Cough

Coughs are one of the main reasons patients visit doctors, both Western and alternative. Many people ignore their cough until it becomes apparent that it’s not going away on its own. Besides treatment for daytime cough, patients also seek relief from night-time coughing, painful chest sensations, sore throat while coughing, fatigue and headache. Western medicine offers very few choices for dealing with cough, primarily antibiotics, antitussives (cough suppressants) and expectorants such as guaifenesin (found in products such as Robitussin®, Anti-Tuss® and Scot-Tussin®).

New research from the University of Georgia exposes a large discrepancy in the length of time patients expect an acute cough illness, also called acute bronchitis, to last and the reality of the illness. This mismatch may be a factor in the over-prescription of antibiotics.

Cold-like infections make 'cough receptors' in the airways more sensitive, making asthmatics more prone to bouts of coughing and wheezing, reveal scientists presenting their findings at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Dublin. The work could lead to drugs that reduce virus-induced coughing in those suffering chronic lung diseases