Plea for help!!! Nighttime cough.

Oh no it's awful isn't it? I dot know about you but after a coughing fit my throat would be so agitated and feel hot and swollen. I'd get a cold bottle of water and sip but in between sips hold it to my throat. Really really soothed it. Cold rooms also. I find hot stuffy rooms make me cough even more. Those throat sweets that numb your throat too

Thanks Missus - will get some bottles of water to keep in the fridge tonight.

It's so horrible. Woe is me.

Is it a dry cough? If it is then pholcodeine linctus works a treat. It's pretty cheap and all chemists should sell it.

Strepsils help mine a lot...

Any cough syrup with either pholcodeine or dextromethorphan in it should help. I like Benilyn, but that's only because it's delicious and reminds me of being a kid, I'm sure other brands are equally medically effective!

Hope you're feeling better soon.

I know it's really dangerous but I always have a cough sweet of some sort. Usually I'll spit it out when I'm nodding off, but I have been known to wake up in the morning with it stuck to my face.

Have a chat to your pharmacist as they'll be able to recommend something to work alongside whatever else you're currently taking. Mr S has been suffering with a similar thing (I'm a tired wife!) and the pharmacist recommended tablets called 'Do-Do ChestEze'. Rubbish name but they're really helping him.

I hope you feel better soon, it sucks.

Robitussin (dextromethorphan) is ace for suppressing coughs.

A bottle of Benilyn for your cough type (dry/mucus/chesty) and maybe prop yourself up a bit at night with pillows? Also, speak to your pharmacist, they are great at recommending the right product for you.

Thanks everyone. The pharmacist suggested Carvonia night time which has the stuff Footlong et al mentioned in it.

Will hopefully get a better nights sleep tonight! Watching Death Becomes Her at 5am isn't ideal.

The boy has that stuff too.

I feel your pain, I've just recovered from a cold and chest infection - at least it gave my abs a good workout!

To help soothe my colds and coughs (both productive and dry), I infuse a slice of lemon with about an inch of ginger with a teaspoon of honey about three times a day. At night I kept a glass of water with me as it's supposed to help thin the mucus or something. I hate the word 'mucus', sorry if it's grossing anyone out!

On a slight aside, I read on the NHS website (I think) that a suppressant shouldn't be used for a productive cough as it's best to get everything out of the system. Makes sense when reading but not sure if this is actually true?

I second the spoonful of honey - really helps me when I wake up with a cough. Also sucking a square of chocolate seems to help too ? I think it coats the throat and kind of "squashes" the tickle (technical term, that!)

Also, I would say stay off the milk - apparently it makes coughing worse.

This is also more of a daytime thing but I find that eating something like dry toast helps me when I have an infection as it feels like it scrapes the crap off the back of the throat. It's weirdly soothing.

I know some Hitcher might say its a placebo or basically bollards but will you try the Vicks vapourub on the soles of your feet? I've done this me and others including my kids - dont know why but it has worked to a greater or lesser degree...

Funny enough if ever I wake in the night and can't get back to sleep because of a bad cough, I get up go outside have a cigarette and go back to bed it's the only thing that stops the tickle long enough for me to go back to sleep. (I don't do this for a chesty cough/chest infection though) ha

Someone told me that letting chocolate melt in your mouth helps

I've heard Vicks on the soles of your feet?!!? I've never tried it so really not sure how this would work.

Also, I've used Carvonia and that's pretty good

Took a couple of swigs of the Corvonia at about 2pm and haven't coughed much since so fingers crossed!

it makes you very drowsy though so these dozen red wines I'm having should be amusing.

I rarely have a cough but if I do the only thing that will shift it is 'Potters Herbal Cough Linctus'. It's a vegetable medicine so won't interfere with any other medication. I mix it with a little warm water and it really helps. It from Holland and Barrat.

Funky I totally agree with you there ( well before I gave up when I got pregnant) it was the only thing that calmed me and my throat down enough to get to sleep.

probably not a good idea if you don't already smoke though Kharv ha!