Home remedies of warm tea and honey can work best.
Developing a cough is common throughout winter time. With the flu circulating, COVID-19 still around, and the common cold whipping up a storm of infection that can be difficult to avoid, it’s easy to have your symptoms linger long after you are otherwise feeling better. Other conditions such as heart failure and lung cancer can also cause a dry cough that may never seem to subside.
A dry cough is characterized as a cough that tickles your throat but doesn’t produce any mucus. Some experts call it an “unproductive” cough as it doesn’t function to clear your air passages, your coughing simply irritates your throat.
A dry cough can be difficult to treat and get rid. Here are some tips to help on your road to wellness.
Dry cough symptoms
The symptoms of a dry cough can include:
- Tickling in your throat
- A sore throat
- An irritated throat
- Chest pain
- Chest tightness
Chest pain can also be a sign of something much more serious like a heart attack and you should seek medical help right away if you have unusual pain of this kind.
The cause of a dry cough
You may wonder why you’re coughing at all if you aren’t bringing up any mucus. A dry cough can occur easily after a respiratory infection as your airways have become inflamed. When this happens, your passageways can become extra sensitive to any irritants such as dust or dirt that may be present in the air. When you inhale irritants, these can cause a tickling sensation in your throat that triggers a dry cough.
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Dry cough treatments
There is no cure-all for a dry cough but some approaches can help more than others. Over-the-counter medications may help soothe your symptoms temporarily. Children under the age of four should never take a cough suppressant, however, as serious side effects can occur.
Home remedies can often bring about better results. These can include:
- Staying hydrated
- Drinking warm tea or other soothing liquids
- Eating honey
- Sucking on cough drop candies
Drinking enough liquids can help your body provide natural protection against a dry cough by increasing your hydration. Sucking on candies or cough drops can also help soothe an irritated throat and help you avoid a coughing fit when you most need to. Eating a spoonful of honey can help bring some reprieve but as with cough suppressants, be careful to never give honey to young children. This is because honey can cause deadly botulism. Finally, keeping your environment humidified can also help. Take a steamy shower or run a humidifier in your home to ease your symptoms.
A dry cough often goes away on its own over time as your body heals itself. If you’re worried about your dry cough, visit your doctor. A persistent cough or tightness in your chest can also be the sign of a more serious health problem and it’s important to have it checked out.
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