Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Natural remedies for coughs
• Part 2 of 3: Cough medications
• Part 3 of 3: How to get rid of a cough in other ways
• Tips
• Warnings

A persistent cough can make you feel lousy, so you probably want to get rid of that as soon as possible. Cough is a common symptom of the flu and cold, but it can also be caused by allergies, asthma, heartburn, dry air, smoke, and even certain medications. Coughing can be very painful and annoying, so try some of the following tips to get rid of the cough faster.

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Part 1 of 3: Natural remedies for coughs

1. Use honey. Honey is an effective cough suppressant and soothes a sore throat. Multiple studies have shown that honey is just as effective as most over-the-counter remedies, and sometimes even more effective. Honey coats the throat and softens the mucous membranes. It can be very good to have some honey just before going to bed if your coughing makes it difficult for you to sleep.
   • It is good for both adults and children, but do not give honey to children under the age of 1, as there is a chance that the honey may be contaminated with botulism, and young children are susceptible to this.
   • You can take the honey directly. Try to eat a tablespoon of honey every few hours as long as you have the cough. Another option is to add 1 tablespoon or more to a glass of warm water or tea with lemon.
   • There are studies to suggest that honey is just as effective at suppressing coughs as dextromethorphan, an ingredient often found in cough syrups.
2. Drink licorice tea. Licorice root clears your airways, reduces inflammation, and loosens mucus. To make it, put 2 tablespoons of dried licorice root in a cup and pour in 250 ml of boiling water. Let it steep for 10 to 15 minutes. Drink a cup twice a day.
   • Do not drink licorice tea if you are on steroids or if you have kidney problems.
   • The active ingredient, glycyrrhiza, can cause negative side effects in some people. Look for deglycyrrhinized licorice root (DGL) at the health food store. That works just as well.
3. Try thyme tea. Thyme is used in some countries, such as Germany, for a variety of respiratory diseases. It relaxes the throat muscles and reduces inflammation. Boil water and add 2 teaspoons of dried thyme to a cup. Let it steep for 10 minutes, then pour it through a sieve and drink it.
   • Add some honey and lemon for even more soothing properties. It tastes a bit better.
   • Never use thyme oil for ingestion. Use fresh or dried thyme.
4. Eat a sweet. If you don't have throat lozenges, or don't want to use medicated lozenges, you can also relieve your cough by simply sucking on a hard piece of candy.
   • You can suppress a dry cough without phlegm with just about any treat. Sucking on a hard candy produces more saliva and swallows more, which suppresses the cough.
   • If you have a loose cough with mucus, lemon candies work really well.
   • Hard candies work well for children 6 years and older. Never give hard candies or lozenges to children under the age of 3, as they can choke on them.
5. Try turmeric. Turmeric is a traditional cough remedy that helps many people. Put half a teaspoon of turmeric in a glass of warm milk. You can also mix turmeric and a teaspoon of honey if you have a dry cough. To make turmeric tea, add a tablespoon of turmeric to 1 liter of water. Let it steep and then pour it through a sieve. Add some lemon and honey to relieve the cough even more.
6. Dissolve some peppermint and ginger in lemon juice. Ginger helps to loosen mucus. Both ginger and peppermint reduce irritation in the back of the throat that makes you cough. Add some honey to make it even more effective.
   • Add 3 tablespoons of finely chopped ginger and 1 tablespoon of dried peppermint to 1 liter of water. Boil the water and then let it simmer gently. When it has thickened a bit, throw it through a sieve. Let it cool for a few minutes, add a cup of honey and stir it is completely dissolved. Take a tablespoon every few hours. You can keep this in the refrigerator for a maximum of 3 weeks.
   • You can also melt a peppermint in lemon juice. Heat it in a pan until the candy is completely dissolved. You can also add some honey. Add 1 tablespoon of honey and stir until well blended.
7. Try essential oil. By evaporating essential oil in steam, you can inhale it to reap its benefits. Try tea tree oil and eucalyptus oil, which are known to soothe and clear the airways. They also contain antiviral, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory ingredients.
   • Boil water and put it in a bowl. Let it cool for a minute. Add 3 drops of tea tree oil and 1-2 drops of eucalyptus oil. Stir well. Hang over the bowl with your face and a towel over your head to trap the steam. Inhale deeply for 5-10 minutes, 2-3 times a day. Avoid getting too close to the water as the steam could burn your face.
   • Do not ingest tea tree oil. It's poisonous if you swallow it.
8. Make a whiskey-based cough syrup. If you want to make an effective adult cough syrup, you can add a little whiskey to your mug of warm water and lemon. While the alcohol won't really improve the cough, it does relax.
   • Place 60 ml of whiskey with 60 ml of lemon juice and 60-120 ml of water in a microwave-safe cup.
   • Turn the microwave on for 45 seconds.
   • Stir 1 tablespoon of honey into the mixture and turn the microwave on for another 45 seconds.
9. Try a traditional Korean home remedy. If you have a cough from the flu or a cold, you can make a serving of this Korean home remedy. You mix dried jujubes with spices, honey and a number of other beneficial ingredients.
   • Place 25 dried jujubes (sliced), 1 large Asian pear (quartered, seeds removed), a 7cm piece of ginger (sliced), 2 to 3 cinnamon sticks, and 3 liters of water in a large saucepan. Cover the pan and heat it over medium heat until boiling.
   • Lower the heat and let it simmer for 1 hour.
   • Strain out all ingredients and keep the liquid.
   • Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of honey to sweeten the tea. Enjoy a warm cup of this medicine to soothe your throat and your cough will be gone in a few minutes. One of the best things you can do is relax and take a deep breath.
10. Gargle with salt water. Salt water is used to soothe a sore throat, but it can also help with a cough, as it reduces the swelling of the mucous membranes and loosens mucus. Put 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt in 250 ml of water, let it dissolve completely, then gargle for 15 seconds. Then spit it out, and repeat until all the water is gone.
11. Try apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is a good way to get rid of a cough without drugs. You can heat and drink it like tea with a teaspoon of honey, or drink it cold with apple juice.

Part 2 of 3: Cough medications

1. Take a decongestant. A decongestant relieves a cough by relieving nasal congestion and drying mucus in the lungs to open the airways. You can take these remedies in various forms, such as pills, potions, and nasal sprays.
   • Look for pills or drinks with Xylometazoline as the active ingredient.
   • If you take these drugs too much, it can actually lead to drying of the mucous membranes and a dry cough.
   • Do not use nasal spray for longer than 2-3 days in a row. If you use it more often, it can lead to addiction, because it will cause your mucous membranes to swell.
2. Try lozenges. Try menthol lozenges, which seem to be the most effective. These tablets numb the back of your throat, suppressing the cough reflex and quicker coughing.
   • Lozenges with horehound in them work well for most types of cough. Mallow is a bittersweet herb that has an expectorant, so you can cough up the phlegm more easily, so that the cough is better sooner. Pregnant women should not use horehound.
   • For a dry cough, you can use slippery elm cough tablets. These candies are made from the bark of the slippery elm. This substance deposits a layer in the throat, which reduces the cough reflex and the cough is over faster. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should not use slippery elm.
3. Use a medicated chest ointment. A menthol or camphor ointment that you can buy at the drug store works well for most dry and wet coughs.
   • This ointment is to be used externally only and cannot be ingested.
   • Do not use medicated breast ointment on babies.
4. Try a cough suppressant. An over-the-counter cough suppressant is best for a productive cough that bother you at night.
   • A cough suppressant stops the production of mucus that causes a productive cough and suppresses the cough reflex. It is good to temporarily stop your cough if it keeps you awake, but you should not take it for the entire duration of your illness as it will keep the mucus trapped in your lungs and lead to a bacterial infection .
   • Look for a cough suppressant that contains dextromethorphan, codeine, or antihistamine.
   • Be careful which medicine you use if coughing is the main symptom. Antihistamines and expectorants can make mucus hard and dry, making it difficult for you to get it out of your lungs.
   • Do not give cough medications to children under the age of 4.
5. Take an expectorant. An expectorant makes the mucus thin so that you can cough it up more easily. Expectorants are especially good if you have thick, stuck mucus.
   • Do not give cough medicines to children under the age of 4, as this can cause serious side effects.

Part 3 of 3: How to get rid of a cough in other ways

1. Drink a lot. Hydration is important for both a dry and a stuck cough. Liquids thin the mucus that is in your throat, causing the cough. All drinks are good, except for alcohol, drinks with caffeine (which dehydrates you) and acidic drinks like orange juice (because it can irritate your throat).
   • If you are coughing a lot, try to drink at least 8 250 ml glasses a day.
   • To treat a cough in children aged 3 months to 1 year, give the child 1 to 3 teaspoons of warm, clear liquid such as apple juice up to 4 times a day to soothe the cough. This should be in addition to the normal amount of liquid that the child drinks per day, such as breast milk or formula.
2. Inhale steam. Take a hot shower and inhale the steam. This can clear up the nasal congestion and reduce the mucus that causes the cough. It also helps to humidify dry air in the home, as that, too, can cause the cough. Leave a humidifier on overnight and breathe in the warm steam.
   • This method works well for a cough caused by a cold, asthma or allergy.
   • Clean a humidifier regularly.Otherwise they do more harm than good. Fungi or bacteria can grow in the device and are released back into the air via the steam.
3. Change the way you cough. You may instinctively cough hard as soon as you feel a fit of coughing on, but if you try to build it up slowly, you will get rid of your cough sooner. This is especially helpful if you have a productive cough with a lot of mucus. When the coughing starts, start with a few light, small coughs. This will not loosen much mucus. At the end of the series of small coughs, you cough hard once. The small coughs have made the mucus move up into your airways, and with a hard cough, you can cough it out.
   • Coughing this way makes your throat less irritated. Since an irritated throat will likely make you cough for much longer, this method can help keep your throat from becoming irritated.
4. Avoid irritants. A chronic cough is often aggravated by irritants in the air. These irritants can lead to chronic respiratory irritation, so you always have to cough through excess mucus. The most obvious substance to avoid is tobacco smoke.
   • Perfumes and scented air fresheners can also cause a chronic cough, so avoid these if you have to cough a lot or if you want to get rid of your cough faster.

Tips

• It is important to note that antibiotics are almost never used to treat coughs. Antibiotics kill bacteria and nothing else, and are not effective against a cough caused by a viral infection, or if the cough is not caused by an illness at all. A doctor will only prescribe antibiotics if he / she suspects they are a symptom of a bacterial infection.
• If you have trouble breathing, use an inhaler.
• Drinks such as coffee or black tea can weaken your immune system.
• If you want to stay hydrated, rather drink warm water as cold water irritates the throat.

Warnings

• Know when to see your doctor. A cough usually resolves on its own after 10 days, and it often goes even faster with the above remedies. If it lasts for two weeks or more, you should see your doctor. Also, if you cough up blood, or if your cough is accompanied by sharp chest pain, severe fatigue, rapid weight loss, chills or fever (above 38.5ºC), you should see a doctor.