Cough in general is not a big health problem to worry about. But, chronic cough is a condition that has to be thought about seriously. Chronic cough persists for long duration and it cannot be considered as an ailment by itself. Chronic cough can result from any other serious ailment which is underlying.

Cough is the natural reaction in the body which takes away the toxins or harmful substances that are present inside the body. Removing those particles from the lungs and from the air passages is done by cough. These particles that are toxic to the body and which are usually removed from the body are dirt, viruses, bacteria and other secretions. Hence, if the cough is very excessive and is continuous, it says that the problem lies inside the lungs.  The cough syrups are just medicines which can give temporary relief to the person. The problem with the lung will be masked sometimes by this cough syrup.

The air that is breathed in through mouth and nose will pass through the air passage and the particles irritate the passage. Cough will take away the particles that are present in the air passage by force. This causes some irritation inside the passage and it leads to series of events. The cough can be voluntary or involuntary process to remove the irritants from the passage. Therefore, cough is the natural way of cleaning the lungs and preventing any infection to occur in the lungs.

Symptoms of cough are

The symptoms or signs of the cough are visible to everyone. The causes of the cough which are varied will show particular symptoms that are specific to that cause. The factor that has an impact on the causes for cough is that whether the cough is acute or chronic. The acute coughs are caused by agents that are infectious as well as non-infectious.

The symptoms that are shown when there is any infection are vomiting, body pains, fever, sore throat, chills, headache, sinus pressure, night sweats, and running nose and post nasal drip. The phlegm or sputum is released when there is infection even though it is found to be one of the non-infectious causes of cough.

The symptoms that are shown when there is no infection present are coughs that occur due to the exposure for some chemicals and irritants, coughs along with wheezing, coughs that become severe when we are exposed to new environments and do some serious activities and coughs that become better after using inhalers and drugs meant for allergy.

The symptoms of chronic cough are not easy to be monitored as the causes for this problem have many overlapping symptoms.

The person who is allergic to the environmental allergens will get cough that is initiated by them. The cough will grow as and when the person is exposed to the allergens in the environment. In the case of smoker’s cough, the cough will improve when smoking is stopped and becomes worse if smoking is continued.

If the person is suffering from chronic lung ailments like asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema he/she might have persistent cough. The sputum may not be present along with the cough but, the cough is improved when the oral steroids and inhaled steroids are used.

If the cough is due to the chronic sinus infection, chronic running nose and chronic postnasal drip, the symptoms will be seen as per these medical conditions. If the problem underlying is solved, the cough subsides otherwise cough worsens.

If the cough is involved with drugs like Angiotensin converting enzyme blockers, the cough will occur after the drug is administered. The cough will remain dry and will gradually reduce as the drug is stopped from administering.

The cough that has originated from gastro esophageal reflux disease is related with heartburn. This kind of cough will increase at the day time and when the person lies flat on his/her back. The symptoms of reflux are not observed in some people who have cough due to GERD.

If the cough is due to any cancer, there might be many more other symptoms. The cough will be accompanied by blood if the person is suffering from lung cancer or cancer in the air passages. In this case other symptoms along with cough that warns the cancer are fatigue, loss of weight, loss of appetite, reduced ability to engulf liquid and solid foods.

Causes of cough are

• Asthma, sinus problems, esophageal reflux of contents of the stomach, allergic rhinitis, aspiration of foreign objects into the lungs are some of the chronic cough causes.
• Cigarette smoking
• Asthma
• Gastro esophageal reflux disease- the backward flow of acid contents along with food can result in short breath, cough and airway spasms. Sometimes it might happen that the materials that are refluxed can be aspirated into the lungs and lead to severe damage to the lungs.
• Sinus problems and post nasal drip
• Bronchitis or pneumonia
• Bacterial pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma and Whooping cough or Pertussis
• Chronic cough in children
• ACE inhibitors that can manage the hypertension can give rise to cough
• Tumors, congestive heart failure, sarcoidosis, allergies, or lung diseases like chronic obstructive disease or emphysema

Home remedies of cough

• Grapes: Fruits like grapes are known to strengthen the lungs and function as expectorant that brings relief to the common cold in just two days. The relief from cough can be obtained by mixing the grape juice with a teaspoon filled with honey.
• Almonds: Almonds are beneficial for curing dry coughs. The kernels have to be soaked in water for the entire night and their shells and covering must be removed. They have to be grinded to form a paste. About twenty grams of sugar and butter are mixed with the paste. This mixture is taken both in the morning and evening.
• Onion: The onions have to be chopped finely and juice from them can be extracted. The onion juice can be added with one teaspoon of honey and stored like that for four to five hours duration. This mixture or paste can be taken two times in a day as a cough syrup. Onions are vegetables which can remove phlegm.

The onions which are of medium sized must be grinded and added to one cup of water and to juice taken from one lemon. This mixture can be added with one teaspoon of honey for the sake of taste. This home remedy can be used for two to three times daily.

• Turmeric: The turmeric plant and its roots especially are found to be useful in treating dry cough. The roots have to be fried and grinded so that three grams of this powder can be taken for two times in a day.
• Belleric Myroblan: This fruit is used for preparing home remedy for cough. A mixture that consists of fruit pulp of around two grams, salt which is of quarter tea spoon, two tea spoons of honey and half tea spoon of long pepper can be used for cough treatment everyday two times. This fruit when dried is covered with wheat flour and then roasted, and then this can be used as a remedy for cough.
• Raisins: About hundred grams of raisins are added to water and grinded to be used for preparing a sauce. This sauce is useful for treating cough. The mixture can be added with hundred grams of sugar and then heated. The sauce that is prepared can be stored and taken 20gms of it every day before going to bed.
• Aniseed: This is used for treating dry cough which is hard. The mucus is reduced and tea with heavy spice must be taken everyday for the treatment.
• The person who has cough can be made to drink warm enema water every day to clean the bowels so that it brings comfort and relief from cough.
• Ginger paste and pepper powder are mixed in equal amounts of half table spoons with honey, vinegar and water. This syrup can be taken two to three times in a day to get relief from cough.
• The chest congestion and cough can be brought relief by taking a ginger and garlic paste. The ginger pieces along with two to three garlic seeds, lemon juice and water can be boiled for about 15 to 20 minutes. The solution can be filtered and kept aside and added with honey to prepare a solution which brings relief from cough.
• The black pepper seeds taken along with cumin seeds can be chewed to bring relief from cough. If the black pepper seeds are very bitter, then it can be powdered and added to milk. The black pepper seeds can be added with cumin seeds and salt and chewed to prepare an effective home remedy for cough.

Herbal remedies for cough

• Bay berry
• Cloves
• Fenugreek
• Garlic
• Betel leaves
• Butea leaves

Diet that is essential to be taken while suffering from cough

• If the cough is very severe, then the person has to do fasting with orange juice and water until the problem is less severe. The fasting can be done by adding orange juice to a cup of warm water for every two hours.
• Fruit diet: The patient has to adopt all fruits diet after the juice fasting for about two to three days. If the person has mild cough, the person can start with all fruit diet for about five to seven days. During this period, it is essential to take three meals in a day with fresh fruits like grapes, pears, oranges, grape-fruit, peaches, melons and apples. The drinks that are prepared for treating cough can be a solution of unsweetened lemon water with cool or hot plain water
• Well-balanced diet consisting of half cooked vegetables and wholegrain cereals: After doing fasting with fruits juices and fruits, it is necessary to fight with cough by eating a well-balanced diet. This diet should comprise of fresh fruits, half boiled vegetables and whole grain cereals.
• The people suffering from cough are suggested to avoid drinking tea, coffee and eating meat, sugar, refined and processed foods, pickles and condiments. The person is also advised to stop taking candies, ice-cream, soft drinks and the products made of white flour and sugar.