General information, not an individual diagnosis. Ask a healthcare professional if you are unsure about your situation.
Call 15 or 112 for severe breathing difficulty, blue lips or an inability to finish sentences. Chest pain with blood-tinged or frothy sputum also requires urgent help. Do not first look for a cough syrup or a prevention appointment.
Coughing is a reflex that helps clear the airways. A cough is called dry when it produces no sputum, and productive when it does. This distinction describes the symptom; it does not establish its cause.
Explain when the cough began, whether it occurs at night, during exertion or at rest, and whether it comes with fever or breathlessness. The professional may also need to know your medicines, since some treatments can cause a cough.
A cough that disrupts daily life, worsens or remains after three weeks needs a consultation. Fever above 38 °C with breathlessness calls for assessment the same day. A baby under three months with a cough also needs medical assessment the same day.
Cough suppressants are contraindicated for a productive cough. Seek advice before taking one for a dry cough: age, pregnancy, other conditions and medicines can matter. A syrup name does not guarantee that it is useful or suitable for you.
If a cough may be related to your treatment, do not stop the treatment on your own: discuss it with your doctor. Keep the names of products used and notes about the cough for the consultation. General prevention comes later, once the symptoms have been appropriately addressed.
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