What Are the Causes of Dry Coughing?

A dry cough is a cough that is repetitive from season to season caused by the body trying to force out harmful substances. Dry coughing symptoms could manifest themselves for a variety of reasons such as smoking, inhaling foreign particles, using the wrong chemical house cleaners, the climate you live in or even by excess dust buildup. There are home remedies available to help ease the cough if doctor-prescribed methods are no longer working correctly or never helped you see much improvement. A few simple tips and tricks may help you regain your full health again.

Dry Cough

• A dry cough is a cough that is persistent, sudden and recurring. The cough attempts to free air passages so additional air can be absorbed by the lungs. It is also an attempt by the body to expel foreign bodies, agents and liquids. A dry cough can be more than a symptom of an oncoming cold. It may have hazardous health effects if not treated properly.

Overall Causes

• There are a variety of causes for a dry cough, including smoking, acute bronchitis, asthma, emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis, pericarditis, flu, varying degrees of pneumonia, Legionnaire's disease, typhus, leptospirosis, psittacosis, and emphysema to name a few. As you can see, the origins of the dry cough in some situations may be quite serious and lead to debilitating disease and chronic ailment.

Other Causes

• Causes of dry coughing other than disease and smoking may be inhaling chemicals and foreign bodies. Household products may interfere with breathing, and breathing in dust, rubble or other particles may induce coughing. The climate you live in may also worsen your state---severe cold and humidity increases coughing, while moderate to cool temperatures control it. Also, coming in contact repetitively with germ cells may aggravate your condition.

Getting Better

• There are various ways to get rid of a dry cough, from seeing your doctor for a prescription to home remedies. Since it is not possible to diagnose the source of a dry cough in every instance, a variety of home remedies may be helpful in treating the condition if the doctor is unable to provide any help.

Home Remedies

• Home remedies for a dry cough are as follows: avoid dehydration, use extra pillows when sleeping to ease the cough, try using cough drops and syrups, stop smoking, avoid inhaling irritants like pollen, chemicals and cigarette smoke, and make use of over--the-counter expectorant and suppressant cough remedies.

Environmental Factors

• Living in a state in the U.S. with excessively cold or humid temperatures may exacerbate a dry cough. Having a house full of dust also lends itself to worsening the cough. The first, most inexpensive thing one can do to rid oneself of a pesky cough is to thoroughly clean one's home of all dust. Another irritant is chemicals used in the house. Monitor your use of household chemicals and see if cutting back on certain cleaners improves your cough. Another possible cure, though rather dramatic, would be to relocate to a more favorable environment or location. Tuberculosis patients often located to moderately warm climates to help their lungs by a natural "vaporizing" treatment long before a real treatment for tuberculosis was available.

Get Well

• Please take precautions to ensure your ongoing health. If you develop a problem with dry coughing, see your doctor and use some of these helpful remedies to ease the problem.