With my asthma I get lots of coughing fits that can't stop for ages.
I take all my asthma stuff and action plan when I need it and just got the hang of it now and can tell myself when I need to go the docs for antibiotics or Pred.
just after any home remedies that people have found out helps settle a coughing fit.
The quicker it stops the less grumpy my lungs get.
AT the moment I use a basic tesco med for a dry cough that really works for me as its the only thing with all my other medical meds that is ok to take.
not using the med now and trying other natural methods in place.
fruit drinks etc so if you have some good tips and tricks that help you.I would love you to pass them on.
This may sound daft but I find sooking (that's sucking with your mouth as if making an 'oo' sound as in moo, to those south of the border) on an ice-pole works better for me than any hot drink or over the counter remedy. Personally I find OTC meds make me cough the more. You might also try a bit of butter rolled in sugar or honey.
That was my Gran's remedy. When I was little, Grandpa H's pipe or the lighting of the coal fire before it really got going, would set me off.
my Mum told me about putting vapour rub on the soles of your feet. I do find it works, I can't stand the stuff near my chest as it irritates me!When I put vapour rub onto my Sons feet and he still coughs I know it's his asthma playing up not a virus or cough related to a cold.
Hope you feel better soon.
Kate
Low Humidity - A Seasonal Household Risk
This is an excellent time of the year for piano tuners. But it's not so good for sufferers from catarrh, wearers of contact lenses or collectors of fine furniture. With the arrival of the winter house windows have no been shut for some while, and rooms generously heated to keep out the cold. This can dry the air to an uncongenial extent. In these parched conditions plants wilt, wooden furniture shrinks, pianos go out of tune, eyes itch, nails flake, the surface of the skin dries and nasal passages become blocked with catarrh.
We feel stuffy, not because the inside air is polluted or depleted of oxygen, but because it carries insufficient moisture. Human beings feel no discomfort if they're living in atmospheres with too little oxygen to light a match, but they soon feel miserable if the air around them becomes excessively dry. At one time this was rarely a problem in Britain, when people lived in draughty homes lit by one or two open fires. It's now become a genuine hazard, following the introduction of powerful central heating systems, the use of heat generating TV sets, computers, fridges and freezers, and the arrival of hermetically sealed, draught-proofed buildings.
This is a particularly risk for people living in cities, where the increased use of heat-producing machinery, the ducting of open streams and gullies, and the concrete covering of gardens, parks and playing fields, has led to a drop in outdoor humidity levels. A study of the meteorological records in Tokyo has revealed that during the past fifty years, following the loss of the city's parks and open waterways, there has been a steady fall in humidity levels from a comfortable January average of 67 per cent to today's less pleasant 49 per cent. Environmentalists warn that Tokyo could soon be turned into a concrete desert. This has been confirmed by a spokesman for Japan's meteorological association, who warns: 'Just one per cent of humidity makes a big difference to humans. It makes you more vulnerable to colds. It affects the skin.'
This can become a major problem when we spend most of our time indoors. It's generally accepted that the ideal level of indoor humidity is somewhere between 45-55 per cent. Tests show that during the winter months the air is often far drier than this. In centrally heated homes and offices it can often be lower than it is in Death Valley or the Sahara desert. In these arid zones the relative humidity of the air rarely falls below 20 per cent, whereas in centrally heated buildings it may fall as low as 3-5 per cent. This means that many of us are being forced to live well outside our climatic comfort zone. To prevent this happening, it's wise to make use of a simple instrument to measure the atmospheric conditions within the rooms we most frequently use. There are many of these portable, battery-powered hygrometers on the market, selling for prices ranging from £20 - £30. These gauge both the temperature and relative humidity of the indoor air. If the atmosphere proves to be too dry, all you then need to do is find a way of increasing its moisture content.
During the winter the average centrally heated home may require an extra sixty pints of moisture to maintain an adequate level of humidity. In the past this moisture was supplied in ways were somewhat inelegant and messy. Damp towels were draped over radiators, and saucers of water placed in front of open fires. With a little ingenuity it's possible to think of many better alternatives. Tables can carry bowls of water decorated with floating flowers. Shelves can be adorned with tanks of tropical fish. Some may welcome the sight and sound of an indoor fountain. Others will prefer the aesthetic attraction of troughs of regularly watered potted plants. All these features will add moisture to the air and provide protection against the cluster of symptoms often referred to as 'winter wilt.'
(please note this is reproduce in compliance with original source T&C's)
A Cough - A Little More Complicated Than it Sounds
By J. Drew Laurusonis, M.D.
A cough may be a good thing or a bad thing. Mostly, it's a good thing. It alerts your nervous system, both consciously and subconsciously, that some problem is in the respiratory airways that shouldn't be there.
I have been told that eating liquorice from a well known Yorkshire town is excellent for soothing a cough. Tried it and it works.
I have asthma cough today. I know because all the usual remedies haven't stopped it yet. Back to being irritating though. Can't converse without clearing throat or take a cup of tea without spluttering again. Peak flow - 350. So why?
This is going to be such a fun evening with friends in. Not!
I cough rather than wheeze most of the time. If I have had a bad session with my asthma I find that Benylin non drowsy dry cough (the one you get from pharmacy rather than the supermarket variety) really helps to reduce my coughing so i get back to normal quicker. I dont know if it is Ok with all medications so perhaps you need to check.
Hope that helps
Anguilla
Hi glynis,
I hope you are feeling better and you had a good Xmas and new year.
I've had asthma for 10 years now and suffer a lot from coughs especially in the summer with
the hayfever trigger and in the winter the dry air from the heating.
I'm currently trying to get myself some air humidifiers for radiators. They are small and just hang on radiators and all you do is top them up with water.
They keep the air humid and the coughing gets better. My parents have them in there house and they're brilliant.
Might be worth trying
regards Lydia
I cough allot (mainly due to VCD) I find that drinking more and having a drink bottle made up first thing in the morning and aiming to finish it by the end of the day (I make up a litre!) and when i start coughing sipping it or chewinf gum. This relaxes the muscles in the throat and can help!
thankyou everyone.bad at the moment yet again,tight chest and coughing fits that make eyes water and breathing bad
I Crash down quick with no warnings.will have a go with all your tips
love Glynis x
ps does get me down making plans to do things then gets stuffed up again .
got action plan going with high doeses of everything and lots of reliever :0(
New to this
Hi I have only had asthma for 3 months now and dont seem to be getting a handle on the condition. Im sorry to make my first post a negative one but i really need some help. Short version of a very long story, 30 years old, came back from holiday in spain with a chest infection, several antibiotics, more nebulizers than you can shake a stick at and lots of courses of 30-50 mg Prednisolone (5-7 days at a time). I get punted from GP, to Hospital to the asthma nurse. At the end of every course and nebuliser i am fine, everyone happy but within the next 7 days its back to being a set of bagpipes. Everyone seems to be looking for a wheeze, which I have only rarely. its mostly tightness of chest and breathlessness I suffer from. sorry I said that was the short version.
if anyone managed to read this all without dropping of, i hope you can help with any pointers on how to get to the bottom of this?
Thanks Caroline
Hi Glynis,
I find a good old cup on tea helps or any hot drink, I think the hot steam helps.
Hope you feel better soon xxx
Got another chest infection myself. Got kept in A & E for the whole afternoon on Tuesday and been sick a lot too with all the coughing which is making my heart beat a bit fast.
On high dose antibiotics and steroids and not to leave the house until I go back to work on Tuesday (luckily i got annual leave)
Feel like im never going to be healthy again right now.
hi Pam pam
sorry you are not to good and chest infection aswell.
I never seem free from it and hope when see con in feb he alters my meds if he can.
What puzzles me is how do i keep getting chest infections,asthma bad enough but imune system seems low.xxx
Im the same Glynis
Constant chest infections and problems for 3 years but they dont seem to be bothering about finding out why. Just letting my suffer through it constantly
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Son always coughing
Coughing !!!! 
Still coughing
help ... asthma , induced coughing, hence induced vomiting ??
Is it really asthma? Can’t stop coughing 
