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1. You can leave a cough untreated: it will disappear on its own anyway.
Generally yes: this symptom, like a cold, disappears in 2-3 weeks. And if the cough does not disappear, it is called chronic – and now it can exhaust its victim for several months. It is a vicious circle that is hard to break out of.
As a result of persistent coughing the bronchi become hypersensitive and react to any irritating factor. For example to freezing or overly dry air, physical activity. And for any reason you will cough. It is much more difficult to get out of this state than to recover in time.
2. A cough should be treated with antibiotics.
Antibiotics should be prescribed only by a doctor. And only for the treatment of bacterial infections. In most cases a cough is caused by viruses. Bacteria may join later and then there is a risk of bronchitis and pneumonia.
The best thing you can do to prevent a bacterial infection from occurring is to prevent sputum stagnation in the trachea and bronchi.
3. The room where you are should be warm and dry.
Temperature and humidity objectively do not affect the speed of recovery. Observing general hygiene rules is much more important: daily dust cleaning and ventilation.
4. Antitussives can be used with a wet cough.
Everyone knows that you should not do that: coughing is an unconditional reflex that allows you to expel all harmful and unnecessary things from the airways.
Antitussive drugs act on receptors and thus suppress this reflex. However, if mucus is hanging in the bronchi and the organism is trying to get rid of it, then stopping it is a crime against yourself. Stagnation of infected mucus can lead to bronchitis and pneumonia.
5. If antibiotics are prescribed, there is no point in using expectorants.
Bacterial infection is the disease, cough is the symptom. Antibiotics are prescribed to destroy the cause of the disease. And symptomatic therapy in different cases can either increase their therapeutic effects or, conversely, their side effects.
If the doctor prescribed antibiotics, you must definitely inform him which other medications you are taking.
6. Herbal remedies are safer than chemicals.
The effectiveness of herbal medicinal preparations is determined by the content of the active substance in them, which can be synthesized in a laboratory. The problem is that it is not possible to ensure precise dosing of this component in the plant.
With modern synthetic medicines the doses are precise and undesirable side effects are minimized.
