# When you have a cough, what works for you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 23, 2017, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-have-a-cough-what-works-for-you/802490 "2017-11-23T06:23:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2017, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-have-a-cough-what-works-for-you/802490/21 "2017-11-24T23:46:40Z")
Sugar-free popsicles. These can remain safely in my freezer for years. Unless I am coughing, they do not tempt me at all. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2017, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-have-a-cough-what-works-for-you/802490/22 "2017-11-24T23:48:22Z")
Codeine (which I voted), but with Prednisone added. Still takes weeks to get over it - I’m in week 6 now. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2017, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-have-a-cough-what-works-for-you/802490/23 "2017-11-25T05:42:25Z")
Dextromethorphan plus lots of tea and honey plus–and this is key–ibuprofen. I’ve seen doctors mutter things on Twitter that suggest there’s no scientific proof that analgesics help with cough, but I don’t think DM “officially” helps much, either. What I remember from biological psychology classes, though, is that pain and itching are carried by the same nerve fibers, so it seems a reasonable deduction that something which deadens pain will also deaden the itching that makes me cough. And my subjective experience supports the theory. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2017, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-have-a-cough-what-works-for-you/802490/24 "2017-11-25T10:56:18Z")
Fisherman’s Friend. I don’t know why people refer to their drugs by their long unpronounceable scientific name. I have never done that. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-have-a-cough-what-works-for-you/802490/25 "2017-11-25T15:12:08Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Fisherman’s Friend. > > I don’t know why people refer to their drugs by their long unpronounceable scientific name. I have never done that. Because brand name drugs sometimes change their formulations, or are available in multiple formulations with different ingredients, or because we’re fancy citified folks with high-falutin’ ideals who don’t want to do big companies’ advertising for them. It occurs to me that I’ve never read a cough drug study, and that I don’t know if they separate subjects into groups based on the reason for the cough. There is 1) chest congestion, 2) a tickle caused by a healing upper respiratory tract, and 3) compulsive cough due to a reactive airway being irritated by the infection, at least, and they all react to different treatments. Do cough drugs historically do so badly in studies because nobody’s bothering to differentiate the source of the cough? ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2017, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-have-a-cough-what-works-for-you/802490/26 "2017-11-25T15:30:02Z")
My universal panacea is a long, hot shower. Cures headaches, stuffy noses, coughs, and several other maladies. I realize this may not be practical during an eight-hour workday with an hour commute, but that’s my $.02. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2017, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-have-a-cough-what-works-for-you/802490/27 "2017-11-25T15:36:14Z")
Codeine is a great cough suppressant. That, along with tincture of time. ETA: a cough also forces me to breakout the old bong. It’s a giant Tommy Chong piece, not very practical, but it sure cools the smoke. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-have-a-cough-what-works-for-you/802490/28 "2017-11-25T19:28:02Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > No over-the-counter remedy advertised and labeled for cough has ever done me a damn bit of good. However, Aleve (naproxen sodium), which is labeled as an analgesic, sometimes provides a modest benefit if I take enough of it. What’s “enough”? 2 a day, or more than that? ---
**Author:** ![Mesquite-oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@Mesquite-oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mesquite-oh)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2017, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-have-a-cough-what-works-for-you/802490/29 "2017-11-26T06:29:08Z")
No meds or cough drops seem to work for me. I drink plenty of water, take a long steamy shower, sip warm milk, and lay down with my upper body propped up. This may sound odd, but putting on a comfy knit hat or a comfy hoodie with the hood up keeps me warm and seems to keep me from coughing. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2017, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-have-a-cough-what-works-for-you/802490/30 "2017-11-26T17:15:01Z")
No cough medicine works for me. Hall’s Mentholyptus or generic equivalent work as long as it’s still in my mouth. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-have-a-cough-what-works-for-you/802490/31 "2017-11-26T19:55:42Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Fisherman’s Friend. Just don’t get confused and take [Bar Keepers’ Friend](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Z0k6fWR%2BL._SL500_AC_SS350_.jpg) instead. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-have-a-cough-what-works-for-you/802490/32 "2017-11-26T20:14:53Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > What I came to post is that the worst thing was when a cough would make it impossible to sleep. Yes!! The cough, itself, is bad enough, but something I can get through. However, after 3 or 4 days of little sleep, I’m just no good. > [@](#): > > My remedy for that was/is to create a [graduated, stair-stepped hill of pillows](https://imgur.com/tUdDdXS) so that my upper body is elevated. I’ve tried the wedgie back pillows and those don’t work as well–you just slide down. But making a pile of three pillows with the bottom one positioned so that it hits right at the top of my hip, the second one so it hits at my lower rib cage, and the top one (really fluffy) for my head has usually made it possible to sleep at night. And this thread is timely, as I started getting a cough yesterday and it’s getting progressively worse today. DayQuil/NyQuil seems to work as good as anything for me, but I may try the pillow trick tonight. Things definitely get worse when I lay down in bed. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2017, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-have-a-cough-what-works-for-you/802490/33 "2017-11-26T23:16:21Z")
another where no drug i’ve tried helps. ibuprofen so at least it doesn’t hurt, and at least 30-45 minutes in the hottest shower i can stand with the heat turned up. humidifier on at night with nice smelly stuff cause why not, and just hack it up til it’s over with. my gramma taught me to suppress coughs ‘unless you can get something up’ so i do try to do that and it helps reduce the inflammation but it’s hard sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-have-a-cough-what-works-for-you/802490/34 "2017-11-27T00:32:02Z")
A hot bath with eucalyptus oil. Trying benzonatate today, though, since there’s that pesky matter of having to get out of the tub and go to work. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-have-a-cough-what-works-for-you/802490/35 "2017-11-27T07:19:26Z")
Some sort of traditional Chinese medicine that the local quack gives out. It seems to work for me. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-have-a-cough-what-works-for-you/802490/36 "2017-11-27T21:15:01Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > What’s “enough”? 2 a day, or more than that? When I have a cough, I take 600 to 1000 mg of naproxen a day. The pills I have on hand are 200 mg each, so 3 to 5 of those. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-have-a-cough-what-works-for-you/802490.md?page=1)