Cough: Self-care Measures

Cough can be of two kinds: a dry cough, or one that brings up sputum ( productive) Self-Care Measures For coughs that bring up sputum:

• Drink plenty of liquids.
• Use a vaporizer.
• Take a shower. ITake an over-the -counter cough medicine that contains guaiphenisen.

For coughs that are dry:

• Drink plenty of liquids, essentially hot beverages such as tea, milk or soup. - Suck on cough lozenges.
• Take an over-the-counter cough medicine that contains dextromethorphan.

Call Your Doctor For

• A cough that has started suddenly and lasts for one hour or more without stopping
• A cough afflicting a baby or small child that sounds like a whoop or seal's bark (high pitched like a whistle), and if the baby or child develops a fever of 102° F or higher.
• Weight loss (for no apparent reason), feeling tired, and sweating a lot at night.
• Wheezing, shortness of breath, rapid breathing, and swelling of the abdomen, legs, and ankles.
• A cough with sputum of any colour. IA cough lasting for more than two weeks.

Get Immediate Care for

• Very hard time breathing or if lips become purple.
• chest pain that spreads to the neck, arm, or jaw.
• Fainting.
• Coughing up blood.

Self-Care Measures: Cold

Symptoms: Sneezing, runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, dry cough, low-grade fever. Self-Care Measures

• Take adequate rest if you have a fever.
• Drink lots of liquids. Take an over- the -counter medicine (paracetamol and/ or aspirin) for relieving pain and/or fever.
• Use salt water drops for nasal de-congestion. The procedure is as follows: Dissolve half a teaspoon of salt in one cup of warm water and put three to four drops into each nostril several times a day, using a clean medicine dropper.
• Use a vaporizer or a humidifier, if possible.
• Eat hot and spicy foods, which help in draining the mucus.

Call Your Doctor for

• Quick breathing, troubled breathing or wheezing
• A feeling of weakness or with loss of energy along with delirium
• A bad earache or swollen, painful neck glands - Fever lasting more than three to four days or over 102° F.
• A sore throat that looks red or has white spots.
• A cough that brings up sputum of any color.
• Pain or swelling over your sinuses.