dry cough

[5029]

I have a dry tickly cough, which is much worse at night.  when i lie down it gets worse and is keeping me awake. 

I have made a drs appointment but its not for another 2 weeks so in the meantime I am using boots dry cough medicine.  Does anyone have any other recommendations, herbal or otherwise, or any tips on how to appease it at night?

[happy_face]

You may think I'm mad but Chocolate. Chocolate is very good for tickly coughs and sore throats. The chocolate lines the throat and often people get excess phlegm when eating chocolate and it's this that helps with the tickly cough. Milk chocolate is better for this than plain chocolate.

Or even drinking it as hot chocolate does the trick.

Hope this helps, and no it's not just an excuse to eat chocolate

[smudge]

Apart from visiting your GP & cough medicine, I find using an extra pillow helps. Hope you feel better soon.

[5029]

i actually read the opposite recently, that milk choc contains too much dairy, which is a common source of phlegm, and that dark choc works better, but you would need to eat 200g to see any benefit

[smudge]

Personally, I wouldn't recommend chocolate either. When I had my hacking cough over Christmas, I tried some of the choc's that were in the house - the results started off yet more coughing! As I mentioned earlier, medicine & an extra pillow helped me.

[willowherb]

try some thyme tea,,put a teaspoon of dried thyme in a cup of boiling water leave for 30 minutes strain and drink..another thing to try is make some chamomile tea up you can get the tea bags for this easily in supermarkets leave for about 30 minutes again add honey and drink,,another is onion and honey slice an onion in a quarter of a jar of honey overnight,,take a teaspoon at a time ,,this is also a great cure for hayfever allergys etc,,i wouldnt reccomend the chocolate either as it will probably make you worse..

[AB Editor]

For all medical questions, we strongly advise you to seek professional advice from your doctor or a healthcare professional.  Please do not rely on, or wait for, advice from Answerbank users.

[banjo]

My aunt once told me that tying a pair of tights around your neck like a scarf would help.  I myself thought she was barmy and never tried it so its an untested theory! I'd go with the extra pillow and avoid the cough medicine and hot drinks before you go to bed cos they'll loosen the phelgm and make you cough more.

[Elfin]

My son had this over xmas and the doc suggested Benylin Original - not the non-drowsy one which I had already bought.  This is because the original contains antihistamine which helps to lessen the irritation (and obviously makes you drowsier too). It worked well.

[Englishbird]

at the moment I swear by echinacea which is a herbal remedy which boosts your immune system.  It wont necessarily help the cough directly but it is seriously good at getting shot of ailments.  This with a double dose of vit C and zinc tablets (you need zinc to help the body digest vit C).  hope you feel better.

[Robinia]

Buttercup Syrup.  The only thing that works for me & it tastes lovely!

[hectic]

I always get the same typr of cough and use Kovonia NightTime cough medicine, works an absolute treat and also helps you sleep, you can buy it in all chemists for about �4-�5

[2nosey]

GINGER TEA!  it's really good stuff.

chop about a quater of ginger and put it in a pan with a mug full of hot water

put in two slices of lemon in and leave the tea on the lowest heat for 20 mins and it should be a pale yellow colour.

pour the tea in to a mug and put 1 or 2 teaspoons of honey in.

drink this before you go to bed 

hope it helps and get well soon!

[2nosey]

continued

remember to use a siv when you pour the ginger tea into the mug to take out the bits of ginger and the lemon slices. And don't chop the ginger too much they should be a bit chunky.

[Scarlett]

I swear by Covonia (the ORIGINAL one). It seems to just work straight away, unlike most cough medicines.

[5029]

3 stars to everyone, i am working my way through your suggestions!

[Noweia]

For dry coughs, try running a bath/shower and sitting in the bathroom - the humidity should help ease the cough.