Cough Without Disease

Is a cough always related to illness?

In our collective perceptions shared over the internet, perhaps the association between cough and illness is too strong. Maybe we take coughing for granted or view it in a negative light as something undesirable. However, health professionals seem to agree that the typical layperson doesn’t give the process of coughing enough credit.

It turns out that we often cough for reasons other than illness. Above all, cough is an active defense mechanism crucial to our survival. Additionally, coughing is an effective process that ensures the delicate linings of your airways and lung alveoli remain squeaky clean, free from irritants and microorganisms.

Why Do We Cough — According to Science?

There are two general reasons for coughing:

• Anti-irritation
• Self-preservation

An anti-irritation cough involves a constant, lingering irritation or an itch in the lungs or airways. The cough is a way to “scratch” the itch in this situation. In this situation, the stimulus reaches the conscious part of the brain (cortex), which “tells” the primitive brain (brainstem) a cough is needed. Thus, a cough happens by your choice, voluntarily.

A self-preservation cough serves to remove something the nervous system considers a threat. The brainstem decides that the body should cough in this situation. This decision happens without the brainstem “consulting” the cortex. Thus, a cough occurs without your choosing, involuntarily.

How Does Knowing Why We Cough Apply to Real Life?

When ingesting (eating or drinking), a flap of elastic cartilage called the epiglottis guards our windpipe (aka trachea). However, sometimes the coordinated motions that open and close the epiglottis allowing breathing or protecting the windpipe from food particles and fluids break down. We all experienced this: you or someone you know was eating or drinking (likely haphazardly), then mistakenly breathed in the liquid or food. Without delay, the ability to cough saved a life. In short, our chances of survival would be much slimmer without the ability to cough.

Cough could also be triggered by inhaling vapors of an irritating substance such as alcohol or ammonia. These irritate the sensitive cells lining the airways, which can be found, for example, in aggressive disinfectants or cleaning products. If these aggressive cleaning products make you cough all the time, consider using less aggressive alternatives.

Another possible cause for a coughing fit could be exposure to air riddled with dust and dust mites (especially true for someone with a related allergy).

Here is a summarized list of all the non-illness related causes for cough:

• Talking to the point of your throat becoming dry — this can be solved easily by drinking water.
• Aspirating food or fluids.
• Inhaling vapors of irritating substances
• Foreign particles, smoke, or dust — further exposure only increases bouts of coughing.
• Certain unpleasant odors.
• A vehicle with severe engine problems producing noticeable clouds of dark particles out of its tailpipe.
• Medications — some medications (such as a class of medications called angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors such as lisinopril or enalapril) can cause coughing as a side effect.
• Damage to the vocal cords.
• Being hypersensitive due to a recent infection.
• Eating too much.

You can avoid or minimize most cough related to environmental factors:

• Breathe in as much as possible through the nose and avoid inhaling through the mouth
• Move away from the source of irritation
• Use alternatives to aggressive cleaning products

A few homemade alternatives to aggressive cleaning products:

• Carpet odor remover — sprinkle baking soda on the affected area, let it sit for fifteen minutes, and vacuum that area afterward.
• Glass cleaner — mix one tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice into one liter of water.
• Wooden floor & furniture polish — mix one tablespoon of lemon juice with half a liter of mineral or vegetable oil.

If you can’t figure out what is causing your cough and it doesn’t stop by itself, seek medical attention as soon as possible.

References

1. Cleaning Products to Avoid if You Have Allergies | Penn Jersey | Janitorial | Cleaning | Philadelphia PA. Accessed July 27, 2021. https://www.penn-jersey.com/post-cleaning-products-to-avoid-if-you-have-allergies

2. Purvi Parikh, Mandel Sher, Kevin Murphy. Understanding the Cough Reflex. Accessed July 27, 2021. https://college.acaai.org/podcasts/cough-miniseries-episode-1-understanding-the-cough-reflex/

3. Fontana GA. Before We Get Started: What Is a Cough? Lung. 2008;186(1):3–6. doi:10.1007/s00408–007–9036–8

4. The Japanese Respiratory Society. Mechanism of cough. Respirology. 2006;11(s4):S137-S139. doi:10.1111/j.1440–1843.2006.00920_2.x