7 Tips to Overcome Coughing at Night

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Dry cough and cough with phlegm is very disturbing especially if it continues to occur even at night. In fact, night is your time to rest and recover the body condition. For that you need to do various ways to overcome cough at night for better sleep quality.

Why does someone cough at night?

According to Mitchell Blass, MD, an infectious disease specialist in Georgia Infectious Diseases PC, gravity is one of the biggest reasons why coughing is often worse at night. Simply, when lying mucus in the throat will increasingly accumulate and eventually cough was often appear at night.

In addition, dry room air can also worsen an irritated nose and throat. But actually cough is the way of the throat to clear the airway from foreign substances. But this is certainly very disturbing if you continue to cough at night and finally can not rest well.

Various ways to overcome cough at night

1. Reduce allergen

How to cope with the first night cough is to reduce allergens. Allergies occur when the immune system overreacts to harmless substances. As a result, symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, and cough often appear as the body's response to allergies.

Allergens or common allergens such as fungi, pet dander, and dust. According to the National Sleep Foundation, you can reduce allergen-related allergies in the bedroom by:

Wash the bed sheet with hot water for once a week.
Shower before bed to remove allergens that come from outside the room.
Not allowing pets to enter the room let alone onto the mattress.

2. Drink herbal tea with honey

Norman H. Edelman, MD, chief medical officer at the American Lung Association said drinking warm herbal tea with honey can help relieve the throat, reduce irritation, and dilute the mucus in your airways.

Try to drink tea that does not contain caffeine to sleep is not disturbed. In addition, try to put a thermos filled with warm water near the bed so that when you wake up at night because cough you can immediately drink it.

3. Gargling with salt water

Salt water can relieve sore throat and irritate. In addition, salt water also helps remove mucus that is behind the throat and reduce the itching in the airway.

To reduce cough, you can mix one teaspoon of salt with one glass of warm water and gargle several times before bedtime.

4. Raised the pillow during sleep

Raising a pillow during sleep can help overcome cough at night. The problem is, sleeping on the back makes mucus build up behind the throat and can block the airway.

As a result, you will cough up all night to remove the mucus that blocks the airways. For that, try adding a pillow while sleeping to place the head higher than your body.

5. Drinking cough medicine

Over-the-counter cough medicine on the market can help you cope with a cough that interferes with sleep. In general, there are two classes of cough medicine, namely:

Cough stimulant suppressor, this drug is able to prevent the body reflex to cough.
Expectorant, helps thin the mucus in the lungs so it is easier to remove and help speed healing cough.

Read the rules before taking the drug. If you feel the symptoms of cough does not improve even though you have taken the drug, you should immediately consult a doctor.

6. Stop smoking

Smoking can cause a chronic cough that can occur throughout the day, including at night. Quitting smoking will help reduce coughs even if it does not solve the problem overnight.

If necessary, you can consult your doctor about the best steps you need to take to quit smoking.

7. Treat various cough-triggering diseases

Coughing is often a symptom of a particular disease. GERD, asthma, sinus, respiratory infections can be the cause of you having a persistent cough at night. Therefore, if you are aware of the cause of your cough, try not to delay treatment.

If you have a cough for more than 7 days and not also subside after performing various ways above, you should immediately consult a doctor. Obtaining an accurate diagnosis as soon as possible can help you to get the right treatment for your condition.

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