A cough is a reflex action to clear your airways of mucus and irritants such as dust or smoke. It’s rarely a sign of anything serious.
Most coughs clear up within 3 weeks and don’t require any treatment.
A dry cough means it’s tickly and doesn’t produce any phlegm (thick mucus). A chesty cough means phlegm is produced to help clear your airways.
Complete our self-help guide to check your symptoms and find out what to do next.
If your GP is unsure what’s causing your cough, they may refer you to a hospital specialist for an assessment. They may also request some tests, such as a chest X-ray, allergy tests, breathing tests, and an analysis of a sample of your phlegm to check for infection.
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Common causes of a short-term cough include:
In rare cases, a short-term cough may be the first sign of a health condition that causes a persistent cough.
A persistent cough may be caused by:
In most cases, a doctor won’t worry whether a cough is dry or chesty, but will need to know if you are producing much more or darker phlegm than usual.
Rarely, a persistent cough can be a symptom of a more serious condition, such as lung cancer, heart failure, a pulmonary embolism (blood clot on the lung) or tuberculosis.
Coughs in children often have similar causes to those mentioned above. For example, respiratory tract infections, asthma and GORD can all affect children.
Causes of coughs that are more common in children than adults include:
Occasionally, a persistent cough in a child can be a sign of a serious long-term condition, such as cystic fibrosis.
Read more about what to do if your child has cold or flu symptoms
Treatment isn’t always necessary for short-term coughs because it’s likely to be a viral infection that will get better on its own within a few weeks.
Although some people find them helpful, medicines that claim to suppress your cough or stop you bringing up phlegm are not usually recommended. This is because there’s little evidence to suggest they’re any better than simple home remedies, and they’re not suitable for everyone.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recommends that over-the-counter cough and cold medicines shouldn’t be given to children under the age of six. Children aged 6 to 12 should only use them on the advice of a pharmacist or doctor.
A homemade remedy containing honey and lemon is likely to be just as useful and safer to take. Honey shouldn’t be given to babies under the age of one because of the risk of infant botulism.
If your cough has a specific cause, treating this may help. For example:
If you smoke, quitting is also likely to help improve your cough. Read more about stopping smoking.
If you’re very concerned about your child trust your instincts and phone your GP or 111 for advice, or phone 999 in an emergency.
Last updated:
10 February 2023