Coronavirus (COVID-19) What you should know and how to continue your care with us
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Coughing Specialist
Coughing now and then isn’t something that you need to worry about. However, you must seek medical care if your cough is frequent and if it is severe. Depending on the cause of your cough, the nature of treatment shall vary. Treatment shall range from the use of over-the-counter medication to managing a chronic respiratory condition. Dr. Sudarsana Chakrabarti provides such treatments at Homer Glen, Illinois.
About Cough
While coughing can be annoying, it is essentially a bodily reflex that ensures your throat and airways remain free of any congestion, helping your body to safeguard or cure itself.
Coughs are classified into two major types, namely, chronic and acute. While the latter kind is the one that you usually get with flu, cold, or acute bronchitis, the former type persists over two to three weeks.
Acute bronchitis, or more commonly known as acute cough, is one of the five most general new presentations to the family practitioners in the USA and country-wise morbidity surveys suggest that a significant majority of such acute coughs are diagnosed as infectious in their origin, eventually resulting in ten in every thousand ambulatory visits on an annual basis.
If you are experiencing severe coughing that refuses to improve over time, it is highly recommended to visit Dr. Sudarshana Chakrabarti in Homer Glen without any delay for proper diagnosis of the underlying cause and timely treatment. Our treatment clinic in Illinois is one of the most acclaimed facilities in the country and offers pulmonary respiratory care for the people from other proximate locations also.
- Chronic bronchitis
- Allergies
- Asthma
- Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, or GERD, in short
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, in short
- Throat diseases in young children, such as croup, also known as laryngotracheobronchitis
- Smoking
- Some specific medications
Cough Q & A
Along with your cough, there might be some other symptoms such as a viral infection or allergy. Your cough might be dry and shallow which is more troublesome in general or it might be a deeper cough that is painful that might or might not be accompanied by phlegm. You may cough throughout the entire day or the cough may sometime flare-up. Your cough will be evaluated by Dr. Chakrabarti after which proper treatment will be provided.
A cough may develop for several reasons. It may evolve from acute infection or it may develop from any chronic problems. Acute infections might include the common cold and seasonal flu. Chronic issues may result in allergy, asthma and postnasal drip respiratory problems. Some other conditions such as sinusitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure might also lead to frequent coughs. In such cases, Dr. Chakrabarti shall determine the cause behind such cough and provide adequate treatment.
When you experience any of the following symptoms, you should see Dr. Chakrabarti.
- High fever
- Cough for more than a week
- Breathlessness
- Cough accompanied by phlegm (green or yellow)
The type of treatment will depend on the nature of your cough. Dr. Chakrabarti will go over several treatment options which you will be required to undergo. Mild virus illness shall be cured with over-the-counter medications along with adequate rest. Total relief from cough shall be possible only if underlying conditions such as heart problems, asthma or sinusitis are treated. Dr. Chakrabarti shall pressure you antibiotics when the underlying cause for your cough is found out to be due to bacterial infection.
Dr. Chakrabarti shall provide you with some tips so that too much stress is not imposed on your throat while you cough. For example, she may ask you to use cough drops or add honey whenever you are drinking tea. Using a vaporizer that makes the air thinner and consuming fluids that thins out the mucus in your throat are also some of the methods that you can adopt.