These days, due to air pollution, many health related problems are making people their victims. The air quality in many parts of the country including Delhi-NCR is continuously deteriorating, due to which the cases of many problems including cold and cough have started increasing rapidly. Especially the cases of Persistent Cough are increasing rapidly these days. In such a situation, it becomes difficult for people to identify whether it is a regular cough or a cough caused by pollution.

So we spoke to Dr Sandeep Nair, Principal Director and HOD, Chest and Respiratory Diseases , BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital , to know how to differentiate between a regular cough and a pollution induced cough (cough warning signs). Also, we learnt what can be its symptoms, causes and prevention methods.

How long does a regular cough last?

Doctors say that a regular cough usually lasts for about 4 to 5 days and mostly gets cured with treatment. It may be due to an infection or sudden exposure to an allergen, which may subside after taking medicine.

On the other hand, chronic cough is a cough that lasts for more than eight weeks in adults. However, cough that lasts for four weeks or more in children is called chronic cough. Chronic cough usually does not respond to normal medicines and sometimes it can also become a cause of trouble. Its most common causes are pollution or tobacco use and asthma.

Causes of cough

Sometimes some medicines can also cause cough and this dry cough gets cured only after stopping the medicine. However, some serious causes include throat or lung cancer , in which cough becomes very bothersome. It can even cause blood in the sputum. Cough caused by infection mostly has yellow or green colored sputum, which indicates that the person is probably suffering from a bacterial infection.

In such a situation, it is important to get rid of cough because it can not only cause trouble but can also cause serious conditions like headache, chest pain or even rib fracture.

How are they treated

Doctors say that when a patient comes to us with a cough problem, his examination and tests like chest X-ray, blood test, pulmonary function test, echocardiography help in finding out the exact cause of the cough and after finding out the cause, it becomes easier to treat, but if the cough persists, always consult your doctor, because over-the-counter medicines for cough can give you temporary relief, but can also harm you if taken for a long time.