How to stop urge to cough: How to Stop Coughing | UT Health Physicians
10 Tips for Calming Your Cough
Medically Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD on August 16, 2021
It’s what you do when something bugs your throat, whether that’s dust or postnasal drip. It also helps clear your lungs and windpipe. However, this can also lead to inflammation of the cells lining the upper airways. Many coughs, like those from cold and flu, will go away on their own. If yours comes from a more serious medical condition, you need to treat the cause. Whatever the reason, there are ways to feel better.
Drink plenty of fluids — or use a cool-mist humidifier or vaporizer — to soothe an irritated throat and loosen mucus. Have a little honey before bed. Studies show the sweet stuff can help ease a cough. Don’t give honey to children under 12 months, though. You may want to try over-the-counter remedies that also contain soothing ingredients such as aloe or menthol.
You may want to try natural over the counter products that contain very low doses of aspirin.
When it is applied to inflamed tissues caused by an upper respiratory infection it helps reduce the symptoms of sore throat.
If it’s hard to get the mucus out, or if it’s thick, look for medicine that says “expectorant.” That loosens the gunk to help you get rid of it. If you’re having post-nasal drip with lots of juicy mucous, you may do better with a medicine that dries you up like Sudafed (pseudoephedrine). If you have cough with fever or shortness of breath call your doctor. Also check with them before you use cough medicine for serious conditions like emphysema, pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, or asthma. And don’t give cough and cold medicine to children under 4.
You may get one with a cold or the flu, or if you breathe in something irritating like dust or smoke. Medicine that says “suppressant” helps stop your urge to cough. Plus, it can help you sleep better. Cough drops — or even hard candy — can stop that tickle in the back of your throat. Don’t give the drops to children younger than 4.
Never give this type of medicine to children under 4 years old, because it can have serious side effects. Ask your doctor before you give any of these products to children ages 4 to 6. They’re safe after age 6. For children 1 and up, try 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of honey to help them suppress their cough.
Usually, no. That’s because most coughs are caused by viral infections like colds or the flu, and will get better in a week. Antibiotics only work on infections caused by bacteria. If your cough isn’t better after a week, see your doctor to make sure the cause isn’t a bacterial illness, like a sinus infection or pneumonia. If it is, you may need an antibiotic.
Allergies can make you sneeze, cough, or both. An antihistamine medicine may help. Some newer ones at the drugstore won’t make you sleepy. If you’re also wheezing — where your breath sounds like whistling — you may have asthma. Go see your doctor.
If you light up, chances are you cough, especially in the morning.
But it may be a sign of something more serious. Sometimes smoke irritates your airways and causes inflammation that turns into bronchitis. It can also be a warning sign of cancer. See your doctor if you are coughing up any blood or if a new cough doesn’t go away after 1 month.
If yours lasts longer than 8 weeks, a number of things could be to blame. Ongoing coughs can be caused by acid reflux, or gastroesophageal reflux disease — you may hear your doctor call it GERD. Coughs can be a side effect of ACE inhibitors, a kind of blood pressure medicine. They can be a symptom of whooping cough and even heart failure. You need medical care for all of these conditions.
For a long-lasting cough, call your doctor if:
- You have a deep cough with lots of mucus.
- The mucus is bloody.
- You’re wheezing, short of breath, or have a tight chest.
- You have a fever that doesn’t go away after 3 days.
- Your child has the chills or nighttime coughing fits.
- You’re still coughing after 7 days without getting better.
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Sources:
American Academy of Pediatricians: “Withdrawal of Cold Medicines: Addressing Parent Concerns.”
American College of Chest Physicians: “Information for Patients Complaining of Cough.”
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America: “Asthma Overview,” “Flu/Cold or Allergies?”
Aurora Health Care: “Cough.”
FamilyDoctor.org: “Cough Medicine: Understanding Your OTC Options.”
Healthychildren.org: “Caring for a Child with a Viral Infection,” “Coughs and Colds: Medicines or Home Remedies?”
Kaiser Permanente: “Coughs in Adults and Children.”
KidsHealth: “Infant Botulism,” “Fever and Taking Your Child’s Temperature.
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National Heart Lung and Blood Institute: “How Is Cough Treated?”
NHS: “Cough.”
Paul, I. Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, December 2007.
Shadkam, M. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, July 2010.
University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics: “Expectorants vs. cough suppressants.”
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How to Stop a Bad Cough: Day and Night Cough
When you’re dealing with a cough, that annoying tickle in your throat can crop up at the worst times — like during a Zoom meeting or when you’re trying desperately to get some sleep.
As annoying as a cough can be, it is a healthy response to an irritant in your throat or airways. The irritant stimulates nerves that send a message to your brain; your brain then tells muscles in your chest and abdomen to push air out of your lungs to force the irritant out, says the Mayo Clinic.
Many medical conditions can result in a cough, including the common cold, the flu, allergies, post-nasal drip (when phlegm drips from the back of the nose into the throat), and acid reflux (when stomach acid travels up into the esophagus and irritates the wind pipe).
A cough can also be a symptom of COVID-19, notes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). So, if you think you may have COVID-19, be sure to get tested and isolate from others while waiting for the results.
Whatever the cause, coughs can be pretty irritating if you have one (and also pretty irritating to your bed mate or office mate). The good news? “Most coughs disappear within a few weeks, no matter what you do,” says Olveen Carrasquillo, MD, MPH, the chief of the division of internal medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida.
Plus there are a number of things you can do to feel better and breathe easier, at least temporarily, he adds. Below are 10 worth trying, both during the day and at night.
How to Calm Daytime Coughing
If your cough is making it hard to function during the day (or becoming a liability at work), try one of these remedies to help tame the hacking.
1. Take an Expectorant
Over-the-counter (OTC) expectorants (such as Mucinex or Robitussin 12 Hour Cough & Mucus Relief) contain guaifenesin, which thins respiratory secretions in your airways. This can help you cough up excessive mucus more effectively and breathe easier.
2. Reach for a Cough Suppressant
For temporary relief of a dry, hacking cough, try taking an OTC cough medicine that contains dextromethorphan, which blocks the cough reflex.
One caution to keep in mind: Don’t give cough medication to children younger than four, says the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP); from ages 4 to 6, only use cough medicine if it’s recommended by your child’s doctor.
3. Sip a Warm Beverage
The warmth of a drink like tea or lemon water can soothe a throat that feels raw or sore from coughing. Warm fluids also help to loosen mucus, making it easier to cough it up. If you add a few drops of honey, you have a natural cough suppressant (for more on that, see below).
4. Step Up Your Fluid Intake
Getting enough fluid is always a good idea, and even more so when you have a cold. Staying well-hydrated will help thin mucus and, in turn, make coughs more productive. Water is ideal, but soothing chicken soup counts, too.
5. Suck on Hard Candy
Cough drops are good for soothing a dry, irritated throat and reducing that constant urge to cough. No lozenges? No worries. Any hard candy will promote saliva production and provide the moisture you need to relieve a dry cough, the Cleveland Clinic notes.
How to Quell a Nighttime Cough
We all know sleep is the best medicine, especially when it comes to getting over a cold.
If a nagging cough is keeping you awake all night, try these nighttime remedies to help you drift off.
1. Consider a Cough Medicine Formulated for Nighttime Use
These versions often include an antihistamine, which can make you drowsy. That’s not ideal during the day, but can be beneficial at night if you have a dry cough that is keeping you awake.
If you have a productive, or wet, cough (in which you are coughing up mucus), however, you may be better off with an expectorant both day and night. The drying effect of an antihistamine can make mucus thicker and harder to clear from the airways, which could make your cough worse, says the American Academy of Family Physicians.
2. Have Some Honey
Adding honey to a cup of tea is a time-honored way soothe an irritated throat and calm a cough. And, there is some science to back up the idea: A review study published in April 2021 in the journal BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine found that honey was superior to OTC medications at reducing the frequency and severity of coughing due to upper respiratory tract infections.
You can try taking a teaspoon or two of honey at bedtime, either on its own or mixed into a cup of tea or warm water. (Do not give infants under one year honey; it will not help with symptoms and can cause a sickness called infant botulism, cautions the AAP.)
3. Zap Your Cough With a Vaporizer
Placing a cool-mist vaporizer or a humidifier right next to your bed can help keep your airway passages moist and reduce the likelihood that a dry, hacking cough will wake you up. It will also help a productive cough by thinning mucus and making it easier to cough up.
(A vaporizer can also provide daytime cough relief, so you may also want to set one up wherever you spend the most time, such as in your office or family room.)
4. Use an Extra Pillow — or Two
Coughs often worsen at night because, thanks to gravity, lying down causes mucus to pool in your throat, rather than drain. This triggers the coughing reflex as a means of moving that mucus out.
Elevating your head can help counteract the problem. Sleeping this way also helps alleviate GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), which can cause nighttime coughing.
5. Gargle With Salt Water
To start the night off with a clear throat, try gargling with a warm saltwater solution. This can lessen coughing by calming throat irritation, loosening thick mucus, and removing irritants from the throat.
Simply mix ½ teaspoon of salt into 8 ounces of warm water, gargle for as long as you can, then spit out the solution.
Know When to See Your Doctor
If you just can’t shake your cough after a few weeks or you’re experiencing wheezing, fever, shortness of breath, or persistent pain or pressure in your chest, see your doctor, says Dr. Carrasquillo. These are signs that it could be something more serious, such as chronic sinusitis, asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, or even heart issues.
Additional reporting by Julia Califano.
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How to cure a cough
We answer one of the most pressing questions during the period of flu and colds.
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Question: Are there any effective methods that would help to cope with a long, lingering cough? It seems that there is no illness, but the cough just tortured me!
Do not self-medicate! In our articles, we collect the latest scientific data and the opinions of authoritative health experts. But remember: only a doctor can diagnose and prescribe treatment.
Answer: Cough is not a disease, but a symptom of it. Most often, it is caused by respiratory diseases, allergies can also be to blame, and also lung diseases, including quite serious ones. Be that as it may, if the cough does not go away within two weeks, you should consult a doctor, even if there are no other symptoms. But if for some reason this cannot be done quickly, then you can try these ways to get rid of the cough.
Drink more water
Fluid moisturizes the airways, so coughing is less common. Water clears a sore throat and loosens phlegm, explains Noah Siegel, an otolaryngologist at the Massachusetts Ear and Eye Research Institute.
Buy Mints
This is an inexpensive but effective remedy that induces a cough reflex and clears phlegm. If the cough is dry, lozenges will soothe an irritated throat and prevent inflammation.
Change pillow to a higher one
Lying on a flat pillow makes the cough worse because the mucus runs down the back of the throat and irritates it.
A higher head position during sleep will help reduce postnasal drip as well as the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux (stomach contents back up into the esophagus) also associated with coughing.
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Buy Humidifier
Humidify the air to get rid of residual cough. Dry air additionally irritates the respiratory tract, which causes a stronger cough. And he, in turn, causes an inflammatory process.
A humidifier will help you achieve the right level of moisture for normal breathing.
Use natural nasal sprays
Gustavo Ferrer, MD and author of Cough Cures, recommends using a saline solution. Rinse your nose with a solution at the first sign of a runny nose and a cold. The doctor advises not to save on ready-made pharmaceutical products.
There is honey
Hot tea with two teaspoons of honey taken at night can relieve cough. Herbal tea with honey perfectly fights inflammatory processes in the throat.
In addition, such a drink has calming properties, so it is best to drink it before bed, says Dr. Siegel.
Take antacids
Stomach cough is quite common. The esophagus is irritated when gastric juice enters it. The acid from the stomach reaches the larynx and causes a sore throat. The best way to deal with this problem is antacids. These drugs neutralize hydrochloric acid and eliminate the cause of the cough.
See also:
Is it possible to distinguish between the cough of a healthy and a sick person?
Every sneeze brings us closer to death: what diseases shorten our lives the most?
10 best ways for adults with reviews, advice from doctors
Cough is a protective reflex of the body that helps to remove phlegm and foreign bodies from the airways, such as dust particles and smoke 1 . Doctors differentiate between dry (unproductive) and wet (productive) coughs. Attacks usually occur with dry cough 2 .
– Paroxysmal non-productive cough, usually associated with laryngitis (inflammation in the larynx), tracheitis or bronchitis, in which thick, viscous sputum fills the lumen of the bronchi, as well as asthma. If in the first two diseases, coughing, as a rule, does not pose a danger, then in bronchitis, simply stopping the cough can be life-threatening, says doctor-therapist Oksana Khamitseva.
Useful information about coughing
| What provokes coughing attacks | sputum, pathogenic flora, foreign bodies, dust, smoke, tumors, stress |
| infections of the upper and lower respiratory pathways, sinusitis, heart failure, gastroesophageal reflux, oncology | |
| What is the danger of a coughing fit | vomiting, choking, diaphragmatic injury, increased intracranial pressure |
| What not to do when you have a coughing fit | do not see a doctor, self-medicate, control your cough cough In addition to respiratory tract infections cough can be associated with congestive heart failure, gastroesophageal reflux, sinusitis, oncology. Paroxysmal cough is extremely unpleasant, it causes pain in the throat and chest, and can provoke vomiting. Often, such an attack does not allow a person to fall asleep, as it often intensifies at night. How can you stop a coughing fit – we deal with an expert. 1. Warm drinkThe first thing to try to relieve a coughing fit is a warm drink. It can be water, unsweetened tea, compote. A warm drink helps thin the mucus and make it easier to pass through your airways. Drink the liquid in small sips, do not overheat the drink, so as not to burn the oral mucosa. 2. Milk with butter and honey Another effective way to combat coughing spells is warm milk with butter and honey. Such a drink greatly relieves a dry, hacking cough with a cold. Of course, this “medicine” is not suitable for adults who are allergic to milk, dairy products and honey 3 . 3. Fresh airFresh air is another effective way to deal with paroxysmal coughing. Take a walk before bed, it will not only relieve cough, but also speed up falling asleep. While indoors, you can wrap yourself in a blanket and stand at the open window for a short time. 4. HumidifierQuite often the dry air in the room during the heating period can serve as a trigger for paroxysmal coughing – it can irritate the mucous membranes. Humidifiers help with this. Recall that in the bedrooms the optimum level of humidity should be in the range of 40-55%. Photo: cottonbro studio, pexels.com 5. Reducing the temperature in the roomComfortable room temperature will reduce the likelihood of a coughing fit. For sleep, the air temperature is considered comfortable from 18 to 23 degrees. If the room is hot or vice versa cold, the cough may return with renewed vigor. 6. Complete nasal breathing When the nose is blocked during sleep, a person begins to breathe through the mouth. 7. Inhalation over chamomile decoctionThis procedure helps to cope with colds and viral diseases. Inhalations with herbal decoctions are prescribed for cough, pain and sore throat, runny nose. You can brew chamomile in a small saucepan, add sage essential oil and inhale the vapors covered with a towel. The procedure takes 5-10 minutes. Chamomile and sage have anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, disinfectant, sedative, expectorant effects. 8. NebulizerThe most effective method for stopping a coughing fit is a nebulizer. – In my opinion, the most effective way to alleviate a cough is inhalation. 9. Mint lozengesIn some cases, mints or menthol lozenges may be helpful in controlling a cough. – If the cough is provoked by irritation in the larynx (this is a tickling sensation in the throat when inhaling or exhaling, provoking coughing), Carmolis mints do an excellent job with this problem. When resorbed, they create the effect of inhalation and soothe the mucous membrane, the therapist explains. 10. MedicinesMedications are perhaps the most effective treatment for coughing fits. However, you should not take them without a doctor’s prescription – the doctor must determine the type of cough, its cause, and only after that prescribe the medicine. – If the cough is frequent, painful, paroxysmal and can provoke vomiting, then it is advisable to use antitussive drugs (Codelac, Sinekod), however, you need to be careful with them. Doctors’ comments on how to deal with coughing attacksAs physician Oksana Khamitseva notes, the main mistake when coughing appears is not to see a doctor on time. Cough cannot be cured without knowing its cause. The second most common mistake is to take antitussive drugs without prescription. With bronchitis and the presence of thick sputum in the lungs, this will lead to a stop in the output of the discharge and, as a result, to a deterioration in the condition and complications up to sepsis. Also, according to the expert, one should not prescribe antibiotics on one’s own. Such drugs do not treat coughs, colds, SARS, it is advisable to use them only for bacterial infections. — Once a local therapist came to my colleague, who was suffering from a dry paroxysmal cough, and when asked what to do with coughing fits, he advised me to simply restrain the coughing urge. Popular Questions and AnswersTherapist Oksana Khamitseva answers questions about how to cope with coughing attacks and why a prolonged attack is dangerous. What should I do if I have a coughing fit in a public place?— If you caught a coughing attack in a public place, then while those around you in a panic called an infectious ambulance for you, it is worth taking a few sips of water. If possible, hot tea. You can chew gum or suck on a lozenge. Try to breathe evenly and deeply. You should also pay attention to the level of humidity in the room. If this is the autumn-winter period, and the room is generously heated, then the dry air will inevitably cause an attack of coughing, so you need to go out into the fresh air. Why do coughing spells happen at night?– Attacks of dry cough at night, in a horizontal position – a characteristic symptom of acute tracheitis. In such situations, it is recommended to inhale before going to bed and lie down half-sitting to alleviate the condition. Gastroesophageal reflux is another common problem that causes nighttime coughing for an extended period of time. This is the reflux of the acidic contents of the stomach into the esophagus up to the larynx, and irritation of the cough receptors. People with this problem are advised not to lie down for an hour after eating and eat in small portions. Why is a protracted seizure dangerous?– Prolonged coughing can cause various complications: • vomiting and aspiration of the airways with vomit; Sources:
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Cough can be psychogenic, i.e. caused by stress or anxiety, appear due to smoking or as a side effect of medication 2 .
This leads to drying of the mucous membrane of the throat and itching, which can cause new bouts of coughing. The body thus tries to moisten the airways, pushing mucus out of the bronchi. If you restore nasal breathing with drops, sprays or inhalations, the cough will go away on its own.
This is where a nebulizer comes in handy. You can use it up to 3 times a day, you can breathe with mineral water or Lazolvan with saline. The method is universal for almost all cough syndromes, – says Oksana Khamitseva.
In the presence of thick sputum in the lungs, this can stop the excretion of the discharge and lead to a deterioration in the condition, says therapist Oksana Khamitseva.
She, of course, laughed, but such advice is clearly not worth following. Cough suppression leads to an increase in pressure in the chest, and thus it is possible to damage the lungs, the pleura, and cause arrhythmia, the expert added.
