Cough That Lasts Over A Month, A Week Ago It

Posted on Sat, 18 May 2019

Question: cough that lasts over a month, a week ago it was moist cough, now it's dry and harsh. tried adult tussin dm, it helped only for few days. what can I do to get rid of cough. male 27, no bad habits.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
steam inhalation, add a decongestant for drip or congestion

Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic

Tussin dm contains dextromethophan which is a cough suppressant, it is supposed to decrease the impulse to cough.

The coughing is due to irritation of the airway and may also occur when there is a post nasal drip of mucus to the back of the throat or nasal symptoms.
If there is a drip of mucus or congestion then the use of a decongestant eg (dries the mucus in the throat and nasal passage) and the dextromethorphan can be used with this.

Steam inhalation with menthol products would also help by reducing the irritation in the chest.

If the cough is persistent and severe, it may mean that there is inflammation of the airways such as bronchitis that requires a short course of steroids. This would only be for 3 to 5 days.

If you have a history of asthma, then you may need to increase the use of your steroid/preventer inhaler and use the ventolin to help open the airways

I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions

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