Cough and Fever

Chest | General Practice | Cough and Fever (Symptom)


Description

Symptoms like cough, cold and fever are quite commonly experienced by people, more commonly, by children. A cough is a reflex action that occurs as an attempt to clear the airways of mucus, sputum, a foreign body, or any other irritants or blockages. A cough is productive when it brings up mucus or sputum and unproductive, or dry, when it does not. A cough can be acute if it is present less than three weeks, subacute if it is present between three and eight weeks, and chronic when lasting longer than eight weeks.

Causes

Symptoms like fever, cough, headache, etc. usually occur due to respiratory disorders. However, as these symptoms are observed in many other illness, it is really difficult to diagnose the exact cause without consulting the doctor. Allergy is one of the most common cause of fever and cough together in people. Some other causes may include: viral infections (like common cold and flu, the cough is wet and non-productive, and is accompanied by a low-grade fever); bacterial infections (like bronchitis, pneumonia, strep throat, whooping cough) the cough and breath sounds like whooping sound if the person suffers from whooping cough.

Croup is caused due to viral infection and is characterized by harsh excess coughing, hoarseness, and fever. It is particularly observed in infants from 6 months to 4 years of age. While it is not unusual for babies to contract the above mentioned infectious diseases, teething is the most significant cause of cough and fever in babies.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Fever, cough and infections can be prevented to a large extent by having a balanced diet and maintaining hygiene.

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