What Causes Coughs & How To Treat Them

A cough can be seriously annoying, it can interrupt your sleep and leave you feeling exhausted. Severe cases of coughing can cause light-headedness, vomiting, and even rib fractures.

While it can sometimes be difficult to pinpoint the problem that's triggering a cough, the most common causes are smoking, allergies, postnasal drip, asthma, and acid reflux. Fortunately, coughing can typically be treated with OTC medications and home remedies.

Keep reading to learn what causes coughs and how to treat them.

TYPES OF COUGHS

Dry Cough

A dry cough is a cough where no mucus or phlegm is produced. These coughs are also known as non-productive coughs. A dry cough is often irritating and is associated with a tickly throat.

Chesty Cough

A chesty cough might occur during a cold or flu that causes an infection in the lungs that increases phlegm and mucus production. A chesty cough is also known as a wet or productive cough because when coughing you are expelling harmful mucus, which is good. 

Causes of Coughing

Coughs can be caused by many factors:

• Viruses responsible for colds and flu
• Dry cough causes are usually due by allergies, postnasal drip, respiratory infections, acid reflux, and environmental conditions.
• Smoking
• Allergies and hay fever
• Stress
• All types of coughs can be a sign of a variety of lung conditions ranging from asthma to lung cancer
• Heart disease
• Certain prescribed medicines may produce dry coughs as a side effect
• Drinking or eating frozen things (ice cream, milkshakes, etc)

COUGH TREATMENTS

Chesty Cough

One of the best chesty cough medicines is Robitussin Chesty Cough Syrup which comes in liquid syrup. It is an expectorant, which is simply something that can help break up mucus so that your body can more easily expel it so you can breathe easier.

Dry Cough

A dry cough can be helped with medicines known as cough suppressants (antitussives), which can help in suppressing the cough. While there are several dry cough remedies, we recommend Robitussin Dry Cough Syrup, a dry cough syrup that treats and relieves dry coughs. It works by relieving dry persistent coughs by controlling the cough reflex and soothes the throat. Throat lozenges, such as Buttercup Broncho Cough Pastilles, can also help to relieve irritating coughs.

How to Prevent a Cough

While infrequent coughing is necessary to clear the airways, prevention of cough can be accomplished by some lifestyle changes if it’s not related to a cold or flu.

• Quit smoking
• Eat a diet high in fruits, fiber, and flavonoids to lessen chronic respiratory symptoms.
• Avoid coming into (or limiting interaction) contact with anyone with a contagious illness, such as bronchitis, a cold, the flu, and Covid-19. Wear a mask and social distance if you aren’t able to fully avoid contact.
• Wash your hands frequently and don’t share utensils, towels, or pillows.
• If you have existing medical conditions that increase your chances of developing a cough, such as asthma, consult your doctor about different management strategies. Once the condition is managed, you may find that your cough disappears, or becomes much less frequent.

If you have any questions about which medication to take for your cough, visit Online4 Pharmacy to see all the medications available to help you get healthy and strong.