Recently, due to the large temperature difference between morning and night and dry weather, the number of people suffering from respiratory diseases such as cough and cold has increased sharply. Some people like to take cough medicine before bed in order to stop coughing, thinking that this can prevent nighttime coughing without affecting sleep. However, this practice is inappropriate.
The reason why cough medicine can stop coughing is because it acts on the cough center, respiratory receptors, and sensory nerve endings, inhibiting the cough reflex. Although cough medicine can stop coughing, it can cause the retention of respiratory tract secretions, which can easily block the airways. After falling asleep, the excitability of the parasympathetic nervous system increases, causing the contraction of bronchial smooth muscles and narrowing of the bronchial lumen. In the increasingly narrow lumen, combined with the obstruction of secretions, it can lead to severe ventilation insufficiency in the lungs, causing hypoxia in the body, resulting in chest tightness, difficulty breathing, and other discomfort. As a result, taking cough medicine to sleep peacefully is not possible, but instead may worsen the discomfort of the body.
When a patient with a cough has sputum in the trachea, in addition to actively treating the underlying disease, cough medicine and expectorants should be used. These medicines are mainly traditional Chinese medicines, such as Zhike Qingguo Pills, Tongxuan Lifu Pills, Compound Fritillary Tablets, and Piyan Ping. Western medicines such as ammonium chloride and potassium iodide also have expectorant effects, as they can make sticky sputum thinner and easier to cough out.
There are many causes of coughing. Once a severe cough occurs or if the cough persists for more than a week, it is necessary to go to the hospital for timely treatment, exclude the possibility of tuberculosis, and find out the cause in order to prescribe the appropriate treatment.
