Ailments and Situations - Cough

(also referred to as ...)

Acute Cough, Chronic, Cough

Description

A cough is defined as the sudden and explosive expulsion of air from the lungs, typically in a series of efforts. It is generally an automatic reflex, however, we can make ourselves cough to clear our throats, et cetera.

When the body detects an irritant in the air passages, we automatically take in a deep breath. At this point, the glottis closes over your trachea. Our thoracic and abdominal muscles contract to push air against the closed glottis, thus building up pressure. The glottis then opens and the air is released in an explosive manner so as to remove the irritant from the air passages.

Coughs can be described as being acute or chronic. An acute cough is one that lasts less than three weeks. A chronic cough is one that persists for more than three weeks.

Symptoms and Signs:

A cough is a symptom of another illness or condition. It is thus important to treat the underlying cause.

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