What Are the Treatments for Coughing?

Coughing is your body's way of getting rid of something in its airway that it doesn't like. Often, a cough is a result of having a cold. More seriously, a person can develop a cough when they have croup or pneumonia. Coughing can be really uncomfortable when it occurs several times in a row. There are some things you can do to treat the cough until you heal from your illness.

Expectorants

• It is important to treat your cough with an expectorant. This loosens any mucus that is inside of your respiratory tract so that you can get it out. Once the mucus is out, you will stop coughing. This is because there will no longer be anything in the airway telling your body that it needs to cough. Expectorants are sold over-the-counter. Make sure that you read all of the instructions on the packaging so that you take the correct dose.

Salt Water

• Gargling salt water when sick can actually get rid of the mucus and reduce any inflammation that we may have in our airway. Mix half a tsp. of salt with four oz. of warm water. Gargle with this solution every couple of hours to get rid of the cough. Make sure you spit the salt water out after you gargle with it. Otherwise, it could upset your stomach. Also, too much salt is not good for you. It can make you retain water.

Honey

• Honey has the power to soothe your throat and stop your coughs. You can add two tbsp. of honey to a glass of orange juice or hot tea. The hot tea is best if you can stand it because cold beverages can make your cough worse. The orange juice does, however, have added vitamin C that will help you get over your illness faster. Drink down the honey mixture. Do this three times per day, or when your cough seems to be the worst.

  You can also purchase over-the-counter cough drops with honey. Suck on them whenever you begin to cough uncontrollably.