When we cough, we rapidly expel air from the lungs to clean them of various impurities, mucus, and irritants. Usually, we begin to feel anxious when the cough lasts for more than a week or ten days, but the fact is that the average period of having a cough is 18 days.
Here is a set of misconceptions and myths related to coughing, which will alleviate our questions, and increase our knowledge of everything related to coughing:
- Myth 1: Coughing is a mild symptom
When the coughing period is prolonged, it begins to feel troublesome, as chronic coughing leads to fatigue, difficulty sleeping and problems with concentration. It is advisable to seek medical advice to know the reason you are coughing. We also recommend taking Prospan to relieve wet cough and to be able to breathe freely again.
- Myth 2: Antibiotics cure cough
Antibiotics work to fight and eliminate bacteria, but they are ineffective against viruses. And because the most common cause of coughing is viral infections such as influenza and colds, antibiotics do not help coughs in most cases, and they are effective only when the cause of inflammation due to the presence of bacteria.
- Myth 3: Emotional stress is not a cause for prolonged cough
Many believe that the causes of coughing always go back to the physical side, which is a misconception. Not only does psychological and emotional stress make us more prone to coughing, but it may also cause symptoms to last longer.
- Myth 4: Blood Pressure Medications Don’t Contribute
Some types of blood pressure medications may increase the possibility of coughing, by approximately one in five individuals who take these medications, so we advise you to discuss the matter and the type of medicine with your doctor if you have a cough.
- Myth 5: All coughs are contagious
It is very common for most to think that the cause of cough is an infection, but in fact, the causes of cough are divided into infectious and non-infectious origins. Infectious causes include colds and flu, sore throat, tonsillitis, sinusitis, and pneumonia, as well as whooping cough. Non-infectious causes include asthma, allergies, annular nasal bleeding, emphysema, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Consequently, the cough is infectious only when it is caused by infectious causes, and not in all cases.
- Myth 6: Coughs have different types
In fact, there are only two types of coughs: a wet cough caused by phlegm and mucus in the lungs, and a dry cough that often occurs due to a viral infection, inflammation, smoke, and dust.
- Myth 7: The vaccine prevents coughing
This is one of the major misconceptions for the following reasons. Firstly; the whooping cough vaccine is effective at first, but its effectiveness gradually decreases over time. Secondly; available flu vaccines immune the body against only three or four types of the most common types of influenza. Thirdly; vaccines do not work when the cause of a cough is non-infectious, such as allergies.
- Myth 8: Hot soup treats coughs
People suffering from colds or flu tend to produce excess mucus (wet cough), which can get into the lungs and result in coughing. Warm liquids like soups are soothing to the throat and may, therefore, ease coughing, but cannot cure the respiratory tract infection that – in most cases –causes the cough.