HARVARD HEALTH PUBLISHING Q&A: COUGH
How to stop coughing using home and natural remedies?
Answered by Dr. Howard E. LeWine
M.D. Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing · 40 years of experience · USA
Here are some home remedies to help stop a cough from a cold or viral bronchitis. Drink plenty of fluids to keep the mucus thin, watery and easy to cough up. Warm, moist air also can loosen sputum and make coughing and breathing easier by: • Using a vaporizer or humidifier • Standing in or near a hot shower • Drinking hot tea or soup • Breathing in the steam from a sink or pot filled with hot water. You can catch more of the steam by tenting a towel over your head while bending over the water. For safety reasons, do not breathe from a pot of boiling water that is still on the stove.
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When should you worry about a cough?
Answered by Dr. Howard E. LeWine
M.D. Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing · 40 years of experience · USA
When to worry and seek medical evaluation of a cough depends on whether there are other symptoms and how long you have had the cough. Cough with high fever, shortness of breath or bloody sputum needs prompt medical evaluation. Even without other symptoms, a persistent cough for more than four to six weeks requires a medical appointment.
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Disclaimer: This is for information purpose only, and should not be considered as a substitute for medical expertise. These are opinions from an external panel of individual doctors, and not to be considered as opinion of Microsoft. Please seek professional help regarding any health conditions or concerns.