Why is coughing so inefficient?

Question

Probably a large misunderstanding of human anatomy but why does it seem that coughing is really inefficient at removing whatever the body is trying to expel from the lungs. As a comparison, vomiting, diarrhea, sneezing are all very forceful without really any effort on the part of us. However, coughs seem to barely expel anything without help from medication and continue WELL after the actual infection is resolved unlike those other body expulsion techniques mentioned above. I type this with a non-productive cough two weeks after a cold.

In: 569

Answer 1

Coughing can expel large amounts of phlegm from the body, which couldn’t be done otherwise. In that sense, I wouldn’t consider it inefficient.