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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staff
Smoking
Many types of chronic coughs are caused or worsened by smoking. Quitting cigarettes can help dramatically, as can avoiding secondhand smoke. Talk to your doctor about a comprehensive smoking cessation program that includes:
- Social support
- Nutritional counseling
- Nicotine gum or patches
- Medications that help ease withdrawal
Acid reflux
A cough caused by acid reflux can often be treated with lifestyle changes alone. These include:
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Eating smaller, more frequent meals
- Avoiding heartburn triggers such as alcohol, chocolate, mint and fried foods
- Waiting three to four hours after a meal before lying down
- Raising the head of your bed
Cough suppressants
Some over-the-counter products may help control coughs, but they do nothing for the underlying cause. Examples include:
- Chest rubs containing camphor or menthol
- Cough syrups, especially those containing dextromethorphan
- Cough drops
- Honey, especially in hot water or tea
- Silvestri RC, et al. Evaluation of subacute and chronic cough in adults. http://uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 9, 2009
- Rosenow EC (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. March 27, 2009.
- Approach to the patient with a cough. In: Mason RJ, et al. Murray & Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2005. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/124735402-3/813991400/1288/241.html. Accessed March 9, 2009.
- Hill DG. Cough. In: Rakel RE, et al. Conn's Current Therapy. 60th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/124890287-5/814421311/1621/18.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4435-2..50010-8--cesec4_130. Accessed March 10, 2009.
- Weinberger SE, et al. Treatment of subacute and chronic cough in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 10, 2009.
- Upper endoscopy. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/upperendoscopy. Accessed March 10, 2009.
- Bronchoscopy. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/bron/bron_whatis.html. Accessed March 10, 2009.
- Prednisone. American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a601102.html. Accessed March 10, 2009.
- Heartburn, gastroesophageal reflux (GER), and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/gerd. Accessed March 10, 2009.
- Natural medicines in the clinical management of cold and flu: Cough. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed March 10, 2009.
