Coughing all the time is frustrating and painful. This type of cough can be caused by a dry throat, asthma, or phlegm leaking from the sinuses. If you can quickly choose the right solution for your cough type, you will eventually beat it.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: hydrate
Step 1. Drink
When you're sick, you need to stay hydrated first and foremost to fight a cough. If you have a cough because your throat is dry, hydrating yourself may be enough to stop it. Also, even if it's caused by something else, drinking a lot is always a good idea.
- If your throat is raw or sore from coughing, consider avoiding any drink that can irritate it more, such as acidic fruit juice.
- You should also be wary of dairy products. It is often said that milk secretes a lot of mucus: this is a myth. In fact, milk (especially whole milk) tends to line your throat, which is why it feels like you have more phlegm. However, if your cough is from an irritation or a dry throat, ingesting a fresh dairy product may provide relief.
- Always choose water when in doubt.
Step 2. Heat your drinks
Sometimes when a cough is due to sinus drainage or congestion, a hot drink is more effective than if it was room temperature or cold.
Whether it's a herbal and honey tea or just hot lemon water, pulmonologists will assure you that hot drinks are always very effective in clearing your airways of phlegm
Step 3. Try the salt water
Coughs related to colds or those that one has after catching a cold are often relieved by salt water.
Use a nasal spray or gargle with salt water to kill the bacteria or virus responsible for that nasal congestion that makes you cough. In addition, you will be quickly relieved since your throat will be free of all its mucus
Step 4. Think about steam
It is often said that the steam from the shower helps fight coughs. The same is true for an air humidifier. However, this method will only work if your cough is caused by too dry air.
In the event of asthma, congestion, allergy to dust mites or mold, among others, humidifying the air can, on the contrary, worsen the cough
Part 2 of 3: Change your environment
Step 1. Stand up straight
If you stay horizontal all of your mucus will go into your throat.
For example, if you want to sleep and have a cough, prop your head up with pillows so that your sinuses don't drain down your throat, which would make you cough
Step 2. Keep the air healthy
Avoid charged atmospheres like smoky rooms. Even if the air particles aren't the cause of your cough, they will eventually make it worse.
In some people, it's strong smells like perfumes that make them cough
Step 3. Avoid air movement
Stay away from air conditioners, fans and radiators: air movements can make your cough worse.
When you have a throat pain, you quickly realize that drafts dry out the airways more or that they irritate the throat even more by tickling it
Step 4. Do some breathing exercises
Although this type of exercise is designed for chronic conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, it can be used to get rid of a cough.
Certain techniques teach you to "control your cough" or "to breathe with pursed lips". For example, to perform this last technique, you have to take deep breaths through your nose, then count to two. Then you have to place your lips like a whistle and breathe out slowly, mentally counting to four
Part 3 of 3: Explore Other Options
Step 1. Take medication
If you have a persistent cough, take cough suppressants.
- Cough suppressants usually combine two ingredients: an expectorant and an inhibitor. The first to thin the mucus and the second to block the cough reflex. Read the labels carefully to choose the one that best suits your type of cough.
- Your doctor may prescribe a syrup containing codeine. This substance can be very effective against coughs. Follow your doctor's instructions carefully, as codeine can be addictive.
Step 2. Relieve your throat
Eat frozen candy, suck on throat lozenges, or gargle some salt water. This will help relieve your throat if it is inflamed from your cough.
There is often a mild anesthetic in cough suppressants. It reduces the cough reflex. Cold foods like sherbets are also believed to provide temporary throat relief
Step 3. Go for minty products
Whether in the form of vapor, ointment or lozenges, mint calms coughs.
Mint helps to raise the “threshold of excitability” of the throat. This threshold is responsible for the severity of the sensations causing the urge to cough
Step 4. Know when to see a doctor
If, in addition to your cough, you have shortness of breath, severe pain, a fever over 38 ° C or blood in your phlegm, consider seeing a doctor.