Introduction:
Thursday night I’m coughing so bad I literally can’t catch my breath. Throat feels like I gargled glass. My upstairs neighbor bangs on the floor. Great. Now everyone in the building thinks I’m dying.
Had one of these annoying dry coughs probably fifteen times in my life at this point. Each time I swear I know what to do. Each time I end up standing at CVS at 11 PM staring at a wall of bottles like a confused idiot. Why are there so many options? Why do they all cost twenty bucks? Why does nothing make sense when your throat’s on fire?
Wasted a ton of money on stuff that did basically nothing. Listened to advice from my mom, my coworkers, random people on the internet. Some worked. Most didn’t. Finally figured out what actually stops the cough versus what just empties your wallet. Here’s what I learned.
Your Throat’s Having a Meltdown Over Nothing
A dry cough medicine is basically your throat freaking out about irritation that’s not even really there. Not like those gross mucus-y coughs where you’re actually clearing stuff out. This is just your throat being overdramatic.
Why’s it happening:
- Had the flu three weeks ago but your throat missed the memo that you’re better
- Allergies going nuts
- Snot running down the back of your throat (disgusting but that’s what’s happening)
- Asthma acting up
- Bad air quality or someone smoking around you
- Acid reflux sneaking up from your stomach
- New medication screwing with you (look this up if you just started pills)
Then you’re stuck. Cough tears up your throat. Raw throat makes you cough more. More coughing tears it up worse. Round and round. Makes you want to scream except you can’t because you’re too busy coughing.
Standing in the Medicine Aisle Like an Idiot
The DM Stuff Everyone Grabs
Walk down the cough aisle and every bottle says DM on it somewhere. That’s dextromethorphan. Fancy name for cough suppressant. Robitussin has it. Delsym has it. The cheap Walmart version has it.
Supposed to mess with your brain’s cough signals. Tell it to chill out. Does it actually work? Flip a coin honestly. Some nights it helps. Some nights I take it and I’m still coughing three hours later wondering why I bothered.
Takes like thirty to forty minutes before you notice anything. Wears off after four or five hours unless you get the extended kind. That stuff lasts longer but costs more.
Made the mistake once of taking this plus cold medicine at the same time. Didn’t check what was in each bottle. Felt absolutely horrible. Learn from my stupidity.
Just buy the long-acting version. Yeah it’s more expensive but waking up at 2 AM to take more medicine sucks. Not worth saving three dollars.
Benadryl Stops Coughs Too
Found this out by accident when I was 27. Staying at my friend’s place coughing my head off. She handed me Benadryl. I was like that’s for allergies what are you doing. She goes just trust me.
Worked. Like really worked. Dries up all that drainage that’s irritating your throat. Plus knocks you out cold which is perfect when you’re trying to sleep. Don’t take it before you need to drive anywhere though. You’ll be worthless.
My sister takes the non-drowsy allergy pills during work hours when her allergies make her cough. Claritin or something. Says it helps without making her pass out at her desk. Makes sense.
Cough Drops Are Better Than You Think
Used to think these were pointless. Like what’s a piece of candy gonna do for a cough. Turns out the menthol ones actually help though.
Make your mouth produce spit which keeps your throat from drying out. The cold menthol feeling calms everything down somehow. Plus just keeping your mouth busy stops the cough cycle. Don’t know why that works but it does.
Buy the giant bags now. Keep them in my car, my backpack, my nightstand, every jacket. The extra strength Halls with tons of menthol work best. Regular ones are fine too though.
Stuff Already Sitting in Your Kitchen
Never thought I’d recommend home remedies but here we are.
Honey’s not just an old wives tale. My grandma used to give me spoonfuls when I was sick. Thought she was just being nice. Found out later that researchers actually tested this and honey works about as good as drugstore cough syrup. Crazy right? Just take a spoonful straight or stir it into tea.
Only rule is never give honey to babies under one year. That’s actually dangerous for them.
Hot showers are a lifesaver. When I can’t stop coughing I’ll just stand in the shower for like twenty minutes breathing steam. My water bill probably hates me but whatever. Works every time. Also run a humidifier in my room all night during winter.
Any hot drink helps. Tea, hot water, soup, doesn’t really matter. The heat soothes your throat and the liquid keeps it moist. Go through like six or seven cups of tea a day when I’m sick.
The Prescription Stuff That Actually Works
Sometimes pharmacy medicine doesn’t touch it. Had a cough last winter that lasted over a month. Finally went to urgent care. Doctor prescribed codeine cough syrup.
That stuff is serious. Like it’s an actual opioid serious. Knocked me completely out. They don’t give it easily because it’s addictive. But when you’re desperate and nothing else works it does the job. Can only use it short term though.
My roommate got these yellow capsule things called Tessalon Perles from his doctor once. Said they were incredible. Tried them later for my cough and they did literally nothing. Bodies are weird.
Stop being stubborn and see a doctor if:
- Been coughing over three weeks
- Any blood comes up when you cough
- Running a fever that won’t quit
- Trouble breathing
- Chest pain
- Losing weight without trying
- Cough started right after new medication
Don’t wait around like I did. Sometimes a cough means something bad.
Don’t Make My Mistakes
Screwed up plenty of times. Save yourself the trouble.
Mucinex doesn’t work for dry coughs. Bought this so many times before realizing it’s only for wet mucus coughs. Complete waste of money if your cough is dry. Might even make it worse.
Those multi-symptom cold pills are tricky. Took NyQuil plus separate cough medicine one night. Felt super weird and dizzy. Turns out they had the same stuff in both and I basically overdosed myself. Check the ingredients.
You might be treating the wrong problem. My coworker bought cough medicine every week for months. Doctor finally told him acid reflux was causing the cough. Fixed that and the cough went away. All that medicine was pointless.
Drink more water than seems normal. Seriously cannot stress this enough. Dehydration makes your throat way worse. Fill up a huge water bottle every morning and force yourself to finish it.
What’s Always Stocked in My Apartment
After enough bad experiences I stay ready now:
Extended release cough medicine in my bathroom. The 12 hour kind so I can sleep through the night.
Cough drops literally everywhere. Car, desk, nightstand, coat pockets, gym bag. Everywhere.
Humidifier that runs every night from October through March. Game changer.
Honey always in the kitchen. Cheaper than medicine and tastes way better.
Heating pad for my chest and throat. The warmth helps more than I expected.
What You Actually Need to Know
No perfect solution exists that works for everyone every single time. Wish there was.
DM suppressants help most people. Allergy medicine works if that’s your issue. Honey and steam and hot drinks help way more than you’d think and cost almost nothing.
Do multiple things at once. Cough syrup before bed. Humidifier all night. Cough drops all day. Water constantly. Sleep when you can. And if you’re still coughing after two weeks stop being dumb and see a doctor.
Also Read: https://thenaturalbeautylife.com/blood-clot-in-brain/