BODY SIGNAL ALERT COUGH, PRODUCTIVE AND ACUTE: DESCRIPTION AND POSSIBLE MEDICAL PROBLEMS
The first thing you should realize with a cough that has appeared suddenly and brings up mucus or phlegm is that this is the body’s way of getting rid of an irritant that has entered the lungs. With an acute, nonproductive cough, the cause is usually an inhaled irritant, like dust. A productive cough, however, is probably caused by an underlying illness that is irritating the lungs and causing them to produce more phlegm than usual.
If you have an acute, productive cough, ask yourself the following questions:
1. What color is the secretion: grey, brown, green, red, yellow, or clear?
2. Am I coughing up a lot of phlegm or mucus—more than about a teaspoon—and is it thick or thin?
3. Am I coughing only at night or all day long?
4. Do I have a fever, chills, body aches, or lethargy?
6. Have I recently lost weight?
7. Was I a heavy smoker in the past?
8. Do I have night sweats?
If you have thick, copious secretions that are grey, yellow, brown, or green, you probably have a bacterial infection, which means you could have pneumonia. Some other symptoms could be fever, chills, or fatigue. If you have these symptoms, you should see your doctor.
If you’ve recently lost weight and have night sweats along with an acute, productive cough, you may actually have tuberculosis.
*355\167\8*
