How to relieve a coughing attack at night in an adult using medications or folk methods

Night cough is a real torment for any person. Such attacks interfere with rest and disrupt sleep. Bronchospasm is a symptom of a certain disease. Therefore, you cannot begin therapy without finding out the underlying cause of the disease.

Night cough in an adult: causes

Night cough in adults rarely occurs without reason. There is a whole list of diseases that are accompanied by bronchospasm. Few patients know what to do during severe attacks, so self-medication does not give the desired result.

Therefore, it is important to go to the clinic. The therapist will conduct a diagnosis, send the patient for tests and establish an accurate diagnosis. Only after these manipulations will medications be prescribed to cure a severe night cough.

Here are common reasons why bronchospasm may occur:

• the body's reflex to too dry indoor air. This provokes drying of the mucous membrane of the pharynx and oral cavity, causing a dry cough at night;
• smoking - in this case, spasm occurs only at night, when a person is in a horizontal position for a long time;
• diseases of the cardiovascular system are a serious health problem, in which case night attacks are always accompanied by shortness of breath;
• diseases of the digestive system - attacks occur after a person eats a heavy meal during dinner;
• allergic reaction - in this case, coughing occurs suddenly at night. It is possible that the irritant is the pillow filling, dust on soft toys, or the softener used to wash bed linen;
• respiratory disease;
• entry of a foreign object into the respiratory tract - vomit or insect.

Cough at night in an adult has various causes. Only after examination in a specialist’s office can effective therapy be selected.

Preventive measures

To avoid unpleasant symptoms in the form of a painful night cough, it is necessary to take preventive measures:

• Don't neglect vaccinations. Pentaxim is a combination drug against whooping cough and a number of other dangerous diseases. The famous pediatrician E. Komarovsky strongly recommends this vaccination at an early age.
• Strengthen the immune system: hardening, physical exercise, and walks in the fresh air will help.
• Keep the room clean: regular wet cleaning, no unnecessary dust collectors.
• If a slight runny nose appears, the following measures must be taken: drink plenty of fluids; cool temperature, air humidity; sanitization of the nasal passages with saline solution.
• During the off-season, it is recommended to take chamomile tea to prevent the occurrence of ARVI.
• Feather pillows should be replaced with synthetic padding or filled with buckwheat husks.
• Pets should have a sleeping area outside of the person's room.
• Do not delay in identifying and treating various diseases.

Advice! An excellent way to prevent respiratory diseases is to inflate balloons. This method of lung training includes a rehabilitation period after pneumonia. Playing the harmonica, pipe, and various whistles has a similar effect.

Severe cough at night: types of attacks

How to alleviate the patient’s condition - this is a question many people ask when they come to the pharmacy. But the pharmacist is not able to select competent treatment. It is important to understand that cough at night can be of different types:

1. Dry bronchospasm - in this case, coughing attacks at night in an adult cause discomfort and pain. There is irritation of the pharynx, the patient also complains of a headache. The spasm may be accompanied by an increase in temperature. It is necessary to take special medications so that the mucus accumulated in the lungs begins to come out.
2. Wet cough at night - accompanied by sputum production. These are mucous formations that accumulate in the lungs. It contains a large number of harmful microbes. During therapy, it is necessary to dilute the sputum so that it can easily come out.

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Before treatment, you need to determine exactly what kind of strong cough torments a person at night. The type of spasm affects the choice of medications.

Symptoms

A cough is classified as dry if its cause is constant discomfort or pain in the absence of sputum discharge during coughing. A person has an itchy and sore throat, and there is a feeling of the presence of a foreign body. A cough is often accompanied by barking sounds, especially when it lasts for a long time. In this case, there is no coughing up of sputum, characteristic of a wet cough.

Often, such a cough takes on a paroxysmal form with a prolonged course of the disease. If a dry paroxysmal cough does not end after two weeks, it threatens to become a constant companion of a person. Acute attacks actively involve the muscles of nearby areas, as well as the chest and abdomen, resulting in muscle pain.

A person may complain of general and local soreness in the neck, mouth and jaw. This can make it difficult for a person to speak. Such signs are especially characteristic of neurosis in the listed areas with an accompanying cough. Then the person begins to cough around the clock, which makes it difficult to sleep at night for a long time.

Properly selected cough treatment, which can last for quite a long time, helps to overcome this situation.

The dangers of a wet cough at night

With lung disease, bronchospasm often develops. If a person is suffering from a constant attack, then a diagnosis should be made. Based on the type of sputum, you can determine which disease causes night cough:

1. There is a small amount of mucus that is difficult to come out. In this case, the causes of night cough in adults are obvious - asthma or bronchitis.
2. Sputum mixed with pus and with an unpleasant odor - with a night cough, an abscess is far from uncommon. It is urgent to call an ambulance; therapy will be carried out in a hospital setting.
3. Pus and viscous consistency - such sputum occurs with severe inflammation. Most often it is pneumonia.
4. Particles of blood in the sputum and high temperature - such attacks of night cough indicate that the patient is developing oncology or tuberculosis.
5. Yellow-green discharge accompanied by nasal congestion is a sign of sinusitis. If therapy is not started, otitis media and meningitis may develop.
6. Too thick mucus with a sore throat - inflammation of the nasopharynx.

In any case, bronchospasm at night in an adult requires therapy. Advanced diseases will have to be treated in a hospital setting.

Be careful whooping cough

Sometimes even doctors confuse paroxysmal bronchial spasms of the cold type with whooping cough. Such an error in diagnosis wastes time. Every parent should be able to recognize whooping cough, which is characterized by the following symptoms:

• a child’s cough without fever, which worsens at night;
• attacks are repeated 15-25 times a day;
• swelling appears in the eyelid area;
• irritation and weakness;
• sleep disturbance;
• It is difficult to take a breath; a short-term cessation of breathing may occur.

It was always believed that this disease occurs only in children. But more and more often, whooping cough is found in adult patients. If you do not choose the right therapy, the following complications may occur:

• bronchitis;
• pneumonia;
• otitis media of purulent type;
• pleurisy.

A severe cough in a child should alarm any parent. You cannot treat this symptom negligently, otherwise the therapy will be delayed and chronic diseases may occur.

How to calm a night cough with medications

Everyone should know how to calm bronchospasm, which prevents you from resting at night. A sudden attack can occur due to an allergy. In this case, you should get rid of all objects and products that can provoke this condition. The most common allergens are the following objects: pets, plants, natural down, synthetics, washing powders or fragrances. The therapist can prescribe antihistamines, the course of therapy is determined individually.

Non-allergic spasms at night should be treated with other medications.

How to calm a dry cough at night with medication

Dry attack at night is annoying and even causes pain in the chest and throat. If the cause of the attacks is a cold or pneumonia caused by viruses or bacteria, the therapist will prescribe the following medications:

1. Terpinkod – antitussive tablets. After taking it, the intensity of the attacks immediately decreases, the patient feels relief. The drug promotes expectoration by thinning mucus. The course of therapy lasts five days, an adult should take tablets 3 times a day.
2. Omnitus - the medication has an antitussive and anti-inflammatory effect. The course of treatment does not exceed five days, the dosage is calculated depending on the patient’s weight.
3. Ambroxol is a mucolytic medicine that enhances the expectorant effect. The course of therapy can last 5-14 days, it all depends on the complexity of the inflammation.
4. Lazolvan - indicated for difficult sputum discharge, prescribed for pneumonia. The drug is available in the form of syrup and tablets. It can be used for inhalation.
5. Stoptussin – cough tablets with combined action. The dosage is determined depending on the patient's weight.

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Only a specialist will tell you how to treat a dry cough in an adult, taking into account the physiological characteristics of each person, weight and the presence of chronic diseases. Self-medication in every second case provokes a complication. Patients do not always understand that they are suffering from an attack of dry cough at night.

How to stop an adult coughing at night with sputum production

When the cough is tormented, the night turns into a real torment. You can relieve attacks of a productive nature with the following medications:

1. ACC are tablets that easily dissolve in water. The prepared solution has an expectorant effect.
2. Doctor MOM is an effective remedy prescribed against colds and bronchospasm. It is prohibited to treat attacks of dry cough with this medication.
3. Bronholitin is an affordable syrup that helps relieve pulmonary edema and remove all phlegm. With its help, you can alleviate the condition of an adult patient. The main thing is to follow the dosage and not take the medicine for more than a week.
4. Mucaltin is a remedy known since Soviet times. The tablets are made on the basis of plant extracts.

There are also medications that affect the part of the brain that controls reflexes. A nighttime coughing attack is relieved instantly, but the drug does not cure, but only blocks this condition. Professional therapists do not like these drugs, as they are addictive and do not provide positive dynamics during the treatment of diseases.

Diagnostic methods

At the appointment, the doctor asks about the characteristics of the attacks and accompanying symptoms. He examines an adult patient, listens to his breathing through a phonendoscope, and taps the lungs using percussion. Next, the doctor prescribes laboratory diagnostics:

• urine and blood analysis;
• fluorography;
• examination of sputum, throat smear;
• bronchoscopy.

If the presence of a neoplasm is suspected, a computed tomography scan of the chest is prescribed.

How to calm an adult’s cough at night using traditional methods

Inflammation of the lungs and bronchi is a serious matter. If you do not start treatment for night cough, complications may arise - pneumonia, abscess or cancer. Many patients are in no hurry to make an appointment with a specialist, but prefer to carry out procedures that have been known for a long time before going to bed.

Traditional methods can be used only after consultation with a therapist. Doctors often advise combining home therapy with pharmaceutical medications to clear the throat and suppress attacks. For example, a viral or bacterial infection can be suppressed by taking garlic or onion tinctures. These foods enhance the immune system.

If bronchospasm intensifies at night, then you can choose one of the popular methods of traditional therapy. Herbal decoctions and various mixtures using bee honey have a calming effect.

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How to stop a coughing attack in adults using radish

Inflammation of the mucous membranes of the sinuses, throat and lower respiratory tract is always accompanied by spasm. This is the body’s protective reaction to harmful microorganisms that have entered the body. An incipient spasm can be cured with black radish. The following recipes should be offered to someone who is coughing:

• radish with honey - can cure frequent dry cough. To prepare, you need to take a root vegetable and cut out the core, pour honey inside. It is necessary to leave the product for several hours in a dark place. For treatment, honey is used, which has absorbed the beneficial properties of radish; you need to take five tablespoons during the day;
• baked radish - the root vegetable is chopped into cubes and placed on a baking sheet, everything is sprinkled with sugar on top. The product is placed in the oven for 5 minutes, after cooling, you need to consume the mixture one tablespoon 5 times a day;
• Grated radish with honey and cinnamon is an excellent recipe for the treatment of bronchospasm.

A frequent dry cough may indicate whooping cough. This is an unpleasant disease that can cause serious complications. Therapy will last for a month.

How to get rid of a night cough with drinks

If night cramps often occur, you should take care to drink plenty of fluids. Lack of fluid in the body provokes drying of the mucous membranes. This may be the main cause of seizures.

If no pathologies of the respiratory tract are identified at a therapist’s appointment, you should pay attention to decoctions and tinctures. You can take the following medicinal drinks:

• warm tea with lemon and honey;
• chamomile decoction;
• compotes of dried fruits with the addition of cloves;
• tinctures from linden flowers.

It is impossible to completely eliminate the disease with drinks. If you have a serious illness, you will have to take pharmaceutical medications. Decoctions and tea with chamomile are preventive measures to strengthen the immune system.

Therapy for smoking

In smokers, a dry, prolonged cough without fever is treated by a pulmonologist. The phenomenon is eliminated with herbal preparations and non-drug methods.

How and how to treat a dry, prolonged cough due to smoking:

During the treatment of a smoking adult with a dry cough, consultations with a psychologist are needed. During conversations, a doctor helps a person overcome a bad habit.

On a note! It is recommended that smokers undergo annual preventive treatment in sanatorium-resort establishments. Preference should be given to institutions that specialize in the treatment of diseases of the respiratory system, or that have the Anti-Tobacco program among their methods.

How to relieve coughing attacks at night caused by smoking

If bronchospasm appears in the evening and does not occur during the day, then pneumonia should be suspected due to smoking. Nicotine clogs the cells of the respiratory organs, causing the mucous membranes to dry out. First, a person suffers from coughing, and then seizures develop.

If a person coughs after every cigarette, then conclusions need to be drawn. Irritation factors include toxic resins. First, you need to see a therapist to get tested and undergo fluorography. Nausea may accompany serious health problems. If the image does not reveal pathologies of the respiratory system, then the patient will be advised to simply give up the bad habit.

Prevention

Measures to prevent the appearance of cough are aimed at preventing hypothermia and the development of bronchopulmonary diseases. Prevention methods include:

• air humidification, maintaining normal room temperature;
• abstaining from drinking cold drinks;
• the need to dress for the weather;
• daily walks, morning exercises;
• strengthening the immune system (hardening, taking vitamins);
• getting rid of inhalation of tobacco smoke - both active and passive;
• vaccination against influenza, whooping cough, tuberculosis;
• annual fluorography.