Had A Dry Cough. Why Do I Get The Cough In Cold?

Posted on Wed, 19 Dec 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 Answered on

Tue, 8 Jan 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : i have had a dry cough for about 2 months ever since i got over a bug that was going around that i just cant get to go away and when i get cold it get alot worse. should i be concerned? is there anything i can do to help/make it go away?

Answered by Dr. Aparna Kohli (15 minutes later)

Hi
Thanks for writing to us.
A lot of times, after an infection subsides, the airways become hyperreactive due to which the affected person continues to get cough etc. This is not a concerning thin but as such can be quite annoying.
For this, the following measures will help:
a. Take steam inhalation twice daily
b. Have some tea with XXXXXXX leaves and ginger
c. Make sure you drink a lot of water
d. See a physician for a chest exam. If there is some evidence of hyper reactive airways, you would benefit with a drug called monteleukast. This is a prescription drug as such. Till then, you can take Tablet Allegra 180 mg once daily for 1 week and see if it helps

With the right medication and these measures, your cough should be ok in a week.
Hope that helps
Let me know if you have any more questions
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar