Cough is one of the top reasons why patients seek medical attention. There is no clinical evidence that over-the-counter cough expectorants or suppressants actually relieve it, at best they are very weak. A nonprescription cough remedy does little more than offer comfort to desperate patients. Cough can also be due a serious illness such as heart failure or serious lung infection such as tuberculosis. Most cases of cough do not respond to antibiotics.
Sometimes a cough can linger for several days or
weeks after the common cold or the flu, even though there is no fever.
Taking a bath for ten to twenty minutes and breathing warm moist air can
be helpful in relieving this symptom once the infection is over. It usually
takes about a week for the common cold infection to clear and some people
have a cough that can linger many days or weeks afterwards. If you wake up at night
with a cough, try the hot bath approach. The moist bath or shower
treatment can be done several times a day, and usually this is an
effective action you can take to reduce annoying coughs, dry or wet. For a cough that is disturbing
sleep, temporary use of a prescriptionn cough syrup consisting of codeine with promethazine can be helpful when used an hour or two before bed.
Promethazine is a phenothiazine derivative that possesses
antihistamine, sedative, antimotion-sickness, antiemetic, and
anticholinergic effects. A prescription medication that I recommend to
patients who have severe cough that disturbs sleep is Phenergan with
Codeine taken in the evening. Ask your doctor for a prescription if you
have a severe cough.
If it is winter, avoid cold exposure. If you go outside wear a
scarf around your nose to keep your breath warm. Wear a sweater at home
to keep your chest warm. Cold air triggers the cough response.
Natural cough remedy
due to the common cold or respiratory infection
Herbs used for cough suppression are very weak compared to
prescription drugs such as codeine, but for mild cases they may be helpful.
Licorice
herb
Marshmallow herb
Mullein herb
Iron deficiency may be a
cause of chronic cough in some women.
A spoonful of honey reduce
cough in some children.
Additional herbs potentially useful
for Cough and Cold
Coltsfoot herb
Oroxylum Indicum
herb
Phytomedicine. 2015. Antitussive effect of a fixed combination of Justicia adhatoda, Echinacea purpurea and Eleutherococcus senticosus extracts in patients with acute upper respiratory tract infection: A comparative, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Kan Jang® oral solution (KJ) is a fixed combination of aqueous ethanolic extracts of Justicia adhatoda L. leaf, Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench root, and Eleutherococcus senticosus (Rupr. & Maxim.) Harms root. It is approved in Scandinavia as an herbal medicinal product for respiratory tract infection treatment. The present clinical trial aimed to compare the antitussive effect of KJ with placebo (PL) and bromhexine (BH) among patients of 18-65 years old with non-complicated upper respiratory infections (URI; i.e., common cold). KJ exerted significant antitussive effects in URI. The present data further support the therapeutic use of KJ in upper respiratory tract infections.
Cough natural treatment testimonial
I am a 70 year old Norwegian who emigrated to the US
from Norway with my American wife when I retired ( 3 years ago ). I had been
suffering from a constant cough caused by post nasal drip since 1999. In Norway
I got some pills on prescription from my doctor, and they worked, but
unfortunately they are not on the market in the US. However, after having used
Day Quil and Night Quil in relatively large quantities for some time I started
to look for the active ingredient in the pills I got in Norway. It turned out to
be Acetyl Cysteine. Looking for that in the web I found N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine
which I promptly purchased. It works. My constant cough is gone. I take 3
pills a day. One in the morning, one about 4 PM and one around 10 PM. The first
half hour or so after taking a pill I may have to clear my throat a few times,
but that is all. After years of persistent cough the relief is almost
unbelieveable. I have no idea why it works, but it does. I though that it might
interest you.
Chest cold
If you have coughing, whether dry or with mild symptoms of small amounts of
sputum or mucus, without much of a fever that would indicate a serious infection
such as pneumonia, wear a sweater or two to keep your upper body and chest warm.
Avoid going outside in the cold air since breathing cold air could irritate your
lungs. Drink hot tea or hot water. Avoid tea or coffee in late afternoon or
evening since this can interfere with sleep, drink hot water instead. I think
keeping the chest warm with sweaters can help a lot. Each time I have had a
chest cold and walked outside in the cold, my cough got worse.
Is there an herbal cough cure?
I am not aware of an herbal cough cure at this time.
Cause, short term and chronic, cough due to
medications
Colds and flu are the most common causes for
short term symptoms. Chronic coughing is defined as one that lasts longer than 4
weeks. This can have several causes such as postnasal drip,
pneumonia, bronchitis, cigarette smoking, acid reflux, heart disease, lung
cancer,
tuberculosis, and medications such as
ACE inhibitors used for treating high
blood pressure. Cough from ACE inhibitors occurs commonly and may persist
for weeks after the medications are stopped. Some patients may think they have
bronchitis and there could be mild changes on X-ray readings. Many doctors do
not warn their patients on lisinopril, benazapril, and other blood pressure
lowering drugs that chronic cough can occur.
Benazepril (Lotensin) Captopril (Capoten) Enalapril (Vasotec) Fosinopril (Monopril) Lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril) Moexipril (Univasc) Perindopril (Aceon) Quinapril (Accupril) Ramipril (Altace) Trandolapril (Mavik).
Testimonial, patient reaction
I am 51 and recently diagnosed with high blood pressure (taking Cozaar) and due
to a few tests put on statin drug (atorvastatin) 6 wks ago which I had to stop
due to annoying cough I developed for 3 weeks. I have been off it now 1 wk and
still have cough but not quite as bad.
With heartburn, it may be from acid reflux – acid that backs
up into your throat. Asthma also can cause chronic cough. Allergy can cause
chronic cough, also, mostly due to postnasal drip
– mucus from your nose or sinuses that builds up in your throat.
Among people suffering from chronic cough, more than half have
symptoms of depression. The good news is that the depression seems to lift
as the symptoms improves.
Antihistamines and cough
Although an antihistamine medicine may
reduce cough severity, the sedation and side effects are annoying. The older-generation antihistamines that work include chlorpheniramine. Newer, brand-name antihistamines such as Claritin and Zyrtec
are not likely to be helpful for cough.
Dry cough
A natural home remedy for dry cough, especially a type of cough
that lingers after a cold or flu is gone, is to stay in the hot bath for
at least 15 minutes 3 to 6 times daily and inhale the moist air. This can
be done in the middle of the night if the cough is persistent and causing
insomnia.
Smoker and smoking
Cough often occurs in smokers, and in those who get
COPD from chronic
smoking over many years.
Cough drop benefit
Cough drops or throat lozenges are tablets which people can suck to
soothe the throat or to reduce the severity of coughing. They are usually
small, sweetened, and contain an oral anesthetic, such as menthol, which
numbs the receptors in the throat that cause the cough reflex. The
occasional use of "lozenge" (first used in 1530, according to the Oxford
English Dictionary) is due to the original lozenge shape of cough drops.
Popular brands of cough drops include Fisherman's Friend, Halls, and
Ricola. There is little research to support their effectiveness in reducing the severity or intensity of a cough.
Codeine cough syrup
A codeine cough syrup, combined with an antihistamine, could be
helpful for chronic night cough, especially at night to help sleep
although research is not conclusive. In my opinion, the combination of
Phenergan and codeine works well when used in the evening for cough due to
the flu or common cold. However, a new study shows that codeine may not
work well by itself for chronic cases.
Codeine is a standard ingredient in cough remedies, but
it seems to be no more effective than an inactive "placebo" compound, at
least in people with chronic lung disease. Dr. Jacyln Smith of South
Manchester University Hospital Trusts and colleagues note that codeine is
the standard anti- cough agent to which others are compared. Laboratory
studies suggest it is effective for cough due to different causes, but
little is known about its impact on cough in people with chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) such as emphysema. To investigate
further, the researchers conducted a study of 21 such patients who
complained of cough. The patients were challenged with
citric acid to
induce cough and then, on two separate occasions, they were given either
codeine or placebo 1 hour before returning home. There they wore a lapel
microphone to record the sounds of "explosive" coughing during the day and
night. At the start of the study, they subjects experienced an average of
8 seconds of coughing per hour. After placebo treatment this fell to 7
seconds per hour. After codeine, it dropped to 6.41 seconds per hour.
Although the time spent coughing was less after codeine, there was no
major difference between codeine and placebo from a statistical standpoint
. They conclude that the findings are "consistent with the view that any
(anti-cough) effect of codeine is attributable to a placebo effect." Smith
and colleagues say that studies of cough in other clinical situations are
"urgently needed" if codeine is to continue to be used as a cough remedy.
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2006.
Cough Suppressant Syrup and children
Kids under 2 years of age should not be given
over the counter cough or cold medicines since serious side effects are
possible. Children should brush their teeth after swallowing syrupy cough and
cold medications since the syrup can cause enamel decay.
While coughs in children are worrisome and annoying, cough syrup is not the answer. These medicines are not useful in children and can actually be harmful. In most cases, a cough that is unrelated to chronic lung conditions, environmental influences, or other specific factors, will resolve on its own. Dextromethorphan, often listed on labels as DM, and diphenhydramine, an antihistamine, do not offer any more relief to children suffering from cough than sugar water does. In 2000 the FDA warned against the use of common over-the- counter cold remedies and diet pills containing phenylpropanolamine (PPA) after researchers found it raised the risk of stroke in women.
Hyland's, 4 Kids Cold 'n Cough , 4 fl oz (118 ml)
Common Cold Cough and how to treat it
Cough due to the viral infection is probably the most common cause of
acute cough. In a significant subset of patients with "postinfectious"
cough, the etiology is probably an inflammatory response triggered by a
viral upper respiratory infection (ie, the common cold). The resultant
subacute or chronic cough can be considered to be due to an upper airway
cough syndrome, previously referred to as postnasal drip syndrome. Taking
a bath for ten to twenty minutes and breathing warm moist air can be
helpful in relieving the cough once the infection is over. It usually
takes about a week for the common cold infection to clear and some people
have a cough that can linger many days afterwards. If you wake up at night
with a cough, try the hot bath approach.
Over
the Counter medicines
Cough-suppressant therapy, previously termed nonspecific
antitussive therapy, incorporates the use of pharmacologic agents with
mucolytic effects and/or inhibitory effects on the cough reflex itself.
The intent of this type of therapy is to reduce the frequency and/or
intensity of coughing on a short-term basis. However, over the counter
cough medications, at best, are minimally effective. Quite a number of
medications are sold with limited research to back up the claims, for
instance Halls cough drop. Many American parents give over-the-counter
cold medicines to kids under age 4 even though they're too young for
such product. In young children, these medicines can cause allergic
reactions, increased or uneven heart rate, slow and shallow breathing,
confusion or hallucinations, drowsiness or sleeplessness, convulsions,
nausea and constipation.
Cough remedy danger
Widely used over-the-counter cough and cold medicines should not be
given to children under 6 years of age. The majority of over the counter
cough medicines do not work and some can be dangerous in young children. Between 2004 and 2005, approximately 1,500 children younger than 2
years old were treated in U.S. emergency departments for adverse events
associated with cough and cold medications,
Croup relief
It is not recommended to give cough medicine to a child under 4
years old. Never give a child aspirin. Run a humidifier in your child's
room. Place a warm, wet washcloth over your child's nose. Ask the child
to breathe through the cloth. Sit with your child for about 10 minutes
inside a warm, steamy bathroom outside the shower. The shower should be
running hot.
Whooping cough
Whooping cough (pertussis) is still a very serious
infection when it
occurs in children under the age of one year old. But thanks to an
effective vaccine and prevention against infection, whooping cough is now
quite rare. Before the vaccination was introduced,
three out of four children caught the disease and some died every year.
Today only a few get whooping cough.
Viruses are spread
As many as 10,000 to 20,000 viruses are expelled in an average cough,
which may be sufficient to infect many people -- particularly those who
are not vaccinated. Julian Tang, a consultant at Singapore's National
University Hospital's Division of Microbiology, has found as many as
3,000 tiny droplets are produced in a standard cough.
Have you ever heard of what presents as allergy cough to be helped by
increased serotonin levels? I have had such cough for 18 years and no allergy,
asthma, reflux meds every help in any way. I have been to numerous ENTS,
allergist, enviromental doctors, holistic doctors and had every test and except
for mild obstruction in pulmonary tests (which I feel could be from the coughing
itself stressing the lungs) I have no wheezing, shortness of breath and can run
5 miles. I have always told my doctors what DOES help :When focused When relaxed
When kissing, etc When I take Klonapin Drink alcohol Have hot pasta Have massage
or in hot tub. From what I have researched these all increase serotonin? Doesn't
Klonopin increase 5 htp? I know not great solution but info at least to get to
answer. I no longer can deal with regular doctors with their blinders on. Also
just got a virus and I asked close friend whom is Hematologist but personally
very into holistic med why when I get sick I cough less and he indicated when
immune system gets in full gear increases endorphins which contain serotonin,
etc. He also feels I probably have ingrained negative emotional issues that
reduce these levels on daily basis...Anyway...have you ever had similar inquiry
on chronic cough?
Not yet. The mechanism of action is: Klonipin or clonazepam
exerts its action by binding to the benzodiazepine site of the GABA receptors,
which causes an enhancement of the electric effect of GABA binding on neurons.