Cough is a reflex mechanism in our body that does not depend on our desire and will. It is provided by nature for cleansing the respiratory system from mucus, bacteria and viruses, dust and some other foreign particles in our body.
The most common causes of coughing are infections and allergies. But sometimes it appears as a result of smoking, gastroesophageal reflux, as a result of small pieces of food stuck in the throat, or it may even have a psychogenic nature.
How to quickly get rid of cough: medication
Coughing is not an independent disease, but rather a symptom that accompanies many viral, allergic and other inflammations. The choice of remedies presented in pharmacies for stopping and alleviating this symptom is great. All drugs used in the treatment of cough can be divided into two categories:
- drugs that facilitate the withdrawal of sputum from the body;
- cough medicine aimed at blocking cough.
At the beginning of the disease, when the cough is unproductive (coughs nothing), mucolytics will help. For example, ACC, Bronchobos, Fluimucil. These funds liquefy phlegm. Expectorant drugs such as Licorice Root Syrup, Mukaltin, stimulate the release of sputum from the respiratory tract.
Often prescribed drugs that combine mucolytic and expectorant action - Ambroxol, Ambrobene, Lasolvan and many others. Herbs and herbal infusions are very effective. Plantain leaves, mother-and-stepmother, Devyasila roots, Althea, Oregano grass, pine buds facilitate the discharge of sputum.
If you have already recovered from the underlying disease, and the painful cough does not go away, this condition will be relieved by cough medicine. The action of these drugs is based on the suppression of the cough reflex. 
Antitussives are divided into narcotic (Codeine, Codipront) and non-narcotic (Bronholitin, Sinekod).
One of the most popular medicines among the people is cough pills, despite its name, is not antitussive. The thermopsis included in the tablets enhances the secretion of sputum, and soda liquefies it, which makes it easier to evacuate mucus from the respiratory tract.
Cough preparations can not be taken together with mucolytics and expectorant drugs. And remember that only a doctor can prescribe medications.
How to quickly get rid of cough with sputum
Cough is of two types - wet (productive, with sputum) and dry (unproductive, without sputum). With phlegm viruses and bacteria come out of our bronchial tree. Therefore, the presence of a wet cough with ARVI is a positive factor. Such a cough helps cleanse the body of pathogens, and thus speeds recovery.
An important diagnostic feature is the color and quality of sputum.
- In case of viral or allergic disease, sputum is light, transparent. In this case, you need to take expectorant drugs to help the body more easily and quickly get rid of mucus.
- The greenish-yellow color of sputum speaks of a bacterial infection, and here it is no longer necessary to take antibiotics without taking antibiotics. Antibacterial drugs must be prescribed by a doctor and dispensed in pharmacies strictly on prescription.
- Sputum with streaks of blood can signal very serious diseases, and requires immediate medical attention.
How to get rid of dry cough quickly
A dry cough is usually harder than a wet cough: it does not bring relief, it tears the throat and often makes it difficult to sleep at night. If nothing is released when coughing, the therapeutic actions should be aimed primarily at thinning the sputum.
In addition to receiving mucolytics, it is necessary to ensure the intake of large amounts of fluid into the body. 
Tea with honey, fruit drinks are useful, and milk with honey will soothe the irritated throat. Dry air in the apartment is contraindicated.
If there is no device - a humidifier, you can hang wet towels indoors, place containers with water near the radiator. Frequent airing and wet cleaning will also help to improve the apartment microclimate. All this will help the mucus in the airways to become less viscous and leave the body.
Effective with a dry cough inhalation nebulizer. With this device, an isotonic solution or medicine is sprayed onto very small particles that can easily reach the lungs and bronchi.
But inhalation of hot potatoes or decoction of medicinal herbs is useless: particles of hot steam physically can not go beyond the oral cavity.
Worse, this old-fashioned way might be dangerous because of the risk of burns.
How to quickly get rid of cough in a child
Children often experience coughing harder than adults: their respiratory muscles are still poorly developed, and it is more difficult for them to cough up sputum. And the choice of medicines for kids is less due to age restrictions.
Therefore, it is important to take measures in the first days of SARS disease and to prevent the lowering of the infection in the lower respiratory tract. The main actions are the same - to give a large volume of liquid, to air and moisten the room.
To convince your child to drink more, you may have to be creative. Try to diversify the "menu" of drinks themselves - compotes, fruit drinks, juices, herbal teas. Just make sure that the child is not allergic to the products from which they are prepared.
Another trick - offer to drink from different utensils. You can use for this "adult" bottles, my mother's cup, a syringe from under the medication or a regular spoon.
Moreover, even vaccinated children can get sick, but in the case of vaccination, the disease is easier.
When a child coughs in, his face turns red, his breathing is disturbed, and then vomiting often occurs and large amounts of mucus flow away. To relieve attacks and reduce their number helps to stay in the cool fresh air.
How to quickly get rid of cough at home (folk remedies)
At the very beginning of ARVI, when there is actually no coughing, frequent rinsing can help prevent the lowering of the infection in the lower respiratory system. For this purpose, suitable warm solutions of salt and soda, green tea, decoctions of calendula, chamomile, sage.
It is useful to hover legs and rub feet. Hypothermia of the legs leads to spasms of the vessels of the upper respiratory tract, thereby opening the gates of infection. And the warming up procedures trigger the reverse process. Warm wool socks will help keep warm.
If you still have a cough, and pharmacy drugs were not at hand, you can use time-tested folk remedies. Most of them have not only expectorant, but also anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties.
- With a dry cough, warm milk with butter and soda helps well (1/2 teaspoon per glass of milk).
- A great popular cough remedy is black radish with honey. Take a medium-sized radish, rinse well and cut from the bottom, where the fruit has a tail, “cover”. Carefully remove the pulp from the middle of the vegetable with a sharp knife. Fill the resulting "cup" with about half of the honey, top with a "lid". Juice will be released from the radish, and mixing with honey will form a healing liquid. This process usually takes several hours. After receiving the first portion of the "medicine", you can put the honey in the same radish several more times, until the juice ceases to stand out. Take a tablespoon 4-5 times a day. However, this harmless remedy has contraindications. It can not be used for pregnant women, with a recent heart attack, as well as for some diseases of the gastrointestinal tract - gastritis, pancreatitis, etc.
- Another effective recipe is a cedar cone in milk. Pour the lump or unpeeled pine nuts with 3-4 cups of milk, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and then another 5-10 minutes under the lid. Drink half a glass of broth several times a day.
To alleviate the condition with a strong cough will help rubbing badger or goat fat, honey, camphor oil. It is better to do this before bedtime, applying a rubbing with intense, but neat massage movements on the back and chest.
Do not affect the heart area. Rubbing is contraindicated at high temperature.
Thus, there are many ways to cope with a cough, and it is important not to let it drift. The longer a person coughs, the harder it is to get rid of this cough, because a cough dominant is formed in the brain. Therefore, cough should be treated from the first days of the disease.
Error in the treatment of cough - the information in the next video.
