Coughs can happen for a variety of reasons. You may have a mild cough due to allergies, or a cold. Or, you may be suffering from a serious infection that requires treatment like bronchitis. Despite the cause of your cough, you may notice that certain positions or circumstances make it worse, while others may help you stop coughing. Learn about how coughs can fluctuate and why night time may be causing your cough to worsen. Visit AFC Urgent Care Arvada for same-day illness care available on a walk-in basis for patients in Arvada, East Arvada, Regis & Sherrelwood, CO.
What Causes a Cough?
Coughing is a common illness symptom. It can appear in many different ways from mild, to severe, to dry and productive. Coughs can be caused by a wide variety of different illnesses. Most commonly, coughs are a symptom of a respiratory illness. This happens when a virus or bacteria attacks your respiratory system including your lungs, airway, throat and sinuses.
Coughing can also be caused by environmental factors. Coughing occurs as a natural reflex to clear your lungs of irritants. Because of this, irritants such as smoke, dust, mold or allergens can cause you to cough. Environmental factors such as exposure to dry air can also cause you to cough by drying out your lungs and causing irritation.
Do Coughs Come and Go?
Depending on the cause, coughs may come and go. Healing is not a linear process. This means that your cough may get better under specific circumstances, and may worsen due to others. Coughs caused by environmental irritants are most likely to come and go. This is because your cough may only be triggered when you are exposed to a specific irritant.
If your cough is coming and going but won’t resolve, you may require medical treatment to clear up the underlying cause of your cough. Bacterial infections require treatment by a medical professional, however, it is difficult to understand what is causing you to cough without diagnostic testing.
Why Your Cough is Worse at Night
If you notice that your cough is worse at night than during the day, it may be related to the underlying cause of your cough. Laying horizontally can cause you to cough more because of your lungs laying at a different angle. If your lungs are congested, this may cause your lungs to be irritated.
In some cases, coughing at night may indicate the presence of an allergen in your bedroom. It can also indicate the presence of mold, or chronic conditions such as asthma. In order to understand what is causing you to cough at night, your healthcare provider must identify the underlying cause of your cough. AFC Urgent Care Arvada offers same-day illness diagnosis and treatment.
Visit AFC Urgent Care Arvada for Same-Day Cough Diagnosis & Treatment in Arvada, CO
If you are suffering from a lingering cough or a cough that worsens at night, it is important to seek medical care. A medical professional can perform the necessary tests to discover what is causing you to cough, which will ensure that you are receiving the required treatment to resolve your cough. At AFC Urgent Care Arvada, our clinic offers cough diagnosis and treatment on a walk-in basis with no appointment required. We have short wait times and accept most medical insurance plans. Walk in today for same-day illness care in Arvada, CO. For more information regarding our clinic, contact us directly by calling (720) 502-0466.
