A cough is,ahem, your bodys way of responding when something irritates your throat or airways.
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Signs and Symptoms of a Cough
Coughs can be either acute or chronic.
Acute coughs begin suddenly and usually last for less than three weeks.
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Chronic coughs last longer than eight weeks (or longer than four weeks in children).
(1) A chronic cough can wake you up at night when youre sleeping and lead to fatigue.
The prognosis for a chronic cough depends on the underlying problem and requires medical evaluation.
Acute coughs typically last for less than three weeks.
(3) Chronic coughs last longer than eight weeks (or longer than four weeks in children).
For healthy adults, most cough remedies will involve self-care.
A cough that results from a virus cant be treated with antibiotics.
But research suggests that these medicines dont work any better than placebos (inactive medicines).
Prevention of Coughs
Many coughs are brought on by the common cold.
Also avoid tobacco smoke, which can make your cough worse or may be the main cause of it.
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Chronic cough is cited as the reason for up to 38 percent of pulmonary outpatient visits.
But most people with COVID-19 have mild illness and are able to recover at home, the CDC notes.