Cuffed by the Cough
George Herbert said, “Love and cough cannot be hidden”. Coughing is an involuntary reaction that we have no control over. We cough when we’re suffocating due to; short of breath, claustrophobia, pollution and when we’re allergic to something or when we’ve a dry throat.
Advertisement
In some instances, one coughs up their lungs when they’re laughing so hard that due to scarcity of air, they start coughing. Not so hilarious situation for the cougher any longer! It can also be an intentional response, when one coughs as a sign of clearing up one’s throat and trying to gather attention or at times when someone coughs subconsciously, when put in an uncomfortable spot.
As Alan Jay Learner proclaimed, “coughing in the theatre is not a respiratory ailment. It is a criticism.” Whatsoever the reason for a cough may be, the first instinct, in order to put an individual fighting for air out of this misery is, by giving them water to calm down their windpipe.
This gasp for oxygen, apart from the environmental attributes could also be due to some physical conditions. One of the sicknesses, wherein this combat for breath occurs and makes you huff and puff is, Bronchitis.
Discomfort of Bronchitis
Commonly, coughing, wheezing and sneezing go hand in hand. And for that reason time and again, poor fellows with bronchitis are misdiagnosed for pneumonia, rhinitis, asthma, sinus etc. Bronchitis is when our bronchial tree, that is the tubes that carry air into our lungs, gets infected by the microscopic bugs like, bacteria or virus.
The infection by these foreign invaders, results in swelling up of the tubes or leads to accumulation of mucus (thick fluid) inside them. These obstructions in the bronchi i.e. the passageway into the lungs, hinders with the ease of breathing and makes us pant, choke, insufflate so on and so forth.
Folks infected with bronchitis possess a peculiar sound while coughing. It is said, that their cough is so hoarse, that it is quite similar to that of a frog croaking or is compared to the sound made by a dinosaur. Not that any of us have in actuality heard the dinosaurs, since they were long gone before our descent to this planet.
Except for the boon by Steven Spielberg through his series of Jurassic Park, where we witnessed the mighty beings that concocted a fright in us for them. As amusing as it may sound, pity those, whose vocal cords go through this raucous strain. The tone understandably isn’t pleasing for the eardrums either!
Kinds of Bronchitis
There’s an acute and a chronic bronchitis. They sure are two of a kind, except the difference lies in the duration, in which one has to live with either of these ailments. Acute bronchitis hits for a shorter span of time (roughly three weeks) and is typically tailed by cold or some other infection of our respiratory tract.
However, recurring attacks of bronchitis signal towards chronic bronchitis, which is a more grim form, with perpetual aggravation and displeasure in the air passage, caused essentially due to certain environmental factors or cigarette smoking. Chronic form bedevils for about three months in a year for two years.
In cases where chronic bronchitis is coupled with a condition called emphysema, there’s possibility for it to transmute into a Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Indeed, most often than not, the more severe the illness the bigger the name! Emphysema involves gradual damage of lung tissue, specifically thinning and destruction of the alveoli or air sacs, causing struggle in exhaling and inhaling.
Causative agents and the Warning signs
Acute bronchitis is usually caused by the same viruses that are responsible for triggering cold or influenza. Since antibiotics fail to kill viruses, this sort of treatment isn’t useful in most cases of bronchitis.
Apart from cigarette smoking playing the chief role in development of chronic bronchitis, air pollution, dust, close vicinity to toxic gases at home or workplace can also propel the genesis of the chronic form. Hence, miners are generally at a greater risk.
Few years ago, a study done on the underground gold miners of the Obuasi gold mines of Ghana, indicated lung function impairment and respiratory disorders. However, the prevalence of chronic bronchitis in the Ghanaian gold mine was related more to smoking than any other occupational factors.
Therefore, not more emphasis can be laid on the fact that smoking is injurious to health. Along with various serious illnesses, if you want to be chained by a grave coughing disorder as well, go ahead and plunge in smoke! Acute and chronic bronchitis exhibit similar cautionary indicators, such as; cough, shortness of breath, chest congestion, fatigue, trivial fever accompanied with shudders and production of mucus (sputum), which may occasionally show traces of blood.
Tests and Treatments
To distinguish the symptoms of bronchitis from that of common cold, doctors suggest test like chest X-ray,sputum test, pulmonary function test, blood test and tests that determine the oxygen levels in the blood. Doctors also take family history into account and patient’s own history of last infliction with cold or flu as well as patient’s history of smoking.
A physical examination is done, wherein the doctor listens to any abnormal sound in the lungs through a stethoscope. A complication ofbronchitis may end up striking the patient with pneumonia.
It is uncomplicated to get rid of acute bronchitis even without any specific treatment. It is the chronic bronchitis that takes a toll on the patient and has no specific cure. The symptoms are kept under control and are managed through certain prescriptions, such as; cough medicine, bronchodilators that open up bronchial tubes, mucolytics that thin out the mucus in the airways, anti-inflammatory medicines, antibiotics, pulmonary rehabilitation program to improve breathing and oxygen therapy to mend the intake of oxygen when breathing is troublesome.
There’s no harm in taking additional precautions to stay in the pink of health by exercising. Usage of humidifier and an end to smoking can be highly fruitful too.
Value the life you have been bestowed with because not every soul is as privileged. Wake up every morning with a thought that, “Life is a gift, never forget to enjoy and bask in every moment you are in!”
