If you are suffering from common cold or flu, and bouts of cough are causing you pain and soreness or triggering off other health complications, you need to seek medical help without delay.
The defence mechanism of the body instigates coughs to clear the air passage in the throat which restricts proper air flow to the lungs. They not just happen because of physical problems and ailments but also can be caused due to psychological complications. Cough caused because of physical problems are usually either allergic in nature, caused by external pollutants or other agents, or a symptom of some ailment the person is suffering from. As for the coughs triggered by psychological reasons, it is usually a habitual problem called Streruphilia, which is purely mental and not triggered by any physical disorders.
Cough can sometimes be chronic or even acute, and can have an identifiable characteristic which is dependent on the intensity and duration of coughing seizures. Painful and recurrent coughs which stay for less than three weeks can be due to contagious as well as non-contagious ailments. Complications such as pneumonia and sinusitis cause acute coughing while chronic diseases like asthma cause chronic coughing problems.
Consulting a good physician is important to get to the underlying cause of the complication and taking appropriate treatment for complete recovery. Doctors prescribe various kinds of medicines to suppress the coughing symptoms and pain like antibiotics, antihistamines and other suppressants. In a few cases, particularly chronic ailments, the treatment for cough can last for prolonged periods, even months, to fully cure or control the problem.
Like any other serious medical complication, taking precautions to prevent cough attacks is more sensible than having to go for a prolonged treatment when the situation gets bad. To remain away from cough, positive changes in lifestyle are important, for which you must keep away from smoking and take a healthy and balanced diet.