What is the reason for the cough after several months? How to treat the cough with traditional Chinese medicine?

There are many reasons for coughing, such as colds and pharyngitis. Generally, coughing will get better soon, but there are also cases where coughing continues. Long-term coughing is also bad for the lungs. If the cough has not gone away for several months, it is necessary to check it out in time. So what are the possible reasons?

What is the reason for the cough that has not healed for several months?

1. Cough variant asthma.

This is essentially an airway allergic reaction, which may manifest as wheezing in some patients and coughing in others. It is often triggered by inhalation of irritating odors, cold air, contact with allergens, exercise, or upper respiratory tract infection, and some patients have no triggering factors. This type of cough is almost ineffective with cough suppressants and expectorants and antibiotics, but can be relieved with glucocorticoids, antiallergic drugs, β2 receptor agonists, and theophylline.

2. Cough after a cold.

After a cold, the tracheal mucosa is damaged and the endothelium is not completely repaired. The nerve endings that transmit sensations in the epithelial tissue are exposed to the outside world and are particularly sensitive to external stimuli. The slightest disturbance can cause a violent cough. This state is also called airway hyperresponsiveness after the respiratory infection is relieved.

You can also use some anti-allergic drugs to treat cough after a cold, but you also need appropriate antitussive treatment to prevent coughing from aggravating airway mucosal edema and congestion and affecting the repair of the mucosal epidermis.

Three postnasal drip.

The nasal secretions flow back into the nasopharynx and hypopharynx through the posterior nasal opening, which stimulates inflammation and recurrent coughing. Most patients have a history of rhinitis, sinusitis, nasal polyps or chronic pharyngitis, and treatment of these diseases is the fundamental way to stop coughing.

The most common cause of postnasal drip is allergies, another is a deviated septum, in addition to viral infections, sinusitis, pregnancy, weather changes such as cold weather, dry air, eating spicy food, medications such as antihypertensive drugs and birth control pills, and chemicals such as perfumes and household cleaners.

4. Gastroesophageal reflux.

Coughing symptoms often get worse after a full meal, high-fat food, coffee, or eating before going to bed. This is because gastric acid refluxes into the esophagus, stimulating the esophagus and causing a vagus nerve reflex, or gastric contents are directly inhaled into the trachea, causing coughing. You can try taking antacids to see if there is any improvement.

5. Take medication.

Some hypertensive patients taking drugs such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) (the drug name is often "XX Pril") may experience dry cough, which will disappear after stopping the drug.

6. Foreign body in the trachea.

It is more common in children and can only be detected through chest X-ray, chest CT, or even bronchoscopy.

How to treat cough with Chinese medicine remedies

1. 30g honeysuckle, 30g almonds, 30g honey. Boil the two ingredients in water and remove the residue. After cooling, add honey and mix well. Take it in three times. (It clears heat and promotes lung function, resolves phlegm and relieves cough. It is mainly used to treat wind-heat cough).

2. 10g of ginkgo nuts, appropriate amount of honey, fry the ginkgo nuts, peel them, add water and boil, cool them down, add honey and take. (Main treatment for cough, symptoms include yellow and thick phlegm, bitter mouth, chest tightness, and yellow urine).

3. Cut fresh bamboo (Moso bamboo) into two or two sections, roast one end with fire, and clear water will flow out of the other end. Collect this water in a cup and drink it every morning and before dinner. (Cure chronic cough, a folk recipe).

4. 10g ginger, 15g brown sugar. Wash and shred the ginger, put it in a bowl, add brown sugar, and then add 200ml boiling water. Cover for 5 minutes, and drink it while it is hot. It is better to sweat. (It can dispel wind and cold, induce sweating and relieve symptoms. It is mainly used to treat colds with coughs).

5. Fry one or two spinach seeds until they turn yellow over low heat, grind into powder, take 5 grams each time, with warm water, twice a day. (Main treatment for cough and asthma).

6. 4 large snow pears, 120g old ginger, 120g honey, 1 jin black beans. Pears and old ginger are mashed to extract juice, black beans are ground into powder, mixed well, steamed, dried, and taken at any time. (Mainly used for chronic cough, accompanied by dizziness, fatigue, and heaviness of limbs. Folk prescription).

7. 20g of Asparagus cochinchinensis and 2 taels of rice. Wash and decoct the Asparagus cochinchinensis, remove the residue, add the rice to cook porridge, add appropriate amount of rock sugar, and take it in divided doses. (It nourishes yin, moistens the lungs and resolves phlegm. It is mainly used to treat lung yin deficiency, dry cough with little phlegm, hot flashes in the afternoon, night sweats and weight loss).

8. 1 liang of honeysuckle, 12 g of platycodon, 1 liang of rice. Boil the juice of the first two ingredients and remove the residue. Cook the rice into porridge, add the juice, and cook for a while. Take it warm three times a day. (Dispel wind and lung, clear heat and detoxify).

9. One white radish, one pear, 50 grams of honey, and seven white peppercorns. Wash the radish and pear, cut them into pieces, put them in a bowl with honey and white peppercorns, steam them, and take them in divided meals. (Mainly used to treat cough caused by wind and cold).

10. Take an appropriate amount of garlic, mash it into a paste, apply it to the Yongquan acupoints on both feet at night, fix it with a plaster, and remove it the next morning. Repeat for several nights. (Mainly used to treat cough.)

What to do if the cough persists

1 It is recommended to consult a respiratory specialist, a fixed doctor, and multiple follow-up visits may be required to fully understand the condition.

2 For long-term cough, chest CT is the most basic examination. Other examinations may be needed depending on the patient's condition.

3. Take the medicine as directed by the doctor and do not stop taking it without authorization. If the medicine is ineffective, consult a doctor in time.

4. Avoid bad environments such as cooking fumes, smoking, air pollution, and common allergens such as pollen and dust mites. Try to reduce irritation to the respiratory tract.