3 Things to Do If You Can’t Stop Coughing at Night

A cough is annoying sufficient throughout the day, however come bedtime, when chilly signs are inclined to worsen, hacking your lungs out can turn out to be an actual nightmare.

Due to gravity, once you lie all the way down to sleep, any phlegm in your nostril could begin draining (and pooling) into the again of your throat. This is named post-nasal drip—generally attributable to fall allergic reactions, colds, and sinus infections—and it prompts your cough reflex. On the identical time, analysis reveals that if you happen to’re combating off a viral or bacterial an infection, your immune system steps it up a notch at evening, inflicting irritation in your higher airways. The end result: You cough. Rather a lot.

Nocturnal cough, because it’s referred to as, could be extremely bothersome. The very act of clearing your throat, particularly if it’s already feeling uncooked, could be tremendous uncomfortable. It will probably additionally wreck your capacity to sleep properly, which might delay your restoration, per the Mayo Clinic, and make you are feeling even crappier.

When you’re desperately looking for methods to cease coughing so you possibly can sleep soundly—at the very least for a couple of hours till your subsequent convulsing spell—you’ve come to the appropriate place. SELF requested Kyle Enfield, MD, an inside drugs doctor at UVA Well being, for a couple of methods to, um, hack this downside and discover reduction.

Skip the OTC cough suppressants.

Yep, Dr. Enfield recommends ditching the over-the-counter chilly and sinus reduction meds (in case your aim is strictly to cease coughing). OTC cough suppressants, which declare to cut back the urge to cough, and decongestants, which constrict blood vessels within the nostril to empty and dry out mucus, will not be all that efficient, he says.

In truth, research have discovered that some OTC chilly medicines—corresponding to pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) and dextromethorphan (Delsym or Robitussin)—are not any higher at relieving cough signs than a placebo. “They sometimes don’t assist and all of them have potential uncomfortable side effects,” Dr. Enfield says. For instance, they will disrupt your sleep (which isn’t best once you need your physique to be resting and recovering) and trigger nausea, abdomen ache, and drowsiness.

Think about using a steroid nasal spray or lozenges as a substitute. Throat lozenges numb your airways, quickly eliminating that tickle that causes a persistent cough, says Dr. Enfield. (Keep away from sucking on them as you’re falling asleep, although, as you would choke! Attempt to have one inside 45 minutes earlier than bedtime.) Corticosteroid nasal sprays, like Flonase, however, cut back irritation in your airways and are fairly good at clearing up congestion. Dr. Enfield says their effectiveness varies from individual to individual: ”I inform folks to attempt them and in the event that they work, nice, and if not, then don’t hold investing in them.”

(A fast tip: Oxymetazoline-based nasal sprays can clear your congestion up quick, nonetheless, if you happen to use them for greater than three days, they will set off “rebound congestion,” and trigger you to turn out to be much more clogged up, so be aware if you happen to select these sprays.)

Have a little bit of honey earlier than mattress.

A tablespoon of honey at evening may additionally do the trick, in keeping with Dr. Enfield. Research have proven that, in children, honey ranks as the simplest remedy for nocturnal cough, and it’s thought to have the identical impact in adults, he says.