When you have a bad cough late at night, it is important to identify the cause of the cough and provide targeted treatment under the guidance of your doctor. Common causes include cough due to gastroesophageal refluxitis, respiratory infections as well as cough variant asthma and heart failure.
1. Gastroesophageal Reflux Infection (GERD): Often caused by acid reflux, a late-night cough is caused by the fact that being in a prone position at night makes it easier for stomach acid to reflux into the throat. Common treatment options include acid inhibitors, gastric stimulants, and antacids such as omeprazole, mosapride, and magnesium aluminum carbonate chewable tablets.
2. Respiratory infections: Respiratory infections are often manifested as coughs, which will be more likely to occur at night due to vagus nerve excitation and contraction of the smooth muscles of the respiratory tract at night. Bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics, such as cephalosporin antibiotics, quinolone antibiotics, at the same time, you can use cough suppressants such as cotrimoxazole capsules, dextromethorphan tablets, etc. to alleviate cough symptoms.
3. Variant asthma: If you can hear a wheezing sound in your throat when coughing hard, you need to use inhaled glucocorticosteroids combined with bronchodilators for long-term treatment, such as budesonide/formoterol.
4. Heart failure: Patients with heart failure may have a nocturnal cough. Coughing may occur at night while lying down due to increased return of blood to the heart, aggravating the heart failure, and is usually relieved by sitting in the upright position. Fluid volume needs to be managed in patients with heart failure in this situation and can be treated with cardiotonic and diuretic agents such as furosemide if necessary.
Late-night cough, there may be other causes, such as tuberculosis, lung tumors, it is recommended to visit the hospital to clarify the cause of the disease, and follow the doctor’s instructions to use medication, not blindly use drugs.