咳嗽是当什么东西刺激咽喉或气道时身体做出反应的方式。刺激物刺激向脑发送消息的神经。然后，脑告诉胸部和腹部的肌肉从肺部排出空气，以挤出刺激物。
偶尔咳嗽为正常且健康。持续咳嗽数周或咳出变色或带血的黏液可能意味着某种需要医疗护理的状况。
有时侯，咳嗽可能非常用力。长时间剧烈的咳嗽可能刺激肺部，并引起更多咳嗽。它也令人筋疲力尽，可能导致失眠、头晕或昏厥、头痛、尿失禁、呕吐、甚至肋骨骨折。
虽然偶尔咳嗽是正常的，但持续的咳嗽可能是出现健康问题的征兆。
如果咳嗽持续少于三周，则被视为“急性”。如果持续时间超过八周（儿童为四周），则视为“慢性”。
引起咳嗽的一些原因包括：
如果您的咳嗽（或您孩子的咳嗽）几周后无好转或者如果咳嗽还涉及以下任何一种症状，请电话联系医生：
- 咳出黄绿色浓痰
- 哮鸣
- 正出现发热
- 气短
- 昏厥
- 正出现脚踝肿胀或体重减轻
如果您或自己的孩子出现以下情况，请寻求急救护理：
- 呛噎或呕吐
- 呼吸或吞咽困难
- 咳出带血或略带粉红色的痰
- 胸部疼痛
自我护理措施
咳嗽药通常只用于咳嗽为急性状况、引起很大不适、干扰睡眠，而且与上面列出的任何可能令人担心的症状无关时。如果您使用咳嗽药，请一定要遵循用量说明。
非处方咳嗽药和感冒药意在治疗咳嗽和感冒的症状，而不是治疗基础病。研究表明，这些药物尚未证明效果比无活性药物（安慰剂）更好。更重要的是，这些药物具有可能严重的副作用，包括 2 岁以下幼儿中致命性过量用药。
切勿使用非处方药（退热药和止痛药除外）治疗 6 岁以下儿童的咳嗽和感冒。此外，考虑避免对 12 岁以下儿童使用这些药物。
为了缓解咳嗽，请尝试以下方法：
- 吸吮止咳糖或止咳硬糖。它们可以缓解干咳并舒缓发炎的咽喉。但是，切勿给 6 岁以下儿童吃，因为有呛噎风险。
- 考虑食用蜂蜜。一茶匙蜂蜜可能有助于缓解咳嗽。因为蜂蜜可能含有对婴幼儿有害的细菌，所以切勿向 1 岁以下婴儿喂食蜂蜜。
- 空气加湿。使用冷雾加湿器或洗个热气腾腾的淋浴。
- 饮用液体。液体有助于稀释咽喉黏液。温热液体如肉汤、茶或柠檬汁可以舒缓您的咽喉。
- 避免吸烟。吸烟或吸二手烟可能加重咳嗽。
显示参考文献
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Original article: https://www.mayoclinic.org/zh-hans/symptoms/cough/basics/definition/sym-20050846