Why there is a cough for allergies?

In humans, coughing is an unconditioned reflex that ensures the survival of the body. Cough appears as a response to irritation of lung tissue, upper respiratory mucosa, cough for allergies is also a response to irritation.

Unfortunately, an allergic cough is not protective in the literal sense of the word - it does not lead to the removal of foreign bodies from the respiratory tract. Very often cough with allergies indicates the onset of the development of such a disorder as bronchial asthma. This cough is caused not only by external stimuli coming in with the inhalation, but also by substances that have entered the bloodstream and caused the development of an allergic reaction.

Read also: Cough with asthma

Quite easily allergy in the form of a cough differs from a cough infectious and other nature due to lack of temperature, absence of viscous sputum with putrefactive odor. Cough is a complication of an allergic reaction of the body. As a rule, dry, exhausting, nasal, roaring allergic cough does not bring relief and does not stop for a long time. Cough can be accompanied by other allergic manifestations in the form of rhinitis, lacrimation, sneezing. This reaction often occurs when inhaling allergens - smoke, dust particles, pollen, fluff, chemicals. When the mechanism of an allergic reaction is triggered, histamine release occurs, which causes vasodilation and blood stasis in the capillaries (microcirculation is disturbed), this process causes mucosal edema and irritates the receptors, irritation of the receptors on the mucous airways leads to a protective reaction - cough.

Especially fast the process of allergic edema is triggered in a young organism and coughing with allergies in children can be accompanied by sensations of suffocation, pressure in the chest, even vomiting. In children, the allergic nature of cough is established if there are no signs of ODS and ARI if the cough is worse in the presence of those substances (objects) that are suspected as allergens if the cough is seasonal if there is a positive dynamics after taking antihistamines. In children, an allergic reaction in the form of a cough can manifest itself on food, drugs, insect bites, if the allergen is often in contact with the body, then the probability of developing an asthmatic complication of the immune response is high.

Types of cough for allergies

So, one of the main differences between cough and hyperimmune response from seizures in ARI and ODS is dry cough for allergies. It is dryness and the practical absence of other symptoms that can lead to an idea of the allergic nature of coughing. This cough suddenly appears and can also go by itself just as suddenly. Sometimes it combines with rashes of an allergic nature, sometimes leading to a persistent sensation of suffocation. It is extremely rare, after prolonged bouts of attacks, due to mechanical damage to the mucous in the course of coughing attacks, sputum with blood veins that can get into the sputum from the damaged vessels can be released from the bronchi. This situation requires careful research by experts to eliminate serious diseases that lead to internal bleeding.

Sometimes coughing does not even occur as a reaction to the presence of any substances, but as a reaction to the difference in ambient temperatures, for example, a cough with cold allergy occurs when going from a warm room to a cold one. Bronchospastic reflex protects our respiratory tract from severe hypothermia and is protective in nature, however, with hyperreactivity of the smooth muscles of the bronchi, there may be a spasm of the airways that will be accompanied by coughing attacks, a sensation of suffocation and indicates a tendency to bronchial asthma. The help in this case consists in smoothing the difference in the temperature of the inhaled and exhaled air, complete refusal of breathing through the mouth, taking spasmolytic drugs and examining the pulmonologist and allergist.

As with cold allergies, cough with food allergy loses its original protective purpose - to remove the foreign body from the respiratory tract. It arises as a response to stimulation of receptors in mucosal edema due to microcirculation disorders as a consequence of the reaction to released histamines in case of food allergy. Naturally, when the alimentary allergen is eliminated, the cough also passes, so the condition can be facilitated by taking enterosorbents (reduce the number of allergens entering the blood stream from the food with enterosorb, polysorb, enterosgel, activated carbon). Since food allergies occur most often in children, gel forms should be preferred in the choice of sorbents (often children refuse to take activated charcoal because of its mechanical properties).

It should be remembered that coughing always indicates the onset of swelling! For this reason, a strong cough for allergies requires increased attention (because of the danger of its transition into the edema of Quincke). In case the allergic nature of cough is established, it is necessary to eliminate the allergen as soon as possible and take antihistamines, since the reaction in the form of persistent cough of high intensity threatens the transition of a cough from a number of complications with allergy to coughing in case of asthmatic bronchitis. A severe cough with allergies can occur in response to allergenic food components, as a reaction to the presence of allergens (dust, fluff, pollen) in the environment, to temperature fluctuations, may also have a psychological nature (an allergic cough in response to violent emotional disturbances like allergoreaction to the release of hormones).