Coughing is the body's way of removing foreign material or mucous from the lungs and throat. The center is in the medulla close to the respiratory centers. This is activated reflexly by the afferent impulses traveling up mostly along the vagus and to a less extent, the vagus and the phrenic (to bronchi and diaphragm), the spinal accessory, intercostals and other nerves supplying the accessory muscles of respiration. The peripheral fibres of the vagus and the phrenic are also sometimes directly affected causing cough reflex.

The medullary center itself may also be excited or restrained by impulses from superior cerebella centers, so that cough may be induced or controlled by voluntary efforts.

Cough is usually due to disturbances in the respiratory passage or pleurae, irritation in the nose and the ear or sometimes in the abdominal viscera inflammation or irritation.

It is important to make a note of the age of the patient, duration of the cough also what part of the day or night it is worst, voice is affected or not and if paroxysmal, painful or associated with any change of posture or vomiting.

In the morning is often due to bronchitis, bronchiectasis or tuberculosis cavity. Night’s accumulated secretion is coughed out. If expectoration is absent non-productive cough, either there is simple congestion of the mucous membranes especially of the upper respiratory tract or such extra- pulmonary conditions as pleurisy or it is a reflex from other viscera.

HOME REMEDIES FOR COUGH
· Prepare a mixture by adding ½ teaspoon honey with ½ teaspoon lemon juice. Take this every 12 hours. Honey relieves the itchiness by moisturizing the throat passage

· Take 0.5 pounds (250 gms) of sweet apples daily for a week to cure cough.

· Soak almonds overnight and remove their skin. Make a paste of the soaked almonds with little butter and sugar. This is very useful for dry cough.

· Mix 8 - 10 tablespoons of coconut milk with 1 tablespoon poppy seeds and 1 tablespoon of pure honey. Take this every night before going to bed.

· Prepare a mixture by adding a teaspoonful of honey with a few drops of brandy. It helps to relieve cough.

· Mix equal parts of limejuice and honey.

· Combine a cup of grape juice and a teaspoon of honey. Mix well to prepare an effective remedy for coughing.

· Mix 1 teaspoonful raw onion juice with 1 teaspoonful of honey. Keep it aside for 3 to 4 hours before drinking.

· Apply hot mustard pack on the chest. This brings down fever, eliminates toxins and speeds in recovery. If needed, repeat every other day for a week.

· Deep breathe in front of an open window. This has multiple benefits. Exhaling vigorously rids the body of waste gases and deep inhalation saturates the lungs with oxygen.

· Chop an onion finely, put it with a tablespoon of clear honey in a screw-top jar and leave overnight. In the morning, drinking a teaspoonful of the juice produced will give relief to cough.

· Garlic-and-onion chicken soup is also an effective remedy for cough .

· Drink hot tea with lemon and raspberry jam, drink as much as possible.

· Drink hot milk with honey at bedtime for cough relief.

· Slice 2 snow pears into small pieces. Add 3 bowls of water and boil until the water has reduced to 2 bowls. Strain and discard the pears, and add 30 grams of rice to the liquid. Boil again until rice is cooked. Drink the soup.

· Peel 50 grams fresh ginger and cut into small slices. Boil the slices with 100 grams maltose in 2 glasses water for 30 minutes. Drink it hot, twice a day, in one day.

· Boil 20 red dates with 60 grams maltose in enough water. Eat once a day.

· Prepare a mixture of 5 fresh-pitted olives and rock sugar; steam them for half an hour. Eat the olives to help with chronic coughs.

· Steam 2 unpeeled tangerines with 30 grams rock sugar to relieve coughs with a yellowish mucous discharge. Eat the tangerines at bedtime.

· In one cup of warm milk, add a pinch of turmeric powder (Haldi) and drink twice a day.

· In one cup of warm milk, add 2 – 3 strands of saffron (kesar) and drink twice a day.

· Mix half a teaspoon of tulsi juice with half a teaspoon with ginger juice. Add 1 teaspoon of honey. Take the above mixture 2-3 times a day till symptoms subside.

· Take 1 cup of water and add 4-5 leaves of Holy basil (tulsi); a small piece of ginger (adrak) and 1 teaspoon of jaggery. Boil this mixture over slow heat till the quantity becomes half a cup. Drink this at least 2 times in a day.