Simple Cough Treatment Options

Persistent cough is one of the most common reasons people visit their family doctor. There are many causes of it, but treatment is now easy as ever thanks to modern science and medicine.
Smoking is the most common cause of chronic cough. Most cigarette smokers do not acknowledge “smoker’s cough,” however this can lead to the onset of more serious conditions if ignored.
Common causes include: asthma, gastroesophageal reflux disease, allergic rhinitis, and post-nasal drip.

Asthma is characterized by difficulty breathing or wheezing a result of this airway disease. These symptoms can be irritated by pollen, smoke, perfumes, and other air pollutants.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease is characterized by the backward flow of stomach acid and other stomach contents into the esophagus. This causes an airway spasm that can cause coughing and shortness of breath.

Sinus problems and postnasal drip can be difficult to detect, but can cause a tickling sensation in your throat and coughing. Post-nasal drip, which involves the secretions from the nose chronically drip into the back of the throat, can be caused by a variety of conditions including vasomotor rhinitis, allergic rhinitis, nasal polyps and chronic sinusitis.

Although most cases of coughing are not life threatening, this symptom can adversely affect a person’s quality of life before it is resolved. Treatment for chronic bronchitis, which affects millions, includes antibiotics, pseudoephedrine to clear sinuses, and ipratropium which is used to lower mucus production.

At night time the drug benzonatate, sold as “Tessalon” is effective at preventing those nagging type that wake us up through the night by decreasing the sensitivity of stretch receptors in the lungs. For non-medicinal treatments, consider aromatherapy, especially eucalyptus.

Studies have shown that eucalyptus vapors open up the airways and can anesthetise the reflex. This is why menthol and eucalyptus have been indispensable to treatments such as Vicks Vapor-Rub for many years.

These relief options however just treat the symptom. To stop the root cause, you must treat the illness, whether it is bacterial or viral, or the cause, such as smoking, pet allergies, dusty home, etc. that may aggravate the lungs and trigger the condition.