My 71 Year Old Brother-in-law Has Had A Bad Hacking

My 71 year old brother-in-law has had a bad hacking cough for a number of weeks. Seems to have started after spending a number of days under an old house leveling it. He tried treating it with a menthol vaporizer with a limited amount of improvement Seems to have worsened in the past couple of days. I'm advising (again) that he schedule an appointment with a physician. Living in a small east Texas town he has no PCP and no one that he has any confidence in. Any recommendations or advise? Thanks much