Coughing up phlegm is a sign of a bacterial or viral infection in the respiratory tract. If not overcome, cough with phlegm can be annoyinggu rest and activityYou.
Cough itself is the body's defense reaction to expel foreign objects that irritate or infect the respiratory tract. These foreign objects can be dust, bacteria, or viruses. One type of cough is a cough with phlegm that produces mucus. Usually this type of cough occurs when you have the flu or a throat infection.
When you cough up phlegm, you may feel that mucus is stuck or collected in the back of your throat or in your chest. Well, dWith coughing, the body tries to expel the mucus through the nose or mouth. The goal is to clean the respiratory tract so that you can breathe more comfortably.
Immediately Treat Cough with phlegm
Based on the time period, both cough with phlegm and dry cough can be categorized into acute and chronic. An acute cough can last less than three weeks, while a chronic cough can last more than 8 weeks. Causes of coughing up phlegm due to viral infections generally do not require treatment and will heal on their own within a few days.
However, coughing up phlegm can often interfere with your activities and your comfort at rest. You may find it difficult to breathe due to the build-up of phlegm in your throat. Night sleep may be disturbed because phlegm will accumulate in the back of the throat when you lie down.
Coughing up phlegm that doesn't go away can also cause various other problems, such as dizziness, headaches, hoarseness, excessive sweating, fatigue, insomnia, and urinary disturbances.
Not only physical problems, continuous coughing with phlegm can also affect the psychological state. You may become shy about interacting with other people and others may turn away from you for fear of being infected. In addition, sometimes you also have to be temporarily absent from social activities, such as not going to school or college, not going to work, not being able to go out with friends, and not being able to have fun karaoke.
Treating cough with phlegm
So that the above conditions don't happen to you and your family, here's how to treat cough with phlegm according to age:
Adults
Adults can treat an acute cough with phlegm by drinking honey or over-the-counter cough medicine. If the cough lasts more than three weeks, you may also need antibiotics. But before using antibiotics, you need to consult with your doctor first to make sure that the cough you are experiencing is indeed caused by a bacterial infection.
Children
According to research, drinking 1.5 teaspoons of honey half an hour before bed can reduce coughing in children aged 1 and over. This method is also believed to make children sleep more soundly.
Babies and toddlers
If your baby or toddler has a cough with phlegm, don't give your regular over-the-counter cough medicine. Immediately consult a pediatrician to get the right treatment.
You should consult a doctor if coughing up phlegm is accompanied by other symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, fever, cold sweat, coughing up blood, bluish-looking skin, weight loss, foul-smelling phlegm, and green or yellow color.
If not treated immediately, coughing up phlegm is at risk of causing other more serious health problems such as pneumonia and bronchitis. In addition, a prolonged, untreated cough can also reduce the patient's quality of life, resulting in psychological conditions such as disturbing other family members, feeling inferior or embarrassed, unable to carry out social activities such as hanging out with friends, and feeling sad because they cannot do other important activities. .
