Dealing With Dry Cough

The most difficult coughs to treat are not the productive coughs that result in the expulsion of phlegm. The most persistent coughs, the coughs that cause remodeling of the central nervous system that makes cough chronic, or dry coughs. Even dry cough, however, can be relieved with simple home remedies.

3. Remove triggers for coughing spells.

The same dust, drafts, mold, and chemical fumes that trigger asthma attacks can also trigger coughing fits. If coughing fits are merely an annoyance, and you are able to breathe, then try removing coughing triggers before you go on a long course of pharmaceutical treatment with leukotriene inhibitors, beta-agonists, or steroid drugs.

What are the most common triggers for coughing spells? Many people react badly to cigarette smoke. Even if you don't want read it, the best advice for smokers is to quit. If your problem is second-hand smoke, then at least try an air filtration system. Otherwise, the same advice for reducing problems with post-nasal drip also applies to reducing problems with coughing spells related to asthma.

It may also help, however, to get aerobic exercise as often as you can. Working out increases lung capacity, and increased lung capacity does as much as eliminating tobacco smoke and allergens for avoiding coughing spells. Exercise does not eliminate triggers for coughing spells, but it makes the lungs less susceptible to them.

4. Treat acid reflux.

Another common cause of chronic cough is gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Even when GERD does not cause obvious problems with heartburn, tiny amounts of acid released by the stomach into the throat can cause chronic irritation and inflammation that triggers a cough reflex. If the condition goes untreated long enough, the central nervous system sends out cough signals whether the throat is irritated or not.

Acid reflux and GERD can be treated with medications or antacids, but the simplest intervention is to eat less. When the stomach is not as full, the flap protecting the esophagus is less likely to come open, and less stomach acid escapes to irritate the throat.

5. Make sure you are not taking a medication that causes dry cough.

Tens of millions of people who have high blood pressure are treated with a class of medications known as ACE-inhibitors. These medications usually have generic names that end in -il, such as lisinopril and ramipril. ACE inhibitors commonly cause dry cough. When ACE inhibitors are discontinued, dry cough usually goes away in 2 to 4 weeks.

Discontinuing an ACE inhibitor does not mean you do not need to take any kind of medication at all. Instead, ask your doctor if you can take a medication from a related class of drugs known as ACE-receptor blockers, including the generic drug losartan. Never stop medication for hypertension without your doctor's approval, and make sure that your cough relief does not come at the expense of worsened high blood pressure.

These five remedies often produce results faster and far less expensively than the treatments available with a prescription. Just be sure that any underlying disease causing your cough has been diagnosed and treated by a physician. Remember that treating the cough is usually not the same as treating the underlying disease.