You may wonder what is this all about! After all, what is the importance of cough, such a common happening? Is there anyone who has not had cough sometime or the other? None, I am sure. Then what is this about?
I am not referring to the 'cough' you are thinking of - cough as a mark of disease. Cough is called a 'symptom' if the patient complains of it and a 'sign' if the doctors discovers that the patient is coughing too much. This happens in various situations some acute like acute bronchitis and pneumonia. and some chronic like tuberculosis or occupational lung disorders. Pneumonia has replaced tuberculosis as the 2nd most important killer!
The cough I am referring to is a special cough - for example a cough by a girlfriend is a means of attracting the attention of her boyfriend particularly when she is forgotten in the company of his friends! The cough by a wife is a even more serious event - it is brake - a remote control even before actual remote control was even thought of - an effective means of telling her spouse "You are talking too much - Stop!". Most of the times, it has a magical effect!
One of my patients once told me of an event where a patient had a bout of violent cough and fell down clutching his chest - he was taken to a hospital immediately - In all probability, the violent cough had ruptured his lung resulting in the escape of air outside his lung into the surrounding pleural space - a very serious condition called "tension pneumothorax" - a killer. He survived only because of a good medical attention!
Cough may sometime be the end point of a crisis! When someone is choked on something - say, a morsel of food, one can try a life saver called Heimlich maneuver - a type of a squeeze below the middle of the chest - which can effectively dislodge the substance blocking the critical airways and throw it out with a cough - a life is saved following that cough!
Some coughs are telling - Bovine cough a cough resembling a cow's cough is said to suggest pressure on the recurrent laryngeal nerve deep inside the chest - an ominous sign indicating possible cancer. Our generation I am sure, has not forgotten the Whooping cough a dramatic event where a series of coughs in quick succession is is followed by a distinct unforgettable sound of air rushing in - a whoop!This potential killer seen particularly in children has become a lesser offender now due to vaccination though it is trying to raise its ugly head again!
There is an interesting neurological condition called Pseudobulbar palsy which results from damage to the higher centres of the brain where the patient cannot cough to order but the reflex cough is preserved!
Once one of my friends claimed that the best medicine for cough was brandy! In fact he was trying to justify his daily dose of brandy with a plausible medical reason!
I am not referring to the 'cough' you are thinking of - cough as a mark of disease. Cough is called a 'symptom' if the patient complains of it and a 'sign' if the doctors discovers that the patient is coughing too much. This happens in various situations some acute like acute bronchitis and pneumonia. and some chronic like tuberculosis or occupational lung disorders. Pneumonia has replaced tuberculosis as the 2nd most important killer!
The cough I am referring to is a special cough - for example a cough by a girlfriend is a means of attracting the attention of her boyfriend particularly when she is forgotten in the company of his friends! The cough by a wife is a even more serious event - it is brake - a remote control even before actual remote control was even thought of - an effective means of telling her spouse "You are talking too much - Stop!". Most of the times, it has a magical effect!
One of my patients once told me of an event where a patient had a bout of violent cough and fell down clutching his chest - he was taken to a hospital immediately - In all probability, the violent cough had ruptured his lung resulting in the escape of air outside his lung into the surrounding pleural space - a very serious condition called "tension pneumothorax" - a killer. He survived only because of a good medical attention!
Cough may sometime be the end point of a crisis! When someone is choked on something - say, a morsel of food, one can try a life saver called Heimlich maneuver - a type of a squeeze below the middle of the chest - which can effectively dislodge the substance blocking the critical airways and throw it out with a cough - a life is saved following that cough!
Some coughs are telling - Bovine cough a cough resembling a cow's cough is said to suggest pressure on the recurrent laryngeal nerve deep inside the chest - an ominous sign indicating possible cancer. Our generation I am sure, has not forgotten the Whooping cough a dramatic event where a series of coughs in quick succession is is followed by a distinct unforgettable sound of air rushing in - a whoop!This potential killer seen particularly in children has become a lesser offender now due to vaccination though it is trying to raise its ugly head again!
There is an interesting neurological condition called Pseudobulbar palsy which results from damage to the higher centres of the brain where the patient cannot cough to order but the reflex cough is preserved!
Once one of my friends claimed that the best medicine for cough was brandy! In fact he was trying to justify his daily dose of brandy with a plausible medical reason!
