12/8/13 4 Ways to Treat a Cough - wikiHow

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How to Treat a Cough
Treating a Productive Cough Treating a Dry Cough Home Remedies When to Call a Doctor
Coughing is a necessary part of recovering from an illness, as it helps you expel
mucus and irritants. Here's how to deal with a productive cough that's producing
mucus, as well as a dry cough that's leftover from an illness, as well as home
remedies and when to see a doctor.
1
Recognize that you might need to cough for a bit (though you can try to
speed the process along). If you're still in the middle of the illness that's causing
your cough, most doctors will be reluctant to "treat" it because it's serving an important
purpose, which is clearing out your airway. If the cough feels like it's deep in your chest, or if
you're consistently coughing up phlegm or mucus, accept that what's happening is a good
thing.
Method 1 of 4: Treating a Productive Cough
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2
3
Try rubbing Vick's VapoRub on neck and chest. Wait about 20 minutes for good
results.
Take an expectorant. Expectorants are sold over-the-counter, and they should help
loosen any mucus or phlegm that's lingering in your airway. After you take it, try to
make your coughs as productive as possible, and spit anything that comes up.
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4
5
Take an antihistamine. Antihistamines can help de-congest you during a cold or
other illness, which might help you cough up and expel fluid.
Be aware that antihistamines make most people sleepy. Try taking them before
you go to bed.
Use a saline-based nasal spray to relieve congestion. As with the antihistamine,
a saline spray can help loosen the mucus in your nose or throat.
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6
7
Inhale moisture. Moisture can also help loosen anything that's left in your throat.
Consider these methods:
Start a hot shower, close the bathroom door, and put a towel between the bottom
of the door and the floor. Spend 15 to 20 minutes inhaling the steam as it builds up
in the bathroom.
Run a humidifier. Humidifiers can be purchased at most drug stores, and most can
store enough water to run for hours. Position the humidifier so that you can inhale
the moisture while you sleep.
Ingest plenty of fluids. Drink water, eat broth-like soup, or sip on non-citrus fruit
juice.
Avoid carbonated drinks and citrus juices - they may irritate your throat more.
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8
Try to physically loosen the congestion. If you're at home and you have a partner
who can help, use a chest percussion technique to help clear the chest congestion.
Lie on your stomach on a firm bed or mat.
Ask your partner to slap cupped hands rhythmically over your back, progressing
from the lower back up towards your neck.Avoid the kidney area.
Repeat several times until your congestion starts to loosen up.
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Drink some fluids every half hour
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9
Wait it out. Your cough should subside in 2-3 weeks, if it persists visit your GP as
long-term coughing could be the sign of another illness.
1
Coat your throat. Making your throat feel as if it's "coated" in a substance can
reduce your urge to cough non-productively (that is, you're no longer coughing up
mucus or phlegm). Consider these tips:
Take an over-the-counter cough syrup.
Suck on a lozenge. The gel-like substance inside the lozenge can coat your throat
and minimize coughing.
Method 2 of 4: Treating a Dry Cough
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Try honey. Tea or warm lemon water mixed with honey has been proven to be an
effective cough suppressant.
[1]
. (Due to the risk of infant botulism, though, don't
give honey to children under age 1.)
Drink a little blackcurrant cordial (choose a 'high-juice' version). If you want to turn it
into a sleep aid, add some port wine.
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2
Pour a gelatin packet (flavored or not) into boiling water. Let it cool to the point that
it's still liquid and warm, and drink.
Brew a cough-calming tea.
Thyme is an expectorant and also contains substances that relax the respiratory
tract. To make thyme tea, place 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme (or 1 tablespoon of
dried) into a cup of hot water. Allow it to infuse for 5 minutes, then strain out the
herb. Add honey if you wish and drink.
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Sip a cup of marshmallow tea. When combined with water, marshmallow leaf
yields a gooey mucilage that coats the throat and also thins mucus in the lungs,
making it easier to cough up. To make the tea, steep 2-3 grams of dried leaf in a
cup of hot water for 10 minutes and strain before drinking. Drink a total of 3 cups a
day.
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3
4
Learn a new coughing technique. If your throat is strained and irritated from
nonstop coughing, try this technique to head off a coughing fit.
The next time you feel a cough coming on, force yourself to take a series of small,
gentle coughs, finally ending with a large one. The tiny coughs help move mucus
towards the upper part of your air passage so you can expel more of it with a last,
big cough.
If all else fails, call your doctor. If your cough is no longer productive and has been
going on for several weeks, you might need to be prescribed an antitussive (medical
cough suppressant) or a bronchodilator (which relaxes the airways).
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1
2
For "productive" coughs, try white horehound. A bittersweet horehound and
aniseed cough mixture, available in drug stores/pharmacies.
Dose a cough with homemade syrups.
Blend 2 tablespoons of lemon juice with 1 tablespoon of honey and add a pinch of
cayenne pepper. The honey coats your throat, soothing irritated tissues, while the
lemon reduces inflammation and delivers a dose of infection-fighting vitamin C.
The cayenne boosts circulation in the area, hastening the healing process. Instead
of cayenne, add a little freshly-grated onion. Onions contain irritating compounds
that trigger the cough reflex and bring up phlegm.
Method 3 of 4: Home Remedies
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Another onion remedy is to peel and chop 6 medium onions and put them with 4
tablespoons of honey into a bowl set over a pan of boiling water (or double boiler).
Cover and simmer for 2 hours. Strain the mixture and take 1 tablespoon every 2 or
3 hours.
Cough into a towel. When coughing press the towel firmly against your mouth.
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1
Call a doctor if you experience any of the following:
A cough that lasts for more than 4 weeks.
You're coughing up green or bloody phlegm.
Persistent wheezing and shortness of breath. Coughing can be a symptom of a
more serious illness, such as chronically obstructed airways, disease or asthma. It
can even indicate heart failure, especially if it's accompanied by wheezing
shortness of breath.
Sharp chest pains, chills or a fever higher than 38C (101F) for more than 3 days,
as well as a cough. You may have pneumonia.
Method 4 of 4: When to Call a Doctor
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2
See a doctor if the cough is affecting a baby or an elderly person.
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http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/cough/treatment.html
- National Institutes of Health information on treating a cough
http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/sheets/cough_sheet.html
KidsHealth.org cough information sheet
1. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/honey/AN01799/METHOD=print
Categories: Cough Remedies
Recent edits by: Sddek, Katherine Jones, CudaKid
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