What Causes A Chesty Cough?
General

Chesty Cough – Symptoms, Causes, And Natural Remedies

Generally Coughing is a natural and healthy way that helps the body to clear the airways in lungs. But a chesty cough is not at all normal or good for health. Whenever you observe symptoms of chesty coughing, you need to take care of it seriously for your own good health. What causes a chesty cough?

What is a Chesty Cough?

Chesty cough is a type of health problem in which body expels excess mucus or phlegm from the chest or respiratory system. This mainly arises because of overproduction of phlegm during viral infections like flu or cold. Production of mucus or phlegm is common during a chesty cough, but when the color of mucus varies from clear white to yellow or green and feel any discomfort, you should visit the doctor for treatment. Chesty cough is also known as Wet Cough or a Productive Cough. This sort of clarifies what causes a chesty cough, right?

What Causes a Chesty Cough?

There are many reasons due to which a chesty cough arises and can’t cure easily. Whenever excess amount of mucus is produced in the body’s respiratory system, chesty cough occurs. The responsible factors behind what causes a chesty cough are mentioned as below.

  • Cold and flu virus are the most common factors.
  • Bacterial infections such as sinus infections, bronchitis, and pneumonia.
  • Allergic reactions and asthma health problems.
  • Due to deficiency of fluids in the body can cause a chesty cough. Fluids like water, juice, and soup help to loosen mucus in your airways that you can cough it out well.
  • Lung infections such as pneumonia to TB (Tuberculosis).
  • Irritation in the airways or lungs because of smoking. Excess or long time consumption of cigarette or any tobacco is harmful to the body because it produces an excessive amount of mucus.

Keep the above mentioned factors in mind while understanding the causes of a chesty cough. This might be helpful for treatment.

What Are the Symptoms of A Chesty Cough?

If you have any viral infection, for example, cold or flu, then you will have all normal symptoms of cold and flu virus such as-

The other Serious Chesty Cough Symptoms Apart from above Mentioned are:

  • Your chest feels congested due to a high cough which makes difficult for you to breath normally.
  • Experience pain in the chest that occurs due to the muscles strained because of chesty coughing.
  • Chesty coughing can arise severe muscular pain in the stomach.
  • An annoying or rattling sound comes out during breathing and coughing.
  • Pain or irritation in the throat because of excessive mucus production.
  • Sticky mucus comes out during persisting chesty coughing.

If you experience these chesty cough symptoms, it is recommended that you must consult the nearest doctor immediately.

Why is Chesty Cough Worse at Night?

A persistent cough tends to get worse at night time and turns every night into a nightmare. Your throat starts to pain, there is soreness in the airways and lungs, which wakes you up in the middle of your sound sleep at night. You will experience at persistent cough night which is no doubt very uncomfortable.

The Ways to Control Chesty Coughing at Night

  • Use a humidifier during the night because cool mist can help to hold the air in your bedroom moist. It makes your throat feel better and less irritating.
  • You must raise your head by using more pillows which help you to sleep soundly.
  • Must stop smoking because to get a sound sleep at night as well as good health.

The above mentioned can be a remedy for a chesty cough at night.

What Are The Chesty Cough Treatment Tips?

These treatment tips help to recover quickly and also assist to take care of your body during a chesty cough. These tips help you to  easily overcome your chesty cough.

  • Viral infections are more spread by contact or touch of the body, such as shaking hands with the person, who is infected by cold or cough virus. Thus, must avoid those situations.
  • If you have a dry chesty cough, try to cover your mouth with tissues or handkerchiefs during sneezing or coughing every time. Remember, never use the same tissue for a whole day or handkerchief.
  • Always wash your hands properly after every coughing or sneezing because it will help to stop infection and you will able to recover promptly.
  • Take a hot or warm shower during a chesty cough because it will help to break down the mucus and come out easily.
  • Try to keep warm and get plenty of rest while chesty cough situation.
  • Must drink plenty of water, fresh fruit juice, soup and other fluids items. This will for sure assist you to cure a chesty cough.
  • You can do gargle with a little warm plain or salt water for one minute. This will ease your sore throat. You can do gargle 3 to 4 times in a day.

What is the Most Commonly Used Chesty Cough Medicine?

Nowadays, expectorants are used to treat chesty coughs and acts as an excellent chesty cough medicine. Expectorants break mucus, which makes easier for the body to expel it through coughing. It is the primary sort of cure for chesty cough. You can easily get this type of medicines in conventional medical stores as well as herbal stores.

There are other medicines and cough syrups available in the market and also online, but before consuming any of them, must see or consult with a doctor because that medicine might not suit you as per your health condition. So, if you have a prolonged chesty cough, go for the doctors’ treatment and proper check up and try to find out the causes of a chesty cough.

The above information helps you understand a chesty cough properly. Once you are aware of the causes, you will able to get the right treatment as well as take precautions in time and stay healthy for a lifetime.

Medically Reviewed By
Dr. Kaushal M. Bhavsar (MBBS, MD)Assistant Professor in Pulmonary Medicine, GMERS Medical College, Ahmedabad