When health problems in the respiratory tract occur, one of the common symptoms that appear is coughing.
It is essential to know that not all coughs are the same; each type has different symptoms. In determining the proper treatment, you need to understand the various symptoms of every kind of cough.
Also Read: Here are 4 Differences between Flu-Cough and Covid-19 Symptoms
5 Types of Cough Medicines
Based on the function, you can distinguish cough medicines into five types as follows.
- Antitussive: This type of cough medicine works to suppress the cough reflex in the nervous system.
- Mucolytic: This type of cough medicine works by reducing the viscosity of clotted phlegm to make it easier to expel. However, mucolytics cannot provide permanent healing in the lungs, both for children and adults.
- Decongestants: You can take this type of cough medicine to relieve a stuffy nose.
- Expectorant: This type of cough medicine works by loosening the breath so that the body can expel the excessive production of phlegm. Expectorants are often taken when someone has a cough with phlegm.
- Antihistamines: People with cough due to allergies generally take this type of cough medicine. Itching, watery eyes, and sneezing are signs of an allergic cough.
5 Types of Cough
You can identify coughs from symptoms into five types as listed below.
1. Cough with Phlegm
Cough with phlegm is a productive cough due to excessive phlegm production in the respiratory tract. A person who coughs with phlegm will feel something stuck in the throat, and this happens because there is mucus or phlegm that clots in the throat. The production of phlegm plays a role in supporting the respiratory tract in keeping the throat and lungs moist. Not only that, phlegm works to clear foreign particles or harmful irritants from the respiratory tract.
2. Dry Cough
Dry cough is a non-productive cough because there is no increase in mucus or phlegm in the respiratory tract. This type of cough usually gets worse at night. The frequency of dry cough is indeed higher when compared to other types of cough. A person who has this type of cough will feel a burning sensation in the throat.
3. Coughing Blood
This type of cough is also known as hemoptysis, where the patient bleeds when coughing. The blood comes from the throat, lungs, or the surrounding respiratory tract. Generally, the color and texture of the blood, which is bright red to thick, is slightly foamy because it contains phlegm.
4. Whooping Cough
This type of cough is also referred to as pertussis. Whooping cough often spreads quickly among children and adolescents. Bordetella pertussis bacterial infection in the respiratory tract is the cause of this type of cough. Whooping cough is a hundred-day cough because it lasts for 4 to 8 weeks.
5. Chronic Cough
When referring to the period, coughs fall into three types. First, an acute cough that usually lasts for three weeks. Second, a subacute cough that generally lasts for three to eight weeks. Fourth, a chronic cough usually lasts for eight weeks or more.
Also Read: Home Remedies for Phlegm and Mucus
Cough can go away on its own. In some cases, you still need to be careful of the type of cough that lasts for a long time. With different kinds of cough medicine and its different uses, you will need to adapt it to the stone you are experiencing. Read more about health tips and medicine here. You can find a list of medicines that we distribute based on our partner medicine production companies on our principals page. If you are a medicine manufacturer or medicine retailer who needs cooperation and more information about Mandira as a pharmaceutical distributor, please contact us here.