How does throat irritation arise?
Coughing is a common side effect of a cold. But the symptom also occurs with more severe illnesses and must then be clarified by a doctor. Another interesting question is what exactly happens when you cough and how the urge to cough develops.
The center of the cough stimulus in the brain stem
That you at a cold You have probably already experienced a cough. In fact, it is a reflex that is controlled by the brain stem.
- Coughing is the body's attempt to "throw" foreign objects, irritants, or mucus out of the airways. It is therefore a protective mechanism, since otherwise harmful substances and foreign bodies would collect in the airways and they would eventually become slimy.
- A cough is a forceful and explosive exhalation. The pressure is created by the fact that the glottis are first closed and then suddenly open. The word "sling" was chosen deliberately: the breath can reach a speed of up to 100 kilometers per hour.
- The cough center lies in the elongated spinal cord, the medulla oblongata. The elongated medulla is part of the brain stem and the junction between the brain and the spinal cord. It contains other important control centers such as the cardiovascular center and the respiratory center. The cough reflex is an involuntary stimulus that occurs automatically. Nevertheless, it is possible to suppress the urge to cough (to a certain extent) or to cough voluntarily.
- The mechanism is as follows: A stimulus, for example a foreign body or the body's own secretion, stimulates the corresponding receptors in the mucous membranes of the bronchi, trachea and larynx. Parts of the tenth cranial nerve, the vagus nerve, conduct the stimulus into the cough center of the elongated marrow. This now gives instructions to the larynx muscles to narrow the glottis and exhale explosively.
- Try to remain calm when coughing and cough as little as possible, as coughing irritates the airways. Depending on how strong the urge to cough is, it can sometimes be relieved with controlled and slow breathing.
Whooping coughs are characterized by severe coughing fits. Sport is during the ...
Diseases that cause a cough
cough always arises in the same way. There are, however, many reasons why a cough occurs.
- First of all, foreign body aspiration should be mentioned. You choke on food or a small insect gets lost in your airways while cycling. You cough until the foreign body flies out.
- A simple cold, i.e. an infection, usually results in a productive cough. This means that when you cough, mucus is coughed up. This cough subsides as the cold subsides, but is often the longest symptom that can last for two weeks.
- Cough is also a symptom of acute bronchitis or pneumonia. This also coughs up mucus.
- With long-term smoking chronic bronchitis occurs, which is associated with the typical smoker's cough. One speaks of chronic obstructive bronchitis, which can be the precursor to bronchial carcinoma.
- Pulmonary tuberculosis also causes a cough. Tuberculosis can affect virtually all organs, but in most cases it manifests itself in the lungs. In tuberculosis, caverns, known as tubercles, form in the affected organs.
- Anyone who suffers from asthma knows the coughing fits that accompany the disease. Those affected cough up a tough, glassy mucus.
- With bronchiectasis, large amounts of mucus are coughed up, especially in the morning. Bronchiectasis are sacs of the bronchi in which mucus is deposited overnight.
- In children, whooping cough can lead to weeks of severe coughing fits. Whooping cough is one of the teething problems. The severe attacks can torment the child and parents for six weeks or more. Infants are at risk of suffocation.
- Cough is also a symptom of lung cancer. Here the sputum is partly bloody, which can also show up in a brown color.
Coughs that last longer than three weeks must therefore be clarified by a doctor. It could be a carcinoma, tuberculosis or chronic bronchitis.
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