Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1884-02-06
ALPENA WEEKLY ARGUS.
Wednesday, February 6, 1884.
Why We Cough, and How We Cough.


must be coughing all the time. Most
persons suppose that a cough is a
cough the world over, and that what
will cure one will another; and 50
they prescribe for themselves and
their friends all sorts of syrups, home
made or proprietary, with the consol-
ing assertion, "that it can't do any
hurt, if it don't do any good" How
do 20 know it can't do any hurt? Do
you know its ingredients a? And if SO,
have you studied their effects upon
the system in health and in disease?
Do you know the condition of the
patient you are prescribing for-his
constitution, his habits in life, his
past history? Let us see what
cough is. 1t is a sudden and forcible
expulsion of the air from the lungs,
preceded by n temporary closure of
the windpipe to give additional i'm
pulse to the current of air. The eff
feet of these spasmodic eXpirations is
the removal of whatever may have
accumulated in the air tubes, whether
foreign body from without, as when
a particle of food finds its way into
the windpipe, or an accumulation of
mucus secreted by the air passages
themselves.
Coughing is in part voluntary
act. We can cough whenever we
wish to, but frequently we are COM
PEELED to cough when we don't wish
to. Nerves are divided into two clas-
ses, sensory and motor nerves. The
former carry intelligence to the brain
they report any disturbance on the
frontier to headquarters. The motor
nerves then carry back the commands
of the general to act. You tickle
your friends ear with a straw, and
his hand automatically proceeds to
scratch the itching member A
tickling sensation is produced in
the throat by any cause whatever /;
the brain then sends back orders to
the muscles concerned to act so as to
expel the intruder; in other words, to
cough. The source of the impression
may be various. Frequently it is due
to an irritation of the respiratory or
j. gans by foreign bodies, dust and acrid
vapors, ,rlmftteh with IdthneGai;'Hf;: Il health,
or to damp, cold air itself, if the or
gans are particularly sensitive, or to
the presence of mucus, pus or blood
in disease. Inflammation, from what
ever cause, acts as n sort Of uneasi-
ness.
There are, as we all know, many
different kinds of cough. Thus, we
have the dry cough, without expecto.
ration, and the moist cough, with ex-
pectoration. We have the short,
hacking cough, resulting from slight
irritation, and the violent, spasmodic
and convulsive cough, caused by a
greater degree of irritation or some
peculiar modification thereof Then
there are the occasional, the incessant
and the paroxysmal cough, terms that
explain themselves. Hoarse, Wheel
ing, barking and shrill coughs are due
to the tension or capacity of the rim
of the windpipe, or other portion Of
the tube. The hollow cough owes its
peculiar sound to resonance in the
enlarged tubes or the cavities in the
lungs, if such exist. Sometimes the
exciting cause of cough lies not in
the lungs and respiratory organs, but
in the stomach, liver or intestines
In other cases there seems to be nc
real cause; it is purely nervous OF
hysterical.
Cough remedies should be suited to
the kind of cough in question, and
attempt, if possible, to remove the
cause. 1t is evident cough may be
lessoned either by removing the source
of irritation or by diminishing the
excitability of the nervous mechan-
ism through which it works. Both
methods are generally employed, and
most Of the popular cough medicines
consist of an expectorant and n soda
tive, in some mucilaginous or saccha-
rine menstrum. Sedatives lessen the
excitability of the nerve center
through which the act of coughing is
produced. Opium in sufficient guam.
titles will stop any cough, but if the
secretion goes on accumulating, the
patient must be allowed to cough OF
he dies Of suffocation. Glutinous ano
saccharine substances lessen irritation
and as it frequently happens that mucl
of the irritation which occasions tn,
cough exists at the root of the tongue
and in portions of the throat which
can be reached by troches and lozen
ges slowly dissolved in the mouth
hence these often afford relief, espe
cially in dry, hacking coughs and tn
so-called tickling in the throat. Ice
land moss, marshmallow, and gun
arabic belong to this class. Thei
power is probably due to their cover
inc the inAamed and irritable surfac