Some coughs are dry, while others are ?productive.? A productive cough is one that brings up phlegm or mucus. Acute coughs usually begin suddenly. They are often due to a cold, flu, or sinus infection lasting for less than 2-3 weeks, while chronic coughs last longer than 2-3 weeks.

Common causes of cough include - allergies, asthma, lung infections like pneumonia or bronchities, sinuses, smoking, exposure to smoke from factories and pollution. At the first visible signs of the symptoms, stop smoking, stay away from smoke and pollution and stay indoors when seasonal airborne allergies are high. Keep windows closed, shower and change your clothes after being outdoors. If you suffer from allergies all year round, cover your pillows, mattress with dust mite covers, use an air purifier, and avoid pets and other factors that trigger your allergies.

Cough drops or lozenges help thin phlegm as well as soothe scratchy membranes in your throat. The best kind of lozenges for cough is ones with eucalyptus. They reduce the nasal swelling and decongest the nose too.

A steamy shower or vaporizer may help a dry cough by increasing the humidity in the air.

Drink extra fluids especially water to help thin the secretions in your throat making it easier to cough it up.

A cup of grape juice mixed with a tsp of honey provides relief.

Soak almonds overnight, remove the skin and ground them to form a fine paste. Add 1 tsp of butter and sugar and take the paste twice daily.

1 tsp of onion juice mixed with 1 tsp of honey is excellent cough syrup that can be taken twice a day. Onions help in removing the phlegm.

Crush 1 medium sized onion; add juice of 1 lemon, 1 tsp honey and a cupful of boiling water. This decoction can be taken twice or thrice daily.

Mix 1 tsp of turmeric powder in cup of hot milk and drink it twice a day.

Drink tea made from aniseed to break up the mucus.

Try this home made cough syrup, though it tastes terrible, it soothes an irritated throat, relieves chest congestion and phlegm. Take ? tsp each of cayenne pepper, ground ginger, 1 tbsp each of honey, apple cider vinegar and 2 tbsp of water. Mix and take a tsp thrice a day.

The reader of this article should exercise all precautions while following instructions on the recipes from this article. Avoid using if you are allergic to something. The responsibility lies with the reader, not the site, and the writer.