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What to Do for a Dry Cough?

A dry cough can be an indication of a cold, a symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease or a lack of moisture in your environment. There are many natural remedies, devices and medications to relieve your coughing, and these should completely clear it up within five days. If your dry coughing persists or worsens, contact your physician, as it could be a viral infection that requires prescribed medicine.

  1. Natural Remedies

    • The age-old remedy of hot tea with a teaspoon of lemon juice and a tablespoon of honey still works. The warm tea mixture will coat your throat and lessen the severity of the dry cough. Drink the tea mixture three times daily to relieve symptoms, or at least once in the morning and once at night. According to Health911, keeping yourself hydrated is important to heal your throat. Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water to thin the mucus in your throat. Apply heating pads on your chest to relieve the pain associated with a dry cough. According to Kristie Leong M.D., chewing on a piece of fresh ginger will reduce coughing as well.

    Humidifier

    • When there is a lack of moisture in the air, your throat produces phlegm and causes you to cough. A warm-mist humidifier can bring moisture to your environment, and reduce your dry coughing. Moisture in the air breaks up the mucus and allows for easier breathing. It is necessary to keep pets and children away from warm-mist humidifiers, as knocking over the humidifier can cause burn injuries and possible electrocution. As an alternative, cool-mist humidifiers provide the same benefits without the risk of burn injury, although the machine is somewhat louder than warm-mist humidifiers.

    Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)

    • Your dry cough could be caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which occurs when your lower esophageal sphincter cannot block stomach acid. When you sleep or lay down, the stomach acid can travel to your throat and cause you to cough. To treat dry cough caused by GERD, reduce or eliminate the consumption of foods that produce excess amounts of stomach acid. Some of these acid-producing foods include: tomato-based foods, chocolate, peppermint and fried foods. Takes notes to see if your dry cough lessens after eliminating certain foods, and if it persists your doctor will prescribe medication to treat GERD.

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