Coughing attacks at night in an adult can not only interfere with sleep, but also become a serious cause for concern. The appearance of a characteristic cough syndrome often indicates the presence of a disease. To effectively combat the disease, it is necessary to establish the factors influencing its formation.
Reasons for appearance
Cough at night can be caused by various circumstances. Many of them are not a big problem and are easily fixed. A dry, short cough often wakes a person from deep sleep. Attacks can be repeated at short intervals, with no expectoration. Among household causes that cause malaise, some are especially popular:
- House dust, settling on the walls of the respiratory tract, irritates the mucous membranes, provoking coughing. In the process of repairing a room, a person is forced to inhale microscopic particles for a long time, which subsequently cause illness.
- Smoke with a strong smell cancause dry cough. In the summer, windows are often open in apartments, which contributes to the penetration of unpleasant odors from the street. Frequent inhalation of tobacco smoke by a non-smoker can cause wheezing in adults at night.
- Some cleaning chemicals have a strong odor. This causes allergic reactions that irritate mucous membranes.
- Stale, too dry or too humid bedroom air can often cause coughing spells during sleep.
These factors are easy to eliminate in order to restore a good rest. Regular ventilation of the room, wet cleaning with the use of disinfectants will help ensure access to fresh and clean air. However, the presence of additional symptoms may indicate the development of pathologies of the respiratory system. Coughing attacks at night in an adult without fever are often the result of such diseases:
- tuberculosis;
- whooping cough;
- bronchitis;
- asthma;
- reflux disease;
- disorders in the cardiovascular system.
In order to correctly diagnose the malaise, you should pay attention to the secondary signs accompanying a nocturnal cough.
Identification of symptoms
The manifestation of the disease is characterized by certain features that help to diagnose it. Tuberculosis is accompanied by frequent bouts of wet coughing, severe sweating, and painful spasms in the chest area. If the cough gets worselying down, there is shortness of breath, palpitations, general weakness during the daytime, most likely the person has problems with the cardiovascular system.
Symptoms of reflux disease are heartburn, sour taste in the mouth, hiccups. The backflow of stomach contents into the esophagus, irritating the receptors, often causes coughing fits at night in an adult. A cough syndrome that recurs during sleep, causing nausea, vomiting, dizziness, indicates the likely development of whooping cough.
The separation of sputum, thick mucus, accompanying coughing attacks at night in an adult, after colds are considered common. As a rule, this indicates the recovery of the patient. However, the presence of an unpleasant odor from the discharge can be a cause for concern. Such a factor characterizes the inflammatory processes of the respiratory system, lung abscesses.
Diagnosing an illness
Irritating coughing during sleep serves as a signal for consultation with a specialist. In most cases, a detailed description of the symptoms, frequency and sensations of the patient allows the doctor to make a preliminary diagnosis. To confirm or exclude the disease, the patient is prescribed blood, urine, sputum tests.
Additionally, a chest x-ray, MRI, consultation of narrow profile specialists is performed. Based on a complete examination, the doctor diagnoses the disease, prescribes treatment. Its effectiveness largely depends on the complexity and formillness, clear and careful observance of prescriptions.
Consequences of a cold
High fever, runny nose, sputum production often accompany respiratory, viral and colds. Many wonder what to do, coughing attacks at night continue even after recovery. First of all, it is necessary to identify the causes that cause discomfort during sleep. Among the influencing factors, the following often stand out:
- mucosal damage from exposure to a bactericidal background;
- allergic reactions to drugs used in the treatment of the underlying disease;
- prolonged, copious runny nose, causing mucus to drain into the larynx;
- complications of previous illnesses.
Continued nocturnal cough after recovery indicates the need to visit a specialist. You should not self-medicate, so as not to aggravate the state of he alth.
Cough without fever
Discomfort during sleep in the form of dry coughing can be of a domestic nature. The disease is often found in smokers with a long history. This is a natural reaction of the body to the products of tobacco smoke. Allergies associated with the flowering of some plants, poplar fluff, aggressive odors can act as an irritant to the mucous membranes.
Cough without fever is observed in asthmatics, people whose body is infected with infections, helminthic invasions. In rare cases, an unpleasant factor may indicate the presence of endocrine diseases, oncology, becomesa consequence of frequent stressful situations.
Possible Complications
In addition to the general discomfort, nocturnal cough without timely treatment can lead to complications of an acute and chronic nature. Exhausting seizures during sleep cause insufficient blood flow to the brain. As a result, there is increased fatigue, weakness, fainting. A person may be disturbed by frequent nausea, dizziness, insomnia.
In more complex cases, frequent, severe cough without appropriate treatment leads to involuntary defecation, urination. The chronic form contributes to the appearance of a hernia of the abdominal cavity, discomfort in the larynx, pain when swallowing saliva. There may be sputum with blood, pus. On this basis, diseases such as laryngitis, pharyngitis, and inflammation of the vocal cords often occur.
Treatment methods
To know how to stop a coughing fit at night, you should determine the cause of its occurrence, diagnose the disease. To combat the disease, pharmacology offers many means in the form of suspensions, syrups, drops, lozenges. Treatment prescribed by a specialist may include medication, physiotherapy, inhalation.
Treatment of diseases through the introduction of drugs in the vapor state into the respiratory system is particularly effective. Currently, there are several common methods of inhalation.
- Dry - carried out with the help of special devices. Suchthe technique is prescribed for pathologies of the lower respiratory tract.
- Oil inhalation involves the use of essential oils to ease breathing and relieve swelling. The procedure is contraindicated in the presence of allergic manifestations.
- Steam is a classic treatment option that does not require any special equipment. Inhalation can be done by inhaling the vapors of the drug diluted in hot water directly from the container, covered with a towel.
Night cough therapy can be done at home, with the help of traditional medicine. Infusions, potions and decoctions for common ailments are prepared on the basis of herbal ingredients. This technique avoids the use of chemical preparations. In addition, non-traditional medicines are distinguished by the availability of constituent ingredients and ease of preparation.
It is important to remember: treatment with folk recipes can be carried out after consultation with specialists. In the presence of serious diseases leading to complications, it is better to use effective pharmacological drugs in order to stop the development of the disease in a timely manner.
Drug therapy
Many people wonder how to stop a coughing fit at night. Depending on the form and complexity of the disease, the specialist prescribes treatment, which includes taking mucolytic and antitussive drugs. Among the most common means are the following:
- "Bronholitin" - a drug based on herbal ingredients that effectively removesinflammation of the mucous membranes. It fights irritants, eliminates puffiness and makes breathing easier. Pregnant women, lactating women, people with cardiovascular diseases should be careful about taking the medicine.
- "Gerbion" from dry cough, the instructions for use of which will tell you how to calculate the correct dosage. Plantain-based syrup has an antibacterial and softening effect, promotes the removal of sputum. The composition of the drug includes plantain extract and additional components that enhance its effect.
- "Stoptussin" is an effective remedy for night cough, allowed to be taken even by children from 1 year old. Mucolytic quickly relieves inflammation in the respiratory tract, removes phlegm, relieves the urge to cough.
- "Sinekod" - syrup, the active ingredient of which is butamirate. The drug quickly stops night attacks of cough syndrome, partially relieves inflammation and promotes bronchial expansion. In most cases, it is prescribed as a preventive measure for long-term smokers, as well as for chronic forms of various ailments.
- "Muk altin" - tablets that are prescribed for severe attacks of dry and wet cough without expectoration. The tool dilutes sputum, promotes its removal, eliminates irritants that cause coughing.
In addition to drugs, the action of which is aimed at reducing coughing attacks during sleep, experts prescribe antibiotics in the presence of infectious forms of the disease. In case of coughcaused by allergic reactions, the patient is prescribed antihistamines. Hormone-based drugs are often used to reduce inflammation.
Pharmacological preparations are often used as a prophylactic and quickly relieving coughing fit. "Gerbion" from dry cough, the instructions for use of which will tell you how to calculate the correct dosage, is prescribed not only for adults, but also for children. The herbal ingredients that make up the medicinal syrup stop sudden attacks, eliminate the factors that cause coughing.
Folk remedies
Treatment of coughing attacks at night in an adult can be carried out using alternative medicine recipes. Medicinal herbs, flowers, natural ingredients that are part of many medicinal preparations help to effectively deal with a common ailment.
Not everyone knows what to do if you cough a lot at night. To stop an attack, it is enough to take 1 teaspoon of a home-made remedy. A medium-sized onion must be peeled, passed through a meat grinder or chopped in a blender bowl. Squeeze the resulting slurry through gauze. Mix onion juice with a teaspoon of natural honey and infuse for 4-5 hours.
Night cough with phlegm in an adult can be cured with a lozenge of available ingredients. For its preparation you will need:
- rye flour - 250g;
- water - 50 ml;
- natural honey - 30 ml;
- oileucalyptus - 3-4 drops.
All components are mixed until a homogeneous mass is obtained, similar to soft dough. Density can be adjusted by adding flour or water. A cake is formed from the mixture, which must be placed on the chest, secured with a cloth bandage and left overnight. The procedure is repeated 3-4 times a week, each time preparing a fresh compress.
At home, you can prepare a paste that soothes attacks of dry cough at night, softens the throat. The composition of the useful remedy includes raisins, honey, water, powdered almonds, butter. Pour 50 ml of water into a small saucepan, add 100 grams of raisins and honey, bring to a boil and cook on low heat for 40-50 minutes. The finished mixture is cooled to room temperature, almond powder and softened butter are added, kneaded until a homogeneous consistency. Take the remedy in the morning on an empty stomach and in the evening before going to bed for severe coughing attacks at night.
Effective effect on nocturnal coughing has a syrup that is easy to prepare at home. You need to take 100 g of sugar, 50 ml of water and bring the solution to a boil with low heat. Then it is necessary to cool the syrup to room temperature, add 5 drops of aloe oil and mix thoroughly. The remedy is taken during a sore throat, with the urge to cough, 1 teaspoon.
If a person is often disturbed by bouts of dry cough at night, it is necessary to drink warm drinks before going to bed. Drink milk with honey and butterin small sips, allowing the liquid to slowly drain through the mucous membranes of the larynx. You can prepare a decoction of chamomile and wild rosemary. To do this, take 2 tbsp. tablespoons of dry chopped herbs, pour water and boil for 20 minutes. The finished product is filtered and taken warm, 200 ml each, 30 minutes before bedtime.
Remove the inflammation in the larynx, soothe the irritation that causes coughing fits, rinse solution will help. To prepare it, you need 200 ml of water, 1 teaspoon of soda and s alt. The components are combined and stirred until the s alt is completely dissolved. Gargle with a solution at bedtime and in the morning after hygiene procedures.
As additional therapeutic measures, traditional medicine offers all kinds of compresses, rubbing, inhalations using medicinal plants. However, you should not self-medicate, this can lead to a deterioration in he alth.
Preventive measures
The fight against the disease largely depends on the attentiveness of the patient. It is necessary to carefully follow the instructions of a specialist, take medications in a timely manner. To subsequently eliminate the factors that cause the development of a night cough, you should follow simple preventive rules.
Cough caused by a large accumulation of dust can be prevented by timely wet cleaning of the room. Carpets, bedspreads, soft toys, which often collect a large amount of household dust, should be regularly cleaned and treated with disinfectant solutions. It is important to circulatefresh air in the bedrooms. In winter, it is effective to ventilate the premises for 10-15 minutes in the morning and in the evening before going to bed.
If the air in the apartment is too dry, regular humidification is required. You can use special devices that increase humidity, or improvised means. Cleanliness in the areas reserved for sleep will be the key to he althy breathing, reduce the load on the lungs and bronchi.
A person's susceptibility to various diseases largely depends on immunity. It is possible to increase it by organizing proper nutrition and hardening procedures. Full-fledged work of the body requires a constant supply of vitamins, trace elements, fats and carbohydrates. Excessively fatty foods, sour, s alty, smoked foods in large quantities should be avoided.
For the general strengthening of the body, experts recommend regularly being outdoors, leading an active lifestyle. You can do simple sports exercises in your free time or just walk at a comfortable pace daily.
Coughing fits caused by a long history of smoking will help reduce the restriction of nicotine intake. It is better to completely get rid of the addiction or switch to lighter cigarettes with a reduced content of harmful substances. People suffering from nicotine addiction can take special prophylactic drugs, but be sure to consult a specialist.
If an adult's cough intensifies at night, it causes discomfort not only to the patient, but alsosurrounding. There is fatigue from constant sleep disturbance, severe weakness, dizziness. To avoid complications and prevent the development of serious ailments, with primary symptoms, you should consult a doctor. Timely treatment will help to avoid pathologies, strengthen he alth and completely get rid of the disease.
