Chesty Cough
Causes and Treatment for a Chesty Cough
There are many types of coughs, including a chesty cough. Each type of cough may indicate a different medical condition, so it is a good idea to be able to identify which type of cough you have. A chesty cough is defined as one in which you can hear air being released from the lungs.
A chesty cough may be either productive or non-productive. A productive cough produces mucus or sputum. A productive cough does not necessarily indicate a very serious problem, but it might, so it is best to see a doctor to be safe.
There are several conditions that can cause a chesty cough. Most often, the causes are colds and the flu. Other possible causes include bronchitis, whooping cough, pneumonia and various infections. Again, it is difficult to self-diagnose the reason for your cough, so it is best to see your doctor. This is especially true if the cough is not responding to over the counter medications or lasts more than a week or two.
Treatment for a chesty cough will usually involve treating the cause of the cough rather than the cough itself. For example, if the cause in pneumonia, the doctor will devise a treatment plan with the goal of healing you of the pneumonia. That will, in turn, stop the coughing.
If you think the cause of your chesty cough is a simple cold and flu and you decide to try to treat the symptoms, there are plenty of over the counter medications to choose from.
There are even formulas specifically designed to treat – as the bottle states – chesty coughs. It is fine to use these to treat the symptoms, but it is important to see your doctor if the cough does not improve or if the cough is accompanied by other symptoms, such as fever, dizziness or vomiting.
Even if you are being treated by a doctor, he still may recommend the use of such an over the counter cough medicine to help ease your discomfort while the underlying cause is being treated.
Other things that may help are some popular home remedies. These include the use of a humidifier to help loosen chest congestion. Others rely on a hot toddy (water and sugar with splash of whiskey). Some pair the use of a humidifier with a rub, such as Vicks.
Remember, when using over the counter or home remedies to treat a chesty cough, you are only treating the symptoms, not the cause. If it clears up on its own quickly, that means the cause was probably a cold or flu. If it doesn’t you need to see a doctor.
The other causes of a chesty cough are not likely to go away on their own. Failing to seek treatment can make the conditions become worse and make them more difficult to treat when you do finally seek treatment from your doctor.
A chesty cough is not cause for alarm, but it should be monitored closely. The sooner you seek medical attention for a potentially serious condition, the easier will be your recovery.