Article: While most coughs go away after a few weeks, some may be warning signs of an underlying condition. You should go see your doctor with the first development of a cough if you or a loved one experience a sore throat, high fever, barking or whooping cough, or postnasal drip, which is a condition that feels like mucus running down your throat. These could be a sign of infection. Your doctor will perform a quick physical exam that involves using a lighted instrument to look at your throat, ears, and nasal passages, gently palpating your neck to check for swollen lymph nodes, and listening to your breathing with a stethoscope. You should contact your doctor immediately if you've previously been diagnosed with allergies, asthma, bronchitis, heartburn, or gastroesophageal reflux disease. Coughing can aggravate these conditions. Contact your doctor if you are taking ACE inhibitors for a heart condition and experience a persistent cough. ACE inhibitors can cause a cough, and this can be a sign of intolerance to the drug. Your doctor may be able to switch you to a different medication for your blood pressure if necessary. Smokers may experience coughing more frequently and should go see the doctor if the cough lasts longer than three to four weeks. Get emergency medical care immediately if you cough up blood or if you experience any difficulty in breathing. Your doctor may run a few test to see exactly what you have. If you have a reddened throat or pustules in back of your throat, she may perform a throat swab, during which a sterile swab is rubbed in the back of your throat to get a sample of secretions. She will check these secretions in the lab for streptococcal bacteria, which is the cause of strep throat. She will also check for a viral infection. This test can take a few minutes to 48 hours to process. Your doctor may recommend getting a chest X-ray if you experience symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, chronic cough, or fever. A chest X-ray is a quick, a painless, non-invasive test that creates pictures of the structures inside your chest, such as your heart, lungs, and blood vessels. Although a routine chest X-ray won't reveal the most common reasons for a cough, it may be used to check for lung cancer, pneumonia, and other lung diseases. An X-ray of your sinuses may reveal evidence of a sinus infection. Let your doctor know if you're pregnant or may be pregnant. In general, women should avoid all X-ray tests during pregnancy. Your doctor may refer you to an ENT specialist, also known as an otolaryngologist, who can check your throat for signs of viral or bacterial infection. A specialist may also be needed if your cough may be due to an underlying cause relating to the ear, nose, or throat (such as sinusitis). An ENT specialist can also perform a nasal endoscopy, a procedure that uses a fiber optic scope to look at your sinuses for nasal polyps or other structural problems. This is only needed if you have a nasal infection. He may also suggest an endoscopic sinus surgery if your condition warrants it. You should tell your doctor about any other respiratory conditions you may have. If your doctor believes you have an infection in your lungs, you should be referred to a pulmonologist.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Visit your doctor. Get a throat swab if you also show signs of a throat infection. Take a chest X-ray. See an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist.

Before you start watching TV, make sure that you can comfortably look at the screen while exercising. If you hold your neck in a strange position while you work out you could injure yourself. Adjust the elevation of your TV or laptop to allow you to see the screen comfortably. If you have hard floors, try exercising on a yoga mat. Yoga mats can be found at most department stores in the sports section. If you plan on doing more than one exercise you need to set up the separate stations in advance. Make sure the TV can be comfortably seen from each position. This is a great exercise to do during commercials as you won't be able to watch TV while you do it. To do a proper sit-up, lie on the floor with your back straight and your knees bent. Cross your hands over your chest or rest them on your hips and sit up using your stomach muscles. Slowly lower yourself back to the floor. Repeat this process ten times to complete a set. Try to do two or three sets during each commercial break. Make sure you don't pull your head with your hands or you could injure yourself! Try to relax your arms as much as you can and only engage your core. This is an excellent way to burn calories while you watch TV. To do a jumping jack, stand with your back straight and your arms at your side. Jump into the air, lifting your straight arms above you and landing with your feet a shoulders-width apart. In this position, your body will be in an "X" shape. Jump again, returning to your original position. Repeat these motions quickly to raise your heart rate and burn calories. Start out by doing two minutes of jumping jacks and resting for one minute. As you improve, increase the time you exercise and decrease the resting time. This exercise builds muscle while allowing you to watch TV. Get on the floor in a sit-up position with your back straight and your arms extended. Hold this position for one minute. Make sure your behind doesn't dip towards the ground and keep your stomach flexed tightly. After the minute is over, rest for about thirty seconds and repeat the process. This exercise will work out your core muscles. Do as many as you are able; this exercise is harder than it looks! Don't crane your neck to watch TV. If you have trouble seeing your television from a plank position, consider doing this exercise during the commercial breaks instead. Exercise games involve specific TV shows and actions the viewer has to complete when specific dramatic events take place. For example, if you watch Game of Thrones, you could do twenty jumping jacks every time one of your favorite characters dies. That would be an exhausting workout! Sample workout games can be found at the end of this article.
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One-sentence summary --
Arrange your workout area in advance. Do some sit-ups. Do some jumping jacks. Do some planks. Use exercise games.