What's in a name? That which we call a cough by any other name would ...
This week's daily facts are all about the general practice consultation!
Bet you'll learn something new from this week’s daily posts! (even if you think this is so boring and obvious and beta…)
As the first doctor you may go to about a cough, that new GP you’ve booked a walk-in appointment for has a dilemma your regular GP may not have, namely-
What’s a cough?
Or rather,
What’s a cough, to you?
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Sure, you say, a cough could be an asthmatic cough, or a flu-ey cough, or a reflux cough, a choking cough, a congested heart cough, a diaphragmatic-irritation-hiccup cough, a tuberculous cough, a …
Or, a weak cough, a strong cough, a wet cough, a dry cough, a nasal cough, a deep cough, a chesty cough, a crackly cough, a painful cough, a hacking cough, a coughing fit, a …
Maybe it’s just a grunt, or a (back of the) throat irritation, a feeling of something stuck in your chest that you just can’t get rid of, a …
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Your doctor - both the new one and the regular one - might also want to know what else is accompanying the cough:
Are you vomiting or coughing till you vomit?
Are you bringing up phlegm, blood, chunks of your innards?
Is it a fruity cough? Do you have a smell to your cough, bit sweet perhaps?
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All this just to know what you mean by “cough” even before the real diagnosing starts with “fever?”, “how long have you had it?”, “vaccinations?”, “medications?”, “been overseas?”, “who’ve you been kissing?”
Ok, not that last one, but the fact is, when you go to a doctor about a cough you know intimately about, you need to be sure your doctor is on the exact same line as you not just the same paragraph or page.
Otherwise an annoying reflux cough might end up getting treated with an asthma-steroid puffer and you having fluid on your heart gets investigated with a blood test for tuberculosis.
Or you get fobbed off with an antibiotic script after 5 seconds or a pathology request form for a throat swab and a sputum culture.
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And then back to the very beginning of this post-
Don’t assume your regular doctor knows what you mean by “cough” either. Talk to your doctor and make sure they talk to you!