If you’ve been searching for effective and fast-acting ways to relieve coughs, you may be suffering from a lingering cough. Unfortunately, some coughs seem to stick around long after you’ve overcome a cold, flu or other illness. Even if you’ve been experiencing a nagging cough for some time now, you can still get the cough under control and help reduce your symptoms by pinpointing your precise type of cough, selecting the right type of remedy for your cough and using at-home homeopathic treatments as you see fit. If you’ve been having difficulties keeping your lingering cough under control, here’s how you can start treating it more effectively today.
A post-infectious cough can significantly impact your quality of life. You may find it difficult to sleep or get your work done at home or at your job.
Once the diagnosis of post-infectious cough is made, your healthcare provider will ask you questions to determine whether your lingering cough is due to postnasal drip or inflammatory changes from the infection. Your treatment plan will be determined from there.
To avoid harmful side effects or medication interactions, be sure to check in with your healthcare provider about any treatments you plan to try.
What Type Of Cough Do I Have?
Prior to purchasing your next batch of cough control medicine, you may want to ask yourself whether you’ve determined what type of cough you have. Unfortunately, not all coughs respond equally well to the same treatments, so it’s important to understand the cause of your cough in order to narrow down the best treatment options for your situation. Many coughs are due to lingering illness, while others may be triggered by dust or other common home allergens. Ask yourself if your cough is actually:
- Whooping cough
- Croup
- A bronchitis-induced cough
- A tickling dry cough
- A mucus-filled wet cough
Next, consider your treatment options. Although you may find that a single treatment alone can help you keep your cough under control, you may want to consult with your doctor to see whether a combination of, for instance, home remedies and over-the-counter medication would be more effective. In general, cough treatments fall into one of three categories, namely:
- Homeopathic treatments that you can do at home
- Over-the-counter remedies that you can pick up at the drugstore
- Prescription treatments that require a visit to the doctor’s office
Homeopathic Remedies
If you decide to try homeopathic remedies to treat different types of coughs that you may be experiencing, there are a few common options you should know about. These remedies can, depending on your doctor’s recommendation, supplement other treatments or form the basis for your treatment regimen on their own. For example, you may want to try:
- Vaporizers and humidifiers
- Salt-water gargles
- Tea mixed with honey
- More fluids than usual, including warm broth
- Essential oils, including peppermint and eucalyptus
- Marshmallow root
From tickling dry coughs to whooping cough to mucus-filled wet coughs and more, struggling with a lingering cough can be frustrating, annoying and even painful or damaging to your health over time. Fortunately, even the most persistent coughs can be eased and treated with a combination of over-the-counter remedies, homeopathic treatments and, if necessary, prescription treatments as well. If you’ve been dealing with a lingering cough that you’ve struggled to get under control for a while now, you may want to keep this guide handy to help you pinpoint your type of cough and identify the right remedies. From using a humidifier to consuming honey tea and marshmallow root to trying out aromatherapy with eucalyptus oil, these easy remedies could help you control your cough right at home.
