Suggest Treatment For Excessive Cough And Runny Nose

Posted on Sat, 20 Jun 2015

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

Sat, 20 Jun 2015 Answered on

Mon, 13 Jul 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : I have been coughing since last Monday and can't stop, I also have a runny nose but no other symptoms I went to the doctors and he said I have a viral bug I have been resting heaps but am not getting any better have I been diagnosed wrong?

Answered by Dr. Nishad BN (26 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Can be due to viral infection and subsequent allergy.

Detailed Answer:
Hi

Thank you for asking HCM.

I have gone through your query. Your problem can be due to viral respiratory infection. It can give a secondary allergic episode of cough also. It may last for 2 weeks or more.

If you have secondary bacterial infection then antibiotics will be needed. Yellowish sputum or yellowish mucus is the sign for this. In such case i would suggest antibiotic like Azithromycin.

If there is no such signs of bacterial infection only antihistamines and mast cell stabilzers will be enough. For that I usually give antihistamine like levocetirizine and mast cell stabilzers like monteleukast for 1 to two weeks.

Taking warm fluids, tea with lemon and honey, chewable vitamin C also will be helpful.

Hope this may help you. Let me know if anything not clear.
Thanks.

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