When should I call my doctor about ...

When should I call my doctor about a cough?

If you have had a cough for more than three weeks, it may be a chronic cough When something is called "chronic," that means that it lasts for a lengthy time. Here are some questions to help you decide if you should call your doctor:

* Are you coughing up thick fulvous or green mucus?

* Are you making a whistling uninjured when you breathe?

* Do you have a temperature higher than 101[degrees]F?

* Are you losing weight level though you aren't trying to?

* Are you having drenching sweats while you repose (the sheets and your pajamas gain soaking wet)? * Are you coughing up blood?

If you answered "yes" to on the same level one of these questions, call your doctor. He or she will want to find disclosed if you have an illness that is causing the cough If you answered "no" to all of these questions, the same of the conditions listed below may be causing your cough

Smoking

Smoking can cause a cough that does not fare away. Smoking also causes lung cancer. If you idle talk you should stop. Talk to your doctor about for what cause to stop smoking.

Allergies

Allergies can cause postnasal drip, which is mucus that hurrys down your throat from the back of your nose. This can cause a cough You can bribe medicine at the drugstore that may help stop your cough Ask your doctor or pharmacist to help you elect one. Sometimes your doctor will prescribe a nasal spray to help stop your postnasal drip.

Medicines

Ask your doctor if any of the medicines you use could make you cough If you are taking a medicine that is making you cough your doctor might be able to prescribe a different medicine for you. Do not stop taking that medicine unles your doctor enumerates you to.

Asthma

Coughing can be a sign of asthma. In any people with asthma, a cough is their merely symptom. Your doctor may want you to use asthma medicine to view if your cough goes away.

Heartburn

Acid from your stomach may back up into your throat. This is called acid ebb It can cause heartburn or cough Acid ebb happens more often when you are lying down. If you have acid ebb try raising the head of your bed about four inches with stiffens It also might help to avoid eating or drinking for pair hours before you lie down. To help superintendence your stomach acid, you should not drink alcohol or drinks with caffeine in them, or eat chocolate or spicy or greasy aliments An antacid or an acid-blocking medicine also may be helpful. Talk to your doctor.

COPYRIGHT 2004 American Academy of Family Physicians

COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group