Coughing Up a Lung

I am disappointed to report that even with my exhaustive search of the internet, I cannot determine if it is really physically possible to cough up a lung. It doesn't stop the use of the expression, however, and from the cough that I continue to have today, it seems plausible to me.

I should congratulate myself. Coughing is the number one reason that people seek medical attention. For the first time in my life, I won't have a medical professional tell me, "wow, I've never seen this before,"

If you try to determine yourself the source of your cough, you will confront subjects from lung cancer to allergies. You will find out that there are dry coughs, wet coughs, productive coughs and chronic ideopathic coughs. In some cases, the cause of your cough has nothing to do with your lungs or sinuses, but rather, is being caused by acid reflux. Generally, the only thing that comes out of all this info is, if you are coughing up blood, its a bad thing. Coughing up a lung, spleen or small animal just doesn't surface as a reliable symptom of any disease. Even though, you can swear to your doctor you saw something small and furry scurry away from you in the midst of your coughing fit.

And nowhere is there a report of a person coughing his brains out. However, I am convinced this happens. If not the entire brain, at least some cells. If the brain tissue is not actually expelled by coughing, the cough itself surely causes a power grid meltdown in the brain. Last week, after one particularly long, involved coughing spell, I could not, no matter how I tried, remember what day it was.

So, today, after another sleepless, hacking, sweaty night, I am going to the doctor. However, I now know not to tell him silly nonmedical things like I am coughing up a lung, or coughing my brains out. I won't have to. If I'm lucky, I'll cough right there in his office and he can see the little animals for himself.