The fastest way to stop a cough depends on what kind of cough you’re dealing with, but a few techniques work within seconds to minutes. Sipping warm water, swallowing a spoonful of honey, or sucking on a hard candy can calm the tickle in your throat almost immediately by coating irritated tissue and triggering a swallowing reflex that interrupts the cough cycle. For longer-lasting relief, you’ll need to match your approach to your cough type.
Quick Relief for a Cough That Won’t Stop
When a coughing fit hits and you need it to stop now, these approaches work fastest:
- Sip warm liquid. Warm water, broth, or tea soothes the throat lining and helps suppress the cough reflex. Small, steady sips work better than gulping.
- Swallow a spoonful of honey. Honey coats and calms irritated throat tissue. A study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that a single dose of buckwheat honey given 30 minutes before bedtime reduced cough frequency in children as effectively as the active ingredient in most over-the-counter cough syrups. It works for adults too.
- Suck on a lozenge or hard candy. This stimulates saliva production, which moistens the throat and reduces the urge to cough. Menthol lozenges add a mild numbing effect.
- Breathe through your nose. Breathing through your mouth dries out the throat and worsens the tickle. If your nose is stuffy, try pressing a warm, damp washcloth over your face for a minute to open things up.
Dry Cough vs. Wet Cough: Why It Matters
A dry cough feels scratchy and produces no mucus. It’s usually caused by throat irritation, allergies, dry air, or the tail end of a cold. A wet cough brings up phlegm and typically signals that your body is clearing mucus from your airways due to infection, a cold, or sinus drainage.
This distinction matters because the remedies are different. For a dry cough, your goal is to suppress the cough reflex and soothe irritation. For a wet cough, you actually want to cough productively so mucus leaves your body. Suppressing a wet cough can trap mucus in your lungs and slow recovery.
Over-the-Counter Options by Cough Type
If home remedies aren’t cutting it, the right OTC product depends on whether your cough is dry or wet.
For a dry cough, look for a cough suppressant. These work by quieting the cough reflex in your brain so you feel less urge to cough. They’re most useful at night when a persistent dry cough keeps you awake.
For a wet cough, an expectorant is the better choice. Expectorants thin and loosen mucus so each cough actually brings something up. They won’t stop you from coughing, but they make your coughs more productive, which helps your body clear the infection faster. Don’t use an expectorant for a dry cough, since there’s no mucus to clear.
Steam and Salt Water for Throat Irritation
Steam inhalation loosens mucus and moistens irritated airways. Pour just-boiled water into a bowl, wait about a minute so the steam won’t scald you, then lean over the bowl with a towel draped over your head. Breathe in the steam for 10 to 15 minutes. Doing this once or twice a day can provide noticeable relief, especially for wet coughs with congestion.
Gargling with salt water is another simple option, particularly when your cough comes from a sore or scratchy throat. Mix half a teaspoon of salt into one cup of warm water, gargle for 15 to 30 seconds, and spit. The salt draws excess fluid from swollen throat tissue, reducing the irritation that triggers coughing. You can repeat this several times a day.
How to Stop Coughing at Night
Coughing often gets worse when you lie down because mucus pools at the back of your throat. The single most effective change is elevating your head. Adding an extra pillow or raising the head of your bed keeps postnasal drip from collecting in your throat. Don’t stack pillows so high that your neck bends at a sharp angle, though, since that can cause neck pain and may not help much with the cough.
If you have a dry cough, sleeping on your side rather than your back can reduce irritation. Lying flat on your back is the worst position for any type of cough because it maximizes postnasal drip. Running a humidifier in your bedroom also helps, especially in winter when indoor air tends to be dry. Dry air irritates the throat lining and can turn a mild cough into a persistent one.
Taking a spoonful of honey right before bed is worth trying as well. Its effects on nighttime cough have the strongest evidence of any home remedy.
Cough Medicine and Children
Children under 2 should never be given any cough and cold product containing a decongestant or antihistamine. Reported side effects in young children have included convulsions, rapid heart rates, and death. Manufacturers voluntarily relabeled these products to say “do not use in children under 4 years of age,” and that’s the safest guideline to follow.
For children between ages 1 and 4, honey (for those over 12 months) and a cool-mist humidifier are the safest options. For children 4 and older, OTC cough products can be used carefully, but stick to the dosing instructions on the package, don’t give doses more frequently than directed, and check that you’re not doubling up on the same active ingredient across multiple products. Never give children medicine packaged and formulated for adults.
Signs Your Cough Needs Medical Attention
Most coughs from colds and mild respiratory infections clear up within a week or two. But certain symptoms alongside a cough point to something that needs evaluation. Contact a doctor if your cough lasts longer than a week and comes with any of the following: difficulty breathing, painful or difficult swallowing, thick green or yellow phlegm, blood in your phlegm, wheezing, or a high or persistent fever. These can signal a bacterial infection, pneumonia, or another condition that won’t resolve with home remedies alone.