I have a small dry cough that won't go away?

Definition:

A cough is your body's way of responding to irritants in your throat and airways. An irritant stimulates nerves there to send a cough impulse to your brain. The brain signals the muscles of your abdomen and chest wall to give a strong push of air to your lungs to try to expel the irritant.

An occasional cough is normal and healthy. A cough that persists for several weeks or one that brings up discolored or bloody mucus may indicate an underlying condition that requires medical attention. A cough rarely requires emergency care.

A coughing attack can be very forceful — the velocity of air from a vigorous cough through the nearly closed vocal cords can approach 500 miles per hour. Prolonged, vigorous coughing is exhausting and can cause sleeplessness, headaches, urinary incontinence, and even broken ribs.

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Causes:

An occasional cough is normal. But a cough that persists may signal an underlying problem. A cough is considered "acute" if it lasts less than three weeks; it's "chronic" if it lasts longer than eight weeks (four weeks in children).

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When to see a doctor:

Call your doctor if your cough doesn't go away after several weeks.

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Self-care measures:

To ease your cough, try these tips:

- Suck cough drops or hard candies. They may ease a dry cough and soothe an irritated throat. Don't give them to a child under age 3, however, because they can cause choking.

- Moisturize the air. Use a vaporizer or take a hot, steamy shower.

- Drink fluids. Liquid helps thin the mucus in your throat. Warm liquids, such as broth, tea or lemon juice and honey in warm water, can soothe your throat.

Ok to stop the headache try rubbing some tiger balm on your forehead, this is a natural remedy and is brlliant for curing headaches. It can be found in local healthshops and is amazing stuff. To relieve the sinus and stuffed nose place your head covered with a tea towel over abowl of steaming hot water mixed with a spoonfull of vic or vapour rub.Do this for 5 to 10 minutes to completly clear the sinus, this will also help your head cold. Finally for the dry cough try either a spponfull of honey, this will ease the dryness and soothe your cough. It is also great for you skin and hopefully cure your dry skin. You can also try herbal throat sweets, get herbal sweets as they are natural and you wil find they are better at curing and also soothing your throat normally with one or two sweets. I do hope this helps... Have a merry christmas!

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RE:

I have a small dry cough that won't go away?

It's a dry cough and it's not persistent, and I can't get rid of it, what do I do?