The Cough Reflex

Coughing is basically a protective reflex to clear the lungs and airways from foreign material. Rapid expulsion of air from the lungs pushes out the offending irritants like microbes, fluids, or mucus. A cough is only but a symptom, not a disease and as it is actually a part of your body's defense mechanism, suppressing it might have a negative effect.

Based on the presence of mucus, cough can be divided into nonproductive and productive. Based on the duration of the cough, it can be divided into acute, subacute, and chronic.

Cough is a protective reflex.

Nonproductive Coughs
Nonproductive cough does not produce mucus. A dry, hacking cough may develop toward the end of a cold or after exposure to an irritant, such as dust or smoke. There are many causes of a nonproductive cough, such as viral infection, allergies, asthma, ACE inhibitor drugs that are used to treat hypertension, exposure to dust, fumes, or chemical irritants, smoking, and blockage of the airway by an inhaled object such as food or a pill.

Productive Coughs
A productive cough produces phlegm or mucus (sputum). Any part of the airway from the nose down to the bronchioles has the ability to produce mucus in reaction to infection or irritants. Because coughing clears away the mucus, it should not be suppressed. Infection, both viral or bacterial is the most common cause of a productive cough. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure may also cause productive coughs.

Acute Coughs
Acute coughs start suddenly and can last up to 3 weeks. In most cases, an upper respiratory tract infection like the common cold or influenza and allergic rhinitis are to blamed for acute coughs. Less commonly, a lower respiratory tract infection such as bronchitis and pneumonia is causing the cough.

Subacute Coughs
Subacute coughs persist between 3-8 weeks. It usually lingers after a respiratory infection is gone. Other causes include allergic conditions such as hay fever.

Chronic Coughs
Chronic coughs persist after 8 weeks. Common causes of chronic coughs are chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, allergies, heart failure and asthma. A chronic cough may be an early symptom of lung cancer. Tuberculosis is rare in developed countries, but in other parts of the world especially in developing countries with high population, it remains a public health problem.

To treat or not to treat?

Do not use cough suppressants in productive cough.

The most important thing is to first find out what is causing the cough and rule out serious conditions that require emergency treatment. Foreign body aspiration and airway blockage are accompanied by increased breathing effort, cyanosis--a blueish discoloration of the skin or mucous membrane seen on the lips or finger, and diminishing breath sounds.

One of the most common cause of any type of cough is viral infection. Antibiotics do not alter the course of viral infections and are useless in this setting. Cough suppressants will make things worse in cases of productive coughs. So the bottom line is, it's wiser to find out the real cause and seek treatment for that condition instead.

Beginners Guide to Stop Smoking

Not going to discuss about the negative effects of smoking in this entry. There's too many of them and you can look it up for yourself in the internet. Therefore, I will assume you already know that smoking is gravely injurious to your health. The number of deaths caused by smoking still exceeds the number of deaths caused by auto accidents, suicide, homicide, cocaine, and AIDS combined.

To learn how to stop smoking effectively, you need to know why is it so hard to stop. People get addicted because cigarettes contain nicotine which is a type of stimulant. People claim that it relaxes the nerves, keeps them awake and clear-headed, but clearly the negative effects outweighs these subjective properties.

You need to realize and admit that you have a problem. If you think you can just quit within a day or two, going down from several packs a day to zero in 24 hours, you're wrong. Nobody does that. It takes courage and strong will to even begin to have the commitment to quit. If you feel you can't do it yourself, don't hesitate to look for help either from friends and family or from healthcare professional.

The first step: establish a reason why you should quit.

It can be because you want to live a longer, healthier life. Or you want to do it for the sake of your newborn baby. In any case, list these reasons down and keep it in your quit smoking diary.

Second step: set up a reasonable dateline.

Reasonable meaning you need to realize how high is your degree of addiction. Generally, people who have smoked longer and in higher quantity takes longer to stop. I have to stop smoking within 6 months, for example. Do not set up a cut-down date. Aim to stop completely.

Third step: prepare yourselves for withdrawal.

Like any addiction, expect to experience symptoms like nausea, headaches, anxiety, craving, and even depression within the first two days from your last cigarette. These symptoms gradually ease over several weeks to one month. Nicotine replacement in forms of gum or patches will help you in fighting the withdrawal symptoms.

Fourth step: celebrate success daily.

Mark down your calendar for each day you stay smoke free. This gives you a sense of accomplishment and encourage you to go further.

Fifth step: find other ways to manage your stress.

Listen to music, spend time with friends and family, try yoga or meditation. Find an alternative other than smoking to manage your stress.

Have you had enough yet? You're halfway done.

Sixth step: eat enough and eat healthily.

Don't worry about the weight gain. It's normal to gain a few pounds when you're trying to quit smoking. It's a sign that your body is trying to recover itself to its former state. You will experience better taste and improved appetite.

Seventh step: do not seek other forms of addiction.

Stay away from alcohol, caffeine, and other stimulants. It's self explanatory. You don't want to move on from one form of addiction to another.

Eight step: don't give up, try again if you fail.

Relapse is very common and most people takes more than one try to quit entirely. If you slipped off somehow, set up a new dateline within the next month. In the mean time, look back and find the reason why you failed in the first place.

Ninth step: talk it out.

Tell your friends and family that you're quitting. If you're experiencing problems, let them know.

Final step: reward yourself.

Use up the money that you have saved from not buying cigarettes and reward yourself with something fun. Get a vacation trip, buy a new phone, watch your favorite sport live. Whatever floats your boat.

How Your Body Works: The Respiratory System

The human respiratory system consists of a complex set of organs and tissues designed to capture oxygen from the environment and transport the it into the lungs. These include the nose and pharynx, the trachea, and the lungs. Knowing how these organs work will give better understanding on respiratory diseases.

Air passes from our nostrils into the throat (pharynx), down through the opening of the vocal cords (glottis), into the windpipe (trachea), passing through the left and right bronchi. The bronchi in turn branch into smaller branches called branchioles which finally terminates in small sac like structures of the lungs called alveoli. Only in the alveoli does actual gas exchange takes place.

Nose and Pharynx

Within the nose inhaled air is conditioned by warming and moistening. Hairs and hairlike structures called cilia trap dust particles and purify the air. The nasal chambers open into a cavity at the rear of the mouth called the throat (pharynx). Tonsils and adenoids are pockets of lymphatic tissue inside the pharynx which trap and filter microorganisms.

Trachea 

After passing through the pharynx, air passes through the opening of vocal cords (glottis) down to the windpipe (trachea). A thin flap of tissue called the epiglottis folds over the opening during swallowing and prevents food from entering the trachea. 

human respiratory system

The trachea has smooth muscle and rings of cartilage that maintain its structure and prevent it from collapsing. At its lower end, the trachea branches into two large bronchi. Both left and right bronchi also have smooth muscle and cartilage rings. The right bronchi is usually more straight than the left one, making it easier for aspirated food or foreign material to enter it. The bronchi then branch into smaller bronchioles, forming a bronchial tree before they eventually terminate in the air sacs known as alveoli.

Lungs 

Human lungs are composed of approximately 300 million alveoli, which are small sac like structures that are surrounded by a network of capillary blood vessels. Oxygen can pass through the alveoli walls and enters the red blood cells inside the capillaries to bind with hemoglobin. In exchange, carbon dioxide leaves the capillaries and enters the alveoli.

When a person inhales, the rib muscles and diaphragm contract to increase the volume of the chest cavity. This increase leads to reduced air pressure in the chest cavity, and air rushes into the alveoli, forcing them to expand and fill. During exhalation, the rib muscles and diaphragm relax, the chest cavity area diminishes, and the internal air pressure increases. The compressed air forces the alveoli to close, and air flows out.

Normally an adult person breathes 12-20 times per minutes. Breathing rate is determined by the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood. A high carbon-dioxide concentration leads to an increased breathing rate and the person will feel short of breath.