cough

Also known as coughing

A cough is a sudden expulsion of air through the large breathing passages which can help clear them of fluids, irritants, foreign particles and microbes. As a protective reflex, coughing can be repetitive with the cough reflex following three phases: an inhalation, a forced exhalation against a closed glottis, and a violent release of air from the lungs following opening of the glottis, usually accompanied by a distinctive sound. Coughing into one's elbow or toward the ground—rather than forward at breathing height—can reduce the spread of infectious droplets in the air.

AI overview

A cough is a sudden expulsion of air from your lungs that helps clear your breathing passages of fluids, irritants, foreign particles, and microbes. It matters because it's your body's protective reflex that works in three phases—inhaling, building pressure, and forcefully releasing air—and covering your cough with your elbow can help prevent spreading infectious droplets to others.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Medical condition.name: Cough
Medical condition.image: File:Toux impromptue.jpg
Medical condition.specialty: Pulmonology, otorhinolaryngology

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

88,002 papers

Current understanding of Bordetella-induced cough.ReviewMicrobiology and immunology · 2024Horiguchi YDOI: 10.1111/1348-0421.13119
How often do healthy people cough?Respiratory research · 2023Holt KJ, Smith JADOI: 10.1186/s12931-023-02585-1
Cough: what's in a name?ReviewThe European respiratory journal · 2006Widdicombe J, Fontana GDOI: 10.1183/09031936.06.00096905
Cough dynamics in adults receiving tuberculosis treatment.PloS one · 2020Lee GO, Comina G, Hernandez-Cordova G et al.DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231167
Longitudinal Cough Frequency Monitoring in Persistent Coughers: Daily Variability and Predictability.Lung · 2024Chung KF, Chaccour C, Jover L et al.DOI: 10.1007/s00408-024-00734-x
[Cough--diversity and the peripheral mechanisms of production].ReviewNihon yakurigaku zasshi. Folia pharmacologica Japonica · 1995Takahama K, Miyata TDOI: 10.1254/fpj.105.41
Cough reduction using capsaicin.Respiratory medicine · 2015Ternesten-Hasséus E, Johansson EL, Millqvist EDOI: 10.1016/j.rmed.2014.11.001
The Cough Response to Inhaled Mannitol in Healthy Subjects.Lung · 2024Nurmi HM, Lätti AM, Koskela HODOI: 10.1007/s00408-024-00755-6

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Image: Coughing icon.svg

Show 5 more facts

ICPC 2 ID: R05
Commons category: Coughing
NCI Thesaurus ID: C37935
exact match: purl.obolibrary.org/obo/SYMP_0000614
name in kana: がいそう

Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

~14 min read

Article

22 sections

Contents

Presentation
Complications
Differential diagnosis
Infections
Reactive airway disease
Gastroesophageal reflux
Air pollution
Foreign body
Drug-induced cough
Habit cough
Neurogenic cough
Other
Airway clearance
Pathophysiology
Diagnostic approach
Classification
Treatment
Epidemiology
Other animals
References
Further reading
External links

Frequent coughing usually indicates the presence of a disease. Many viruses and bacteria benefit, from an evolutionary perspective, by causing the host to cough, which helps to spread the disease to new hosts. Irregular coughing is usually caused by a respiratory tract infection but can also be triggered by choking, smoking, air pollution, asthma, gastroesophageal reflux disease, post-nasal drip, chronic bronchitis, lung tumors, heart failure and medications such as angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors) and beta blockers.