Remedy for a persistent cough?

An old fashioned remedy that always worked when I had a nasty, persistent cough when I was younger - cut a swede into cubes, cover with sugar and leave overnight - drink the liquid produced. It seemed to work for me!!

I have had a persistent cough for almost 15 years. I didn't even have a cold when it started. I've seen specialists and had all sorts of tests. The only thing that anybody came up with was the camera showed my vocal chords were raw and swollen and I was told the only way that would improve was to stop coughing. So no help there!!! Another specialist advised taking 180 mg of Fexofenadine 4 times a day which makes your skin, eyes and throat excessivley dry, so that didn't really help either. I've tried every medicine and tablet that you can buy, and even tried all the crackpot remedies that the internet can come up with, even leaving banana skins soaking in water and drinking the gloopy mess that leaves.

Then in 2022 I fell and sheered the top of my femur off which resulted in a hip replacement, the medication they sent me home with was cocodamol with instructions to gradually reduce it from the 8 a day until I had none left. At that point I realised I hadn't been coughing since I'd been in hospital and as I continued taking them I still wasn't coughing. As soon as I had run out my cough came back, so I spoke to my GP and he agreed to prescribing 1 cocodamol twice a day and at last my cough is under control. My GP is happy to continue prescribing as I have shown no sign of having to increase the dosage.

So I can only suggest getting your husband some cocodamol and see if that works as well as it has for me. Coughing all day and all night is so tiring and in my opinion if medication works thenit's best to take it.

Thanks for so many suggestions already. He has been taking Echinacea and does like a whisky sometimes. Will try steam inhaling and get the cough mixture recommended. Very grateful for all replies and open to further advice.

Diphenhydramine is the anti-histamine used in Bronchostop cough syrup, singingnutty. Many such old-style anti-histamines used to make you drowsy and so diphenhydramine is really useful in this respect, especially when suppressing and dealing with nasty dry and really exhausting night coughs.

I rarely get coughs, unless it's Flu or Covid-related!, and then my coughing is quite scary! I have some magic syrup for dry coughs which is not licensed for sale in the UK., but syrups like Bronchostop come close. It is, of course, very important to check with the Pharmacist that any over-the-counter medicines are safe to take with your DH's usual medications.**

For rapid relief, there's always the old remedy of steam inhalation. A vacuum flask of boiling water + Olbas oil + plastic bowl and a big towel kept handy can really help to end a bad coughing fit. When coughing starts, just a couple of drops of oil in the bowl, add boiling water and sit very upright over the steam with head and shoulders covered. Breathe deeply through the nose for at least 5 minutes. When coughing subsides, blow your nose and try to sit/sleep as upright as possible against high pillows.

Hope he, and you, get some relief soon.

I've tried every over the counter cough linctus and the only one that works for me is Bronchostop .

However when asthma causes long coughing bouts I wonder if his preventative inhaler is strong enough . Perhaps his GP needs to change it .

An antihistamine taken at night is a good idea , but check first that they don't form an incompatibility with his other meds .

Otherwise post nasal drip can respond to Neti pot washing of the sinuses,but please boil the water for ten minutes and allow to cool adequately and sterilise the pot with Milton .

I also recommend adding some steam to your room by putting a wet flannel on the radiator -though I hesitate recommending it thinking of your decor.
I sit in steamy baths or near a steaming kettle.

Make sure that he sits up at night with adequate pillows .

Stimulate his immune system with Echinacea.
Take vitamin C with zinc .

Lay off all dairy products.

Drink plenty of fresh orange juice and green tea .
Honey and lemon is good .

Make some old fashioned Jewish chicken soup adding fresh vegetables each time you heat it . Make sure that it has plenty of onions and garlic.
Or curried soups , which are excellent at clearing excessive mucous .

Good luck with this - coughing excessively is so unpleasant for both of you and really spoils your quality of life .
Let's hope that it clears up before Christmas.

Does your husband drink alcohol? Alcohol has cough suppressing properties.

I always take a teaspoon of Simple Linctus it seems to calm a tickely cough.

Tickly coughs annoy me sometimes in bed at night since I started taking some new medications, so I take half a teaspoon of honey on its own, less even, then get back to bed and sleep peacefully.

Have you tried a little honey dissolved in a glass of hot water with perhaps a little lemon juice? I’ve seen this suggested on an NHS website. Dh has found it helpful.

A daily antihistamine helps my cough. Take it at night and you will have a good sleep as well.

I too found Broncho stop very effective NanKate.

When the tickle starts suck the pastille and it stops the cough ramping up.

There used to be a medicine called Coughnurse which was brilliant. That contained an antihistamine but it was taken off the market.

I suck a Broncho tablet from Boots/Superdrug when I had a persistent cough and it helps. I also have a Vick stick which you twirl around and Vick comes out onto my paper hanky which I can inhale from time to time.

Has he tried a daily antihistamine. Sometimes it helps by drying the nose and throat.

DH has found Covonia Chesty Cough. Good for a chesty cough in the past. Doesn't taste very nice but is effective

When I had a persistent cough following on from a cold, my Doctor suggested I had "nasal drip", with stuff from my nose dropping into my throat, causing the cough.. I was very sceptical about this but I used the nasal spray and it did help.