Home Remedies for Cough

O.K. You've managed to survive the flowing sinuses, but the cold is threatening to move to your chest. Before CONSIDERING handling it yourself, hie thee to a doctor in any of the following circumstances:
1. The "cold" has lasted more than 2 weeks (you've got a secondary infection)
2. You're coughing up colors
3. You have a serious fever
4. You have coughing spells in which you cannot catch your breath
5. Your energy levels are so low you cannot complete daily tasks
6. You cannot sleep enough to keep going.
I speak from experience here- every year from 1993 to 1998 (in 1999 my asthma was diagnosed and properly treated), I developed walking pneumonia or severe bronchitis, depending on who was scowling at the chest X-ray. I hated going to the doctor, because all the germs I got from my students were amoxicillin resistant, and some of them insisted on amoxicillin as a first-line antibiotic. So I put it off too long. My energy levels went very low one year- when I went to the doctor, my blood pressure was 90/50. Talk about feeling a few pints low...If in doubt, submit to the pokes, proddings, and pills of conventional medicine. God gave us the ability to discover antibiotics for a reason.
What to do before the 2 weeks are up? Take an expectorant to help you cough up the goo. Avoid smokers like the plague- the smoke can paralyze the cilia that bring mucus up out of your lungs. Drink a lot of fluids, especially hot tea with honey to soothe your again-ragged throat. Play with your pillows- sleeping on an incline (head up) instead of flat can do wonders for your night's sleep. Humidify as necessary, if it helps you breathe. Bundle up, covering mouth and nose, if you must go outside. And rest as much as you can-let your body's immune system do its job. And when in doubt, get thyself to a doctor.