Remidies For Cough
When you’re dealing with a cough, that itch in your throat can crop up at any time. Having a cough can be uncomfortable and annoying when you are trying to get through your day, and a cough that acts up at night can also disrupt your sleep. So how can you get a much-needed break from a stubborn cough? “Most coughs disappear within a few weeks, no matter what you do,” says Olveen Carrasquillo, MD, chief of internal medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He also notes that this is an area where scientific proof traditionally has been lacking, so trial-and-error seems to work best. “All of my patients have at least one cough remedy that they swear works for them,” adds Dr. Carrasquillo.
Try these soothing remedies for cough relief you’re bound to find one that will do the trick.
10 Ways to Stop Coughing Day and Night
RELATED: Follow flu-risk trends in your area with the Everyday Health Flu Map
When your cough is keeping you from focusing on daytime tasks (and possibly distracting coworkers), these tips can help tame the hacking:
- Try an expectorant. Over-the-counter (OTC) cough medications with an expectorant such as guaifenesin work by clearing the mucus and other secretions of a productive cough so that you can breathe easier.
- Take a cough suppressant. OTC cough remedies often contain dextromethorphan, which may provide temporary relief from a dry, hacking cough.
- Sip green tea. Hot, soothing tea has been a cough remedy for hundreds of years. Antioxidant-rich green tea may also help reduce upper respiratory infection symptoms. Add honey for an extra boost (see nighttime tips, below).
- Stay hydrated. Getting enough fluids is always a good idea, and even more so when you have a cold, as staying hydrated helps to thin mucus and make coughs more productive, and helps fight infection. Water is ideal, but soothing chicken soup counts, too.
- Suck on lozenges. These cough drops are good for soothing a scratchy, dry throat and reducing the urge to cough. No lozenges? A hard candy also provides moisture and can help relieve a dry cough.
To help you get the rest you need, try these nighttime remedies to quell your cough:
- Have some honey. Honey has been used as a home cough remedy for ages, and a recent study showed that giving honey to children reduced their coughing at night. In fact, honey worked as well as medications containing dextromethorphan. However, honey isn’t suggested for children younger than 1 year because of possible impurities and the risk of infant botulism.
- Zap your cough with a vaporizer. Using a vaporizer or a humidifier adds moisture to the air, which can moisten your airway passages, reducing the likelihood that a dry, hacking cough will wake you up. (This can also provide daytime cough relief; set it up wherever you spend the most time, such as in your office or family room.)
- Elevate your head while you rest. Sleeping with your head elevated can reduce coughing from post-nasal drip. Sleeping this way also helps alleviate GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), which can cause coughing.
- Apply vapor rub. The same menthol-scented balm your mother or grandmother rubbed on your chest when you were a kid can help clear nasal passages, which can help relieve nighttime coughing. It still works great on your kids as well.
- Switch to a nighttime cough formula. These versions of both expectorants and cough suppressants include an antihistamine, which would make you drowsy at work — taken at night, however, they will help you stop coughing to get the sleep you need to feel better in the morning.
One final and important tip: If just can’t shake your cough, see a family doctor. “A persistent cough that doesn’t go away should be checked, as it may be a sign of something more serious, such as chronic sinusitis, reflux, asthma, bronchitis, or pneumonia,” says Carrasquillo.
