Types of severe cough without fever in adults, its causes and treatment

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Green Elena Stanislavovna

Otolaryngologist of the second category

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Everyone knows that if there is a cough, runny nose, or loss of strength, the patient will soon be overtaken by a fever. A similar cold can strike us several times during one cold season. Bed rest, rest, proper healthy eating, warm drinks and several medications will help you get back on your feet in the near future. But what should you do if an adult has a severe cough without fever? Debilitating attacks with normal general health may generally remain unattended by the patient for a long time. To avoid serious health problems, you should not take your condition to the limit, but, on the contrary, consult a doctor at the first symptoms.

Causes of severe cough without fever

This unpleasant condition occurs quite often. It affects men and women, adults and children.

A cough can occur on its own, or it can be one of the symptoms of a disease. If timely medical measures are not taken, it quickly becomes protracted, and then it will be more difficult to treat.

In addition, constant significant irritation of the respiratory system gradually leads to a decrease in immunity, deterioration of health and the development of complications.

A severe cough without fever in an adult can occur due to a variety of circumstances.

Most often they become:

• Bronchial asthma;
• laryngitis;
• smoker's bronchitis;
• pharyngitis;
• pleurisy;
• cardiopathology;
• reflux esophagitis;
• pathologies of the thyroid gland;
• malignant tumor of the esophagus;
• throat cancer, etc.

These diseases cause irritation of the receptors of the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract, provoke the development of an inflammatory process in them and give rise to the accumulation of sputum.

Most often, a severe cough without a rise in temperature with copious secretion of bronchial secretions occurs in chronic smokers.

It usually begins when a person gets out of bed in the morning. The reason for this is that during the night the inflamed mucous membrane produced a large amount of sputum and the patient tries to catch his breath, getting rid of it.

Therefore, it is very important to clarify exactly how a severe cough without fever manifests itself, how to treat it and what preventive measures should be taken. It can be strong or weak, wet or dry, constant or paroxysmal.

This symptom can occur only for a while, can become protracted, and then generally become chronic.

What could be the reasons

A cough with a runny nose without hyperthermia can occur in a baby for a number of reasons. Some of them are normal, others require examination and appropriate treatment. These symptoms can cause:

1. physiological features of the structure of the nasopharynx;
2. teething;
3. infectious respiratory diseases;
4. allergy.

It is necessary to consider these reasons in more detail so as not to prescribe treatment where it is not required and vice versa.

Physiological features

If a cough and runny nose occurs in an infant, this is most often a variant of the norm. The fact is that babies have narrow nasal passages and nasopharynx; mucus, which is produced in all people, cannot flow down freely and accumulates, leading to a runny nose. When mucus begins to flow down the nasopharynx, it irritates its surface, causing a reflex cough.

The baby may periodically cough in the morning, after a nap, or after eating (breast milk or an adapted formula). A baby may develop snot after walking outside in frosty weather; this may also be normal. But there are times when a child has a cold, but his temperature does not rise, because the baby has a weak immune system and the body does not fight the infection. For this reason, any baby with a cough and runny nose should be examined by a pediatrician.

Teething

When a baby begins to teethe, this leads to increased salivation. Saliva flows not only from the baby’s mouth, but also flows down the throat, causing coughing from irritation of the mucous membrane. During this period, the child’s immune system slightly weakens its function, so the baby can easily get sick and start coughing. Teething can be determined by the accompanying signs:

• the baby becomes capricious;
• he sleeps and eats poorly;
• pulls fists and toys into mouth;
• There may be irritation on the beard from saliva;
• The gums are red and swollen.

As a rule, after the tooth emerges from the gums, the symptoms go away, but it would not be a bad idea to show the child to the doctor and make sure that this is a reaction to teething.

Infectious diseases

The most common cause of a runny nose and cough is a viral infection of the body. If the immune system recognizes a bacterium immediately and begins to fight it, as evidenced by an increase in temperature, then viruses are able to masquerade as body cells and remain undetected for a long time. If the immune system does not see the danger, the temperature does not rise, but snot and cough are present, and the mucus from the nose is thick and cloudy. When affected by bacteria, the mucus becomes greenish in color.

If a viral disease is not treated, microorganisms, along with mucus from the nose, descend deeper, and uncoughed sputum accumulates, leading to an inflammatory process. Often cough and snot lead to:

nasopharyngitis;

With the secondary addition of a bacterial infection, these diseases become even more dangerous and require antibacterial therapy, which is not entirely good for the child’s body.

When a child develops a cough and runny nose without fever, this may indicate an emerging allergy. If the baby has allergies, the cough is dry, the eyes become watery and red. There may be rashes on the skin, but not always. The child's nose is swollen and clear mucus is flowing from it. An allergic reaction in a baby can begin for the following reasons:

The air in the children's room is too dry.

If an allergic cough occurs, parents should take the child to an allergist and find out the cause; without this, treatment is impossible. Dry allergic cough and runny nose, without appropriate treatment, are fraught with the development of chronic bronchitis and bronchial asthma.

Severe dry cough

This condition is characterized by the absence of sputum. Most often it accompanies bronchitis (at the initial stage), thyroid pathologies, diseases of the cardiovascular system, and malignant neoplasms. Very often, a pronounced dry cough is also a clear symptom of a tumor in the trachea or throat.

Then the patient gradually becomes more and more difficult to breathe, and subsequently he begins to simply suffocate.

It can also be a consequence of significantly dry air in the room, severe nervous strain, or the presence of foreign matter in the respiratory tract.

A strong dry cough without fever in an adult is primarily dangerous because it significantly irritates the inner wall of the bronchi and does not relieve them of accumulated secretions.

It can cause severe congestion in the systemic and pulmonary circulation or severe arterial hypertension.

It is especially dangerous during pregnancy. In this case, you should immediately call an ambulance, since such a serious condition of the woman can lead to miscarriage due to significant spasms of the uterus.

What to do if you have a sore throat: causes and treatment

There are several common manifestations that characterize a dry cough and a sore throat:

• tickling and cough appear suddenly;
• The tickling appears almost constantly, however, there are also small periods of relief of the condition, which lead to new and more severe attacks.

Note that a sore throat, which always accompanies a dry cough, is explained by reflex irritation of the mucous membrane and its swelling. This occurs due to the onset of the inflammatory process.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with some folk recipes that help effectively fight pathogenic microorganisms in the upper respiratory tract.

• Black radish juice with milk. To prepare the root vegetable, grate and squeeze out the juice. The resulting liquid is mixed with milk (1:2). You can add honey to improve the taste. Take one tablespoon warm after meals.
• Cherry-currant juice. These natural juices are mixed (1:1), a spoonful of honey is added to the drink. You should drink at least 2 glasses of juice throughout the day.
• Mint infusion is perfect for gargling. To prepare it, just pour boiling water over a few leaves of the plant and let it sit for 3-4 hours.

Severe wet cough

Usually a severe dry cough occurs, which gradually turns into a wet one. It is typical for people prone to constant physical inactivity.

If the secretion of the bronchi is not drained away, then significant congestion may develop, rapid proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms and involvement of neighboring organs in the pathological process.

A wet cough is characterized by the presence of sputum. This is a productive form of the disease, which goes away faster, since it involves self-cleaning of the airways.

Most often it occurs when:

• bronchitis;
• tracheitis;
• flu;
• ARVI;
• pneumonia.

The most common cause of a severe wet cough is bronchitis. It is characterized by a large amount of sputum produced.

Its treatment is not particularly difficult if it is started on time. But if you do not seek medical help, the disease can become chronic or develop into pneumonia.

Infecting a patient with Koch's bacillus can be much more dangerous. In the initial period of tuberculosis, there is no increase in temperature.

The disease is characterized by general malaise, severe cough with copious sputum production, weight loss, and intoxication of the body. Attacks can be very strong and painful for a person.

In the late stage of tuberculosis, blood may be detected in the expectorated secretions.

In the presence of a cancerous tumor, sputum of an uncharacteristic color is observed, in which blood impurities gradually begin to appear.

Gradually, the cough intensifies, and the patient himself weakens, experiences signs of intoxication and loses weight. Therefore, in this case, a biopsy and histological examination of tissue sections are required.

How does cough manifest itself and what signs accompany it at normal temperature?

In chronic diseases of the ENT organs, cough is not accompanied by an increase in body temperature, or it increases slightly during exacerbations. The mucous secretions that flow down the back wall of the pharynx during such diseases are the main cause of the development of a reflex cough. In this case, patients experience a burning sensation or pain in the throat, discharge from the nasal cavity, difficulty breathing, and swelling of the mucous membranes.

With occupational pharyngitis, a person’s cough is accompanied by a sore throat, burning during breathing, change or loss of voice.

With bronchitis, the patient experiences a chesty cough with the release of a large amount of sputum (in the initial stages of the disease, the cough is unproductive).

With smoker's bronchitis, the patient produces viscous sputum during a cough, while the body temperature remains within normal limits.

With pneumonia in elderly patients (as well as weakened ones), a cough may occur without an increase in body temperature.

With bronchial asthma, the patient develops a severe cough without an increase in body temperature. In this case, the cough can turn into an attack of suffocation; at the end of the attack, transparent viscous (glassy) sputum is released.

A cough with tuberculosis can be dry or wet, and may or may not be accompanied by an increase in body temperature. An admixture of blood is often found in the sputum. The patient experiences weakness, fatigue, weight loss, and increased sweating at night.

Cough in lung cancer is usually not accompanied by an increase in temperature; it is exhausting, painful, and bothers the patient a significant part of the time throughout the day. With neoplasms of the respiratory tract, an admixture of blood is also detected in the patient’s sputum.

A persistent allergic cough causes the development of allergic bronchitis, and subsequently bronchial asthma.

An allergic cough develops directly upon contact with an allergen or some time after that. The cough is accompanied by lacrimation, sneezing, itching in the throat and nose, skin rashes, and laryngospasm may develop.

A cough caused by an allergy is accompanied by other symptoms - sneezing, rash, itching, copious nasal discharge

Neurogenic cough occurs in stressful situations, with nervous overstrain, excitement. As a rule, it has the character of coughing; there are no other clinical signs. Neurogenic cough goes away on its own.

Cough with GERD does not last long and goes away on its own. In the chronic form of the disease, it occurs periodically.

A strong dry cough while pregnant can cause a miscarriage. Therefore, in such cases, a pregnant woman is advised to seek medical help as soon as possible.

The danger is a strong barking cough, as well as a cough accompanied by suffocation. In these cases, you should immediately consult a doctor. A barking cough may be accompanied by loss of voice, swelling of the throat and/or face, wheezing, wheezing, and vomiting.

Severe barking cough

If you have such a cough, you should immediately consult a doctor.

This condition makes a person unable to work, significantly worsens his well-being and sharply weakens his strength.

Sometimes it is so strong that the patient's gag reflex is triggered. This is explained by the fact that in the cerebral cortex these centers are located nearby and if one is overstimulated, the other also responds.

Barking cough manifests itself in very strong attacks that literally tear the patient apart. Often this condition also occurs without fever.

It may be caused by:

• allergies;
• bronchospasm;
• laryngotracheitis;
• whooping cough;
• diphtheria.

This cough is especially dangerous because it negatively affects the entire body as a whole. Its severe attacks do not bring temporary relief to the patient, but only significantly irritate the bronchi, lungs and pleura.

As a result of constant stress, a person often loses his voice, his throat and face swell. Sometimes the cough is so strong that whistling and wheezing are heard in the chest.

Folk remedies for adults

Traditional medicine will help get rid of a runny nose, dry or wet cough quickly and painlessly, of course, subject to agreement with your doctor. If there is no fever, it is useful to steam your feet in soda before going to bed, do inhalations based on medicinal herbs or oil extracts of eucalyptus, citrus fruits, sage, and peppermint. It is recommended to drink herbal teas with linden, plantain, marshmallow, and coltsfoot as much as possible per day.

Using the advice of traditional medicine, you should remember that the course of treatment with the chosen remedy should not exceed 14 days.

Recipes for adults for dry cough:

• It is useful to rub your chest and back with badger fat and honey at night.
• Dissolve a tablespoon of butter, a teaspoon of honey and half a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper in hot milk. After stirring, drink the product immediately.
• It is useful to alternate mustard plasters on the back and iodine mesh (night after night).
• Before going to bed, you need to drink hot milk with honey and mineral water. Instead of mineral water, you can add a little soda to the milk.
• Inhalations with lavender and cedar oils, combined with oil chest compresses, will help quickly get rid of the painful reflex.

Recipes for adults with wet cough:

• The lemon is thoroughly washed, poured with cold water and boiled over medium heat for about a quarter of an hour. Then it is cooled and squeezed out. Add a teaspoon of honey and glycerin to the resulting juice. Take 40 g after meals 3 times a day.
• Cut one medium onion, place it on the bottom of the pan, pour in a glass of milk, and bring to a boil. After 5 hours, drink the resulting onion broth. The product is used twice a day.
• Before eating, it is useful to drink half a glass of boiled water, in which a pinch of salt and soda are dissolved.
• In a liter thermos, infuse half a tablespoon of marshmallow root and 50 g of rose hips. The resulting tea is drunk during the day, and a fresh portion is brewed at night.

Cough is not a disease, it is a consequence of it. This is an important signal given by the body. A painful reflex that lasts more than 14 days cannot be ignored, even if the body temperature is normal. Many diseases are dangerous because they are difficult to diagnose at the very beginning of their development. A timely visit to a doctor for diagnosis will help you avoid fatal health problems.

Severe lingering cough

It can be diagnosed when it has been going on for quite a long time, from seven days or longer. This condition can be characterized in different ways, as well as caused by a variety of reasons.

Sometimes they are quite natural if a person lives in an area with a significantly changed environmental situation.

The impetus for the development of a strong lingering cough is usually bronchial asthma, laryngitis, pleurisy, pharyngitis, or smoker's bronchitis.

This type of it is primarily dangerous because it brings significant pathological changes in the structure of the respiratory tract. The mucous membrane is replaced by connective tissue, pulmonary emphysema develops, and chest pain appears.

This condition cannot be ignored. If the cough does not go away within two weeks, then you should definitely come to an appointment with:

• therapist;
• otolaryngologist;
• allergist;
• surgeon;
• pulmonologist;
• cardiologist;
• phthisiatrician;
• oncologist;
• gastroenterologist.

Specialists will determine the general condition of the patient, conduct a study of a panel of allergens, and carry out in-depth specialized studies. Therefore, it is impossible to diagnose yourself and, especially, to treat a cough without a doctor’s prescription.

This may turn out to be a much more serious disease that will require long-term and possibly even surgical treatment.

Such a symptom can be a sign of the most dangerous diseases.

What is a wet cough

In medicine, cough is understood as a protective reaction of the body that occurs in response to irritation of the respiratory tract and larynx by substances of a mechanical or chemical type. This reflex is divided into dry and wet types. The second is called productive because during it the mucus from the bronchi comes out. The body independently copes with the cleansing of sputum, the protective reflex of the respiratory tract leads to recovery and elimination of inflammation of the mucous membrane.

A wet cough is observed with respiratory tract infections, acute respiratory viral infections, acute respiratory infections, allergic rhinitis, acute bronchitis, and pneumonia. The symptom manifests itself in lung cancer, congestive heart failure, tuberculosis, chronic diseases in smokers, and pneumonia. The method of treating the disease depends on the type of sputum and the severity of the disease. Thus, the presence of streaks of blood in the mucus indicates bleeding and the need for a serious approach to therapy.

Diagnostics

Any cough requires mandatory treatment. You must first contact a general practitioner, who, after a series of diagnostic tests, will refer you to a specialist doctor.

Be sure to:

• general and biochemical blood test;
• sputum microscopy;
• throat swab;
• PCR and IFA for viral infections;
• Mantoux reaction;
• ultrasound scanning;
• radiography;
• CT;
• MRI, etc.

These studies will help explain the presence of dry cough and identify factors that contribute to its possible transition to a chronic condition.

The doctor will determine the source of inflammation, identify the causative agent of the disease, and determine its sensitivity to antibiotics.

It should be remembered that cough is one of the symptoms of the disease, so treatment should first of all be aimed at eliminating the underlying pathology.

Don't think that if you don't have a fever, you don't need to see a doctor. 36.6 on a thermometer can be even more dangerous than its presence.

If a strong wet cough without fever develops in an adult, it is very important to examine the patient’s sputum.

• The laboratory doctor will immediately determine that the greenish color is a consequence of a purulent process.
• A rusty secretion is a typical sign of pneumonia.
• Transparent clots occur in bronchial asthma.
• Yellow sputum indicates an inflammatory process.
• If the bronchial discharge contains blood impurities, then most likely we are talking about tuberculosis or a malignant neoplasm.
• In cases where the sputum is brightly colored red, a capillary rupture has occurred.

White sputum

White sputum with a curd consistency indicates the presence of a fungal infection or tuberculosis in the respiratory tract.
Fungi can infect the bronchi as a result of long-term treatment with antibiotics with reduced immunity. This leads to the appearance of pathogenic microflora on the mucous membrane. In the case of tuberculosis, mucus is usually secreted in small quantities. If bloody spots are found in white sputum, the doctor may diagnose a pulmonary complication due to damage to the laryngeal vessels during coughing. The white, watery consistency can be caused by external irritants, a viral infection, or respiratory diseases.

Transparent sputum indicates that there is no inflammatory process. A thick and transparent consistency may indicate that pneumonia, bronchitis, allergies, asthma or a cold are developing.

With a constant increase in the amount of mucus and sputum, the patient becomes poisoned, so it is important to start treatment on time to prevent stagnation of accumulations in the bronchi

Treatment

It consists of prescribing antitussive drugs, antibacterial agents, expectorants, mucolytics, immunostimulants, and vitamins.

It is also necessary in cases where an adult has a strong, lingering cough without fever, be sure to stop smoking, constantly ensure that the atmosphere in the room is humidified, inhale medications and herbal remedies, drink a lot, use special lozenges (sage, mint, eucalyptus).