Recently, the cold has worsened, and many people have started to cough constantly, and many people will choose to use cough medicine to relieve their symptoms. But Professor Mao Shan from the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of Nanjing First Hospital told us, "Don't use cough medicine indiscriminately!"There will be a lot of harm if you don't use it right!"Under what circumstances should medication be used?How to choose cough medicine?
Professor Mao told "Look at Breathing" that coughing is a self-protection mechanism that helps to expel foreign bodies and secretions in the respiratory tract, and if the cough does not affect normal life, cough medicine can be avoided. Indiscriminate use of cough suppressants can mask the condition and cause the infection to worsen or delay**. If the cough is stopped with medication, it may seem that the cough is gone, but if the infection itself is not controlled, secretions in the airways will accumulate and may even block the airways, and cause bacterial infections, which may further induce bronchitis or pneumonia in severe cases.
In addition, different types and brands of cough medicine have different ingredients, which may produce a series of *** such as drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, allergic reactions, etc. Long-term abuse of certain cough medicines can also cause damage to organs such as the liver and kidneys. Cough suppressants can interact with other medications, affecting their effectiveness or increasing toxicity. For example, certain cough suppressants, when used with medications such as antidepressants and sedatives, can cause severe respiratory depression.
There are two main categories of cough suppressants: central cough suppressants and peripheral cough suppressants. Central cough suppressants include codeine, compound bellflower tablets, dextromethorphan hydrobromide, etc. These drugs reduce cough by inhibiting the cough center of the brain and are mainly used in patients with dry cough. However, it is important to note that these drugs are addictive, cannot be used for a long time, and need to be used under the guidance of a doctor.
In addition to central cough suppressants, there are also peripheral cough suppressants, including nacodine, benzonamate, etc., which play a role in suppressing a certain link in the receptors, afferent nerves and effectors in the cough reflex arc, and are mostly used for dry cough. For example, in addition to its strong antitussive effect, benzonamate also has a strong anesthetic effect, and can be used for irritating dry cough and cough caused by acute bronchitis, bronchial asthma, lung cancer and pneumonia. Different types of cough suppressants target different causes of cough, so when using them, they need to be prescribed under the guidance of a doctor.
If the cough is accompanied by excessive sputum, it should be used in combination with expectorants to facilitate sputum drainage and enhance the antitussive effect. Coughs with particularly large amounts of sputum should be used with caution to avoid obstruction of sputum discharge and retention in the respiratory tract or aggravation of infection.
If you have a cough for more than three weeks or have any of the following symptoms, you should seek medical attention promptly.
If the cough persists for more than three weeks and shows no obvious signs of improvement, it may be caused by a medical condition and requires further testing. If the cough symptoms suddenly worsen, such as coughing more frequently and violently, and the sputum increases or changes in color, it may be a sign of worsening of the disease. If the cough is accompanied by other symptoms, such as fever, chest tightness, chest pain, difficulty breathing, etc., it may be a sign of a serious illness that requires medical attention as soon as possible.