other hand, improvement after three to eight weeks are considered subacute.
Secondly, most coughs tend to clear up or significantly improve within 14 days. Thirdly, if it lasts longer than eight weeks, then it can be considered chronc. This kind of chronicity can be the initial sign of many health concerns. Such as heart disease, stomach disease, allergy, respiratory infections, the flu, or even COVID-19.
You can only get rid of nasal and throat infections after knowing the reason behind it; you can easily find a solution depending on the condition. Firstly, some light must be shed on the cause. So you are no longer in the dark thinking you are coughing for no reason.
If the cause of your cough is some allergic reaction from foreign irritants such as smoke or pollen, taking an anti-allergy medication can solve the problem.
Also, make sure your indoor environment is free from allergens and toxins. It is advisable to use different types of ar cleaning devices. Installing a ventilation system should be a must.
Precaution: Do visit your doctor in case this condition comes with:
You might have no idea what’s irritating your throat. Thus, the best idea to recover from that whooping cough is to seek medical advice. Peter M. Small, M.D Professor, Department of Medicine, and Chief Medical Officer at Hyfe, says, “Patients seek care very late in the disease, and part of that is because we, as a society, tend to ignore coughing in adults. Acoustic AI as pioneered by Hyfe has the potential to change that.”
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