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What is a chronic cough?
The type of cough discussed here has typically been present for 2 months or more without any signs of infection. No cause can be found by a medical doctor. Especially in children, there may also be a continuously runny nose. This may have prompted parents to have their child checked for allergies to dust, mould or pollen, but nothing has been confirmed.
Conventional treatment
There is no conventional treatment for this type of cough, except – as a last resource – inhalation of steroid medication. This suppresses the inflammation or irritation of the airways that provokes the cough. While one course of this may be very effective, the cough may return within a few weeks or months after the course of steroids has finished. This means that the reason for the initial irritation has not been cured, but just temporarily removed. Usually, a second course of steroids will be recommended, and so on.
Apart from not solving the problem, a more dangerous side-effect of this treatment is “paradoxical bronchospasm”. This condition occurs in some people while on steroid inhaler treatment. It is in effect a reaction to the steroid and looks like an asthma attack, with the airways suddenly restricting. The person will experience severe difficulty breathing and will be worried about subsequent attacks. This condition can be life-threatening and therefore needs to be treated with emergency medication dilating the airways.
What starts out as a cough can this way turn into an asthma-like condition. It is important to note, that the steroid as well as the emergency medication can produce dependency if taken for prolonged periods of time. This means that the person will not be able to come off these drugs without experiencing serious adverse reactions.
Homeopathy for chronic coughing
I believe Homeopathy addresses the reason why there is a constant irritation in the airways. Homeopathy recognises that there may be a combination of factors involved. One such factor may be an inherited tendency to respiratory problems or to recurrent infections. Another prominent factor in the causation of chronic coughs may be the DPT vaccination. The P standing for Pertussin or whooping cough may trigger an inherited tendency. Other factors may be allergic triggers or frequent use of Calpol and antibiotics which may have suppressed the immune system to such a degree that a simple cold may leave a person with chronic coughing as a lingering symptom.
Homeopathy concentrates on identifying all the factors involved in each individual case and applying remedies to address these.
The therapy includes a first appointment lasting up to 2 hrs. There are no physical examinations, but I will guide the patient through a set of questions to establish all individual factors in the case. A prognosis and probable therapy duration will be given at the end, and the homeopathic remedies will be sent by post within a few days together with instructions on how to take and store them. The patient will also be advised when to come for a follow-up appointment and how and when to contact me in between appointments for ongoing support.