Treatment for Coughing - Philadelphia Holistic Clinic - Victor Tsan, MD

Treatment for Coughing - Philadelphia Holistic Clinic - Victor Tsan, MD

Treatment for coughing depends on the cause of the symptoms. For healthy adults, most treatments for coughing will involve self-care.

Listed below are some of the most common treatments for coughing:

Medicines for coughing are a common and effective approach to reducing the symptoms of coughing. There are two types of medications for coughing: antitussive and expectorant. A common antitussive is dextromethorphan (some brand names: Triaminic Cold and Cough, Robitussin Cough, and Vicks 44 Cough and Cold). The only expectorant available in OTC products is guaifenesin (two brand names: Mucinex and Robitussin Chest Congestion).

Antitussive medications for coughing are cough suppressants. They relieve your cough by blocking the cough reflex. Expectorants thin mucus. These substances may help your cough clear the mucus from your airway. Drinking extra fluids also helps keep mucus thin.

Sometimes, people combine dextromethorphan and guaifenesin to create a powerful, complex cough medicine. They are also available with other medicines, such as pain relievers, decongestants, or antihistamines. These combination products, like multi-symptom cold medicines, aim to address multiple symptoms concurrently. However, if your main symptom is a cough, be careful of the drying effect of antihistamines and decongestants in combination medicines. This effect can make mucus thicker and harder to clear from the airways, worsening the cough.

Another method of treating coughing due to asthma is using an over-the-counter inhaler for cough. They work by relaxing the muscles of the airways in the lungs, making breathing easier.

Another type of treatment for coughing is natural.

Coughing is a common reflex action that clears your throat of mucus or foreign irritants. While everyone occasionally coughs to clear their throat, several conditions can cause more frequent coughing. This leads to the question, why am I coughing?

Coughing can happen deliberately or as part of a reflex. Although coughing can be a sign of a serious illness, it will often clear up on its own without needing medical attention.

There are three phases to coughing:

If somebody coughs a lot, it can be a sign of a disease. There are also non-infectious causes of coughs and infectious diseases like the common cold. In the next section, we look at some potential causes.

A cough that lasts for less than three weeks is acute. Most coughing episodes will clear up or significantly improve within two weeks.

If your cough lasts three to eight weeks and improves by the end, it’s subacute. A persistent cough that lasts more than eight weeks is chronic.

You should see a doctor if you cough blood or have a “barking” cough. You should also contact them if your cough hasn’t improved in a few weeks, which could indicate something more serious.

The causes of coughing can be based on several temporary and permanent conditions. Below are some of the causes of coughing:

Coughing is a standard way of clearing your throat. When your airways become clogged with mucus or foreign particles, such as smoke or dust, a cough is a reflex reaction that attempts to clear the particles and make breathing easier.

This type of coughing is usually relatively infrequent, but it will increase with exposure to irritants such as smoke.

This is one of the most common causes of coughing, such as a cold or flu. A virus usually causes respiratory tract infections and may last a few days to a week. Infections caused by the flu may take a little longer to clear up and sometimes require antibiotics.

Smoking is another common cause of coughing. Smoking almost always results in a chronic cough with a distinct sound. It’s often known as a smoker’s cough.

Bronchitis and asthma are common causes of coughing in young children. Typically, asthmatic coughing involves wheezing, making it easy to identify.

Use an inhaler to treat asthma exacerbations. Children can grow out of asthma as they get older.

Some medications will cause coughing, although this is generally a rare side effect. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, commonly used to treat high blood pressure and heart conditions, can cause coughing.

Two of the more common ones are

The coughing stops when the medication is discontinued.

Other conditions that may cause coughing include:

Another common condition that can cause a chronic cough is gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). In this condition, stomach contents flow back into the esophagus. This backflow stimulates a reflex in the trachea, causing the person to cough.

Natural remedies for coughing integrate various holistic methods that have demonstrated efficacy without inducing any negative side effects. Below are some of the most effective natural treatments for coughing:

Home remedies for coughing are natural remedies for coughing that can be achieved at home. Below are some home remedies for coughing:

Below are other home remedies for coughing

Herbs are another natural remedy for coughing that is effective, safe, and easy to use. Below are some of the most common herbs used for coughing:

Marshmallow

Boswellia

Acupuncture for coughing is another effective natural remedy. In controlled clinical research, acupuncture outperformed drug therapy for treating coughing following the acute stage of a respiratory infection.

Another investigation finds acupoint herbal plaster therapy effective for improving patient outcomes in children with chronic coughing. In an integrative approach to patient care, acupoint herbal plaster therapy enhanced patient outcomes for children receiving standard drug therapy.

Acupuncture for coughing is more effective than drugs for treating coughing.

The foundation of homeopathy for coughing is the use of natural cough remedies made from natural substances that essentially have no side effects.

In homeopathic medicine, particularly when using single remedies, success relies on matching the patient’s specific symptoms to the description of the remedy. The key here is to focus on the nature of coughs in some key homeopathic remedies and, in turn, look toward specifying the cough you are treating. Does your cough wake you up at night? Are you coughing dry or wet, and can you spit mucus? Is there any rattling or breathlessness? Does the mucus clog your bronchioles, or does it come up when you cough?

Below are the most common and effective homeopathic remedies for coughing

Aconite:

This remedy is indicated when a cough has come on suddenly—often from exposure to cold wind or after a traumatic experience. The cough will likely be sharp, short, dry, and constant. It may begin during sleep and wake the person up, or it can start when the person goes from a cool place to a warmer one. Restlessness and fear are typical when this remedy is needed. People often use it in the early stages of croup and asthma.

Allium cepa:

Arsenicum Album:

Euphrasia:

Ferrum phosphoricum:

Gelsemium:

Kali bichromicum:

Mercurius Solubilis:

Phosphorus:

Nux vomica

Spongia tosta:

Sulfur:

Coughing could indicate a serious medical condition, such as bronchitis, pneumonia, TBC, or lung cancer. That’s why rule number one is: do not treat coughing without consulting a physician, or get natural treatment at the holistic medical facility a medical doctor runs.

If you live in Philadelphia or the suburbs, contact the Philadelphia Homeopathic Clinic at (267) 403-3085 to schedule an appointment for a holistic evaluation and start your treatment.

You can also use our online secure scheduling application or scan the QR code below.