Need cough relief? Try these simple tips to ease discomfort
No one wants a lingering cold to derail their day. Here’s how to clear your chest if you’re suffering a respiratory tract infection.
You know what it’s like. When you – or someone in your family – has cough and cold symptoms that come with a chesty cough, you can be left feeling judged and guilty.
Particularly if you’re heading off to work, dropping the kids to school or have a social occasion.
And yup, especially post pandemic when even the most minuscule cough is clocked and noticed.
We’ve checked out the best ways to help relieve chest congestion, but first let’s go back to basics.
What actually is a chesty cough?
A cough is a sudden expulsion of air from the lungs – a reflex that helps to protect your airways from foreign irritants such as smoke, dust and allergens.1
There are acute coughs that can begin suddenly and last three or four weeks and chronic coughs that hang around longer than a month².
And coughs themselves can be different.
There’s those chesty coughs that produce mucus or phlegm or dry coughs that don’t produce much gunk³.
There are many things that may cause a cough, but some of the more common are mild respiratory tract infections such as a cold, allergies that involve the nose or sinuses, post-nasal drip or smoking⁴.
Ways to relieve a chesty cough
While a cough is the body’s natural way of clearing mucus and other irritants from the airways, it can be exhausting, impact sleep and cause a variety of other issues⁵.
There are ways you can stop chest congestion from disrupting your daily routine.
Consider these simple tips to help you and your family.
Over the counter medication
Bisolvon Chesty Forte Liquid and Tablets offer three benefits: effective relief for chesty coughs, helps clear congestion in chesty coughs and convenient use every eight hours.
The active ingredient in Bisolvon Chesty Forte, bromhexine, works to break down the mucus in the airways, making it easier to help clear your chest and promoting easier breathing.
Bisolvon Chesty Forte Tablets are small, easy to swallow, super convenient to “take on the go” and come in packs of 30, 50 and 100.
Like the tablets, Bisolvon Chesty Forte Liquid is non-drowsy and gluten-free.
Simply take a dose every eight hours.
Steam therapy
A hot shower or inhaling steam from a bowl of water can help moisten and loosen mucus, making it easier to cough up and clear the airways.
Elevate your head
During sleep, elevate your head using extra pillows or propping up your bed end if that’s possible. This can reduce post-nasal dripping and alleviate night-time coughing.
Stay hydrated
Drink plenty of fluids, such as waters, teas or warm broth to help thin the mucus and keep your respiratory tract moist.
Humidify the air
Try using a humidifier to add moisture to the air in your bedroom or living space, which can help soothe irritated airways and ease breathing.
* This post is brought to you by Bisolvon Chesty Forte. Always read the label and follow the directions for use.
1 Rebecca Dezube. Cough in Adults, MSD Manual. Revised Sept 2021. Retrieved August 2023, available from: https://www.msdmanuals.com/en-au/home/lung-and-airway-disorders/symptoms-of-lung-disorders/cough-in-adults.
2 “How long coughs usually last and when to contact a doctor” Medically reviewed by Chris Young, DNP, RN, NE-BC, NPD — By Amanda Barrell — Updated on April 5, 2023, available from: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-long-does-a-cough-last#:~:text=An%20acute%20cough%20may%20result,of%20many%20different%20health%20conditions.
3 Cough, Health Direct. Retrieved August 2023, available from: https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/cough#:~:text=A%20dry%20cough%20does%20not,have%20an%20underlying%20medical%20condition.
4 Cough, MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 2023, available from https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003072.htm.
5 Cough, Mayo Clinic. Retrieved August 2023, available from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/cough/basics/definition/sym-20050846#:~:text=At%20times%2C%20coughing%20can%20be,vomiting%2C%20and%20even%20broken%20ribs.
MAT-AU-2301849. August 2023.
