Contents:
- Medical Video: Natural At-Home Remedies : How to Treat Bronchitis Without Antibiotics
- Why does someone cough at night?
- Various ways to deal with coughing at night
- 1. Reducing allergens
- 2. Drink herbal tea with honey
- 3. Gargle with salt water
- 4. Elevate the pillow while sleeping
- 5. Take cough medicine
- 6. Stop smoking
- 7. Treat various cough-triggering diseases
Medical Video: Natural At-Home Remedies : How to Treat Bronchitis Without Antibiotics
A dry cough or cough with phlegm is very disturbing especially if it continues to occur even at night. In fact, night is your time to rest and restore body condition. For that you need to do various ways to deal with coughing at night for better sleep quality.
Why does someone cough at night?
According to Mitchell Blass, MD, a specialist in infectious diseases on Georgia Infectious Diseases PC, gravity is one of the biggest reasons why coughing often gets worse at night. Easy, when lying down mucus in the throat will accumulate and eventually coughing often appears at night.
In addition, dry room air can also worsen the nose and throat that have experienced irritation. But actually coughing is a way of the throat to clear the airways from foreign substances. However, this is certainly very disturbing if you keep coughing at night and finally can't rest well.
Various ways to deal with coughing at night
1. Reducing allergens
The first way to deal with coughing at night 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.
Common allergens or triggers such as mold, pet hair, and dust. According to the National Sleep Foundation, you can reduce allergens related to allergies in the bedroom by:
- Routinely cleaning the bedroom from stubborn dust.
- Wash bed linen with hot water for once a week.
- Take a shower before going to bed to get rid of allergens from outside the room.
- Do not let pets get into the room especially on the mattress.
2. Drink herbal tea with honey
Norman H. Edelman, MD., Chief medical officer at American Lung Association saying drinking warm herbal tea with honey can help relieve your throat, reduce irritation, and thin mucus in your airways.
Try to drink tea that does not contain caffeine so that sleep is not disturbed. Also, try to put a thermos filled with warm water near the bed so that when you wake up at night because of coughing you can immediately drink it.
3. Gargle with salt water
Salt water can relieve a sore throat and experience irritation. In addition, salt water also helps remove mucus in the back of the throat and reduces itching in the airways.
To reduce coughing, you can mix one teaspoon of salt with one glass of warm water and rinse your mouth several times before going to bed.
4. Elevate the pillow while sleeping
Elevating the pillow during sleep can help overcome coughing at night. The problem is, sleeping on your back makes mucus build up in the back of the throat and can block the airway.
As a result, you will cough all night to remove mucus that blocks the airway. For that, try adding a pillow while sleeping so that the head is higher than your body.
5. Take cough medicine
Cough medicines that are sold freely on the market can help you deal with coughs that interfere with sleep. In general, there are two classes of cough medicines, namely:
- Cough stimulation suppressants, this drug can prevent the body's reflexes to cough.
- Expectorant, helps thin the mucus in the lungs so that it is more easily removed and helps accelerate the healing of coughs.
Read the rules of use before taking the drug. If you feel that cough symptoms don't improve even after taking medication, you should immediately see a doctor.
6. Stop smoking
Smoking can cause chronic cough that can occur throughout the day, including at night. Quitting smoking will help reduce coughing even if it doesn't solve the problem overnight.
If necessary, you can consult with your doctor about the best steps you need to take to stop smoking.
7. Treat various cough-triggering diseases
Coughing is often a symptom of a particular disease. GERD, asthma, sinus, respiratory infections can cause you to experience a persistent cough at night. Therefore, if you are aware of the cause of your cough, try not to delay treatment.
If you experience coughing for more than 7 days and do not also subside after doing the various methods above, you should immediately consult a doctor. Getting an accurate diagnosis as soon as possible can help you get the right treatment for your condition.
