1. Read and translate the text.Make sure that every sentence is clear to you. Be ready to give full information in English. COUGHING A cough is a protective, reflex action used to clear the upper airway of an obstruction or irritation. For example, swallowing “the wrong way” invariably provokes a fit of coughing to clear the windpipe (trachea) of food or fluid.
Most childhood coughs are a temporary response to a cold, bronchitis, or other upper respiratory infections. Pneumonia, asthma, or other lung disorders can also provoke coughing. Sometimes, a chronic cough is associated with an underlying illness, such as asthma.
Some infectious diseases are known by the specific coughs they produce. For example, whooping cough (pertussis) is a highly contagious disease that is accompanied by a forceful cough with whooping sounds. Croup produces spasmodic attacks of a barking hoarse cough and difficult breathing. Allergies, a sore throat, and other throat irritations are also common causes of coughing.
A cough is self-evident; the trick is to identify and, if appropriate, remedy the underlying causes.
Most coughs associated with colds, flu, and other upper respiratory infections resolve themselves as the underlying cause disappears. However, a doctor should be called if the cough:
- Is accompanied by pain, a high fever, vomiting, a rash, and other symptoms of a systemic illness.
- Makes it difficult for the child to breathe, especially if the lips and nailbeds have a bluish tinge.
- Produces greenish or foul-smelling sputum.
- Follows a choking incident.
- Lasts for more than a week.
Also, you should seek immediate emergency help if the child is gasping for breath, or if he turns blue or loses consciousness.
Always alert the doctor if an unimmunized child is exposed to whooping cough or diphtheria. Don’t delay if symptoms suggesting these diseases develop.
