Page 22 - Seniors Today Dec 2019

choking hazards. Other causes of sudden onset
of cough in younger population revolve around
infections of the nose, throat or tonsils.
Old age problems
Old age brings lower immunity and a higher
risk of infections. All elderly should receive
adult vaccinations. I know that my elderly
grandparents and parents do take it and so do I.
Seasonal influenza and Pneumococcal vaccines
are highly recommended because they happen
to be the most frequent reasons for respiratory
infections.
Indoor and outdoor air pollution is increasing
and it often results in bronchitis which
leaves the insides of our lungs inflamed and
constricted making us choke every second. With
bronchitis comes the cough and breathlessness.
Keeping our indoors clean, clutter free and
avoiding use of aerosols helps. Early treatment
of bronchitis helps prevent prolonged
sufferings.
Lung fibrosis is usually seen in older persons.
The lungs get scarred and the process is usually
irreversible. The scarred lung causes one to have
a dry cough lasting several weeks or months
or even years. An expert usually can help you
navigate life through this complex disease.
Various conditions
In the elderly a new onset of cough should often
send us looking for signs of pneumonia and
more importantly an entity called aspiration
pneumonia. This is a common cause of
pneumonia where contents of the stomach and
or intestines are inhaled into the lungs. Due to
lowering of the guard and weakness of the neck
muscles, often elderly have small quantities of
stomach contents going into the lung. Patients
with a history of stroke or muscle paralysis
often have this type of pneumonia causing
cough. Alcoholics too are guilty of the same.
Some elderly may have inhalation of small
objects like food particles and even tooth or
loose dentures.
Heart failure is a condition where the lungs
fill up with fluids either in the lung or around
it. This results in sleepless nights as this cough
tends to increase on lying down. Patients
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Increasing air pollution is a significant cause of chronic cough
usually complain of sudden onset of cough
immediately or a few hours after lying down
and the need to rush to the window to get
fresh air. This occurs due to redistribution of
fluids from the bottom of the lungs to the top.
Treatment of this revolves around restriction
on the amount of fluids we drink and increased
urination. Other signs of heart failure include
swelling in the feet and legs.
The elderly often have more than one illness,
and high blood pressure and heart diseases are
common. A set of blood pressure medicines
called ace inhibitors can result in a very nagging
cough in some patients, if not all, and it is useful
to let your doctor know what medicines you are
taking each day.
Acid refux
Another very common and often overlooked
cause is acid reflux or acidity as we commonly
know it. Acid returning upwards into your
throat from the stomach often drips into the
lungs. This results in a long-standing cough.
It is often a very difficult diagnosis to prove,
but trials with acid-reducing medications and
lifestyle changes often result in reduction of the
symptoms.
With so many causes of cough known our old
habit of grabbing for that cough syrup which
a friend of a friend was prescribed by a cousin
who is a doctor in another town will not help.
At the first instance set out to a doctor for
identification of the cause of your cough and
have appropriate treatment. Self-care is indeed
the best care!