Not All Coughs Are Created Equal
There are different kinds of cough and not all coughs are created equal.
Think about it like you would an online dating profile. There’s always a form you have to fill out introducing yourself to the online dating world. Right? You have to list your hobbies, your favorite foods, what kind of books you read, and so forth. If coughs had a profile, the questions they would have to answer to help identify themselves would look a little more like this…(and should probably be answered a bit more honestly than that dating profile you were filling out!!!).
Cough Profile:
- What is the Duration of your cough? – it’s been going-on for days, at least 8 weeks, months, years or decades
- What does your cough Sound like? – it sounds wet, wheezing, whistling, barking, harsh, or some other sound
- Is your cough Productive? – is there phlegm or mucus associated with cough or none
- Is your cough Contagious or not? – is it associated with an upper respiratory viral infection or not
- When do you typically cough? – do you cough at night time, following food and beverage, when lying down, during exercise, while asleep, or while talking
- What are your Favorite Activities? – are you a chatterbox who talks a lot or do you like to sing
- What does your cough Feel like? – it feels like cotton or thread in the back of throat, or like mucus in the back of throat even though there isn’t any
Clearly outlining the profile of your cough helps to identify what Type of cough you have. Is it an acute cough associated with virus? Bronchitis? Whooping Cough? Croup? But Why are you coughing? It is important to know what type of cough you have and the underlying cause of your cough so that a unique treatment plan targeted specifically to your cough can work. Now you’re probably asking, “Why does my cough treatment need to be so customized? Can’t I just take cough medicine?” Great question! Because not all coughs are created equal. This means not all cough remedies will effectively treat all coughs. And even a cough medicine that mentions your symptoms, likely won’t improve your cough at all or for long, because it doesn’t get to the root cause.
Cough is one of our body’s more effective defense mechanisms or problem solvers, and it has an important purpose. But, there are people who have a persistent cough for no apparent reason that serves no purpose. For these people, cough is not a problem solver – it is the problem! And sometimes, the cause of a cough that just won’t go away is silent or hard to find.
To start down the path of matching your cough with its soul mate….I mean treatment plan, to begin feeling better and minimize unnecessary medications and/or home remedies that have side effects and no cough improvement value, you should know thy cough! If you, a loved one, or a colleague seems to be suffering from chronic cough, have them fill out their own profile and make an appointment with a Cough Specialist Doctor.
If you found this article helpful and relevant, you might also be interested in Did You Know Chronic Cough Could Be Asthma?
