Cough remedy at home: what helps, what to avoid, and when to see a doctor

A dry cough brings up nothing and often feels like a tickle in the throat. A cough with phlegm (plema) brings up mucus.

Most coughs are short-term: they start with a cold or flu and get better within 3 to 4 weeks. A cough that lasts more than 8 weeks is called chronic and needs a check-up. In the Philippines, don't wait that long: a cough that has lasted 2 weeks or more is already a reason to get checked for TB (see Why a long cough needs a TB check).

Most coughs come from a cold or the flu. These are viral infections, so antibiotics do not help them. Other causes are:

• chest infections, such as acute bronchitis or pneumonia (pulmonya)
• asthma (hika) or COPD
• allergies, and mucus dripping from the back of the nose
• acid reflux (heartburn)
• smoking, vaping or other people's smoke
• some medicines for blood pressure, heart failure or kidney disease, called ACE inhibitors (and, less often, ARBs), which can cause a dry cough (see our high blood pressure guide)
• tuberculosis (TB), common in the Philippines, which causes a cough that goes on for weeks
• whooping cough (long coughing fits) and croup (a barking cough in young children)

A cough is rarely a sign of lung cancer, but one that won't go away needs a check.

These steps help while a cough clears up:

• Rest, and stay home if you have a fever or feel too unwell for normal activities.
• Drink plenty of fluids. Water, soup and warm drinks such as salabat (ginger tea) or calamansi juice thin the mucus so it is easier to cough up.
• Try honey in warm water with lemon or calamansi. Honey has limited evidence of easing a cough. Never give honey to a baby under 1 year old, and don't give hot drinks to small children.
• Suck a cough drop or hard candy for a dry, tickly cough, but not for children under 3, who can choke.
• Breathe moist air. A warm shower can soothe a dry throat. If you do tuob (steam from a bowl), take care with the hot water, and never let children do it, because of the risk of burns.
• Raise your head on an extra pillow at night if phlegm bothers you.
• Avoid smoke: stop smoking and vaping, and keep the house smoke-free.
• Paracetamol or ibuprofen ease fever and aches, not the cough itself. Never give aspirin to anyone under 16.

If you have asthma, keep using the medicines your doctor gave you. Not sure your cough needs a doctor? Our free AI symptoms guide can help you think it through, any time.

Lagundi (Vitex negundo) is a Philippine herbal medicine used for cough. It is one of the few herbal medicines in the DOH's Philippine National Formulary, its list of essential medicines, which lists lagundi tablets and syrup as a medicinal plant product registered with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It came out of government research on local plants for cough and asthma.

• Choose an FDA-registered product, and follow its label for how much to take and for which ages.
• It is meant to ease the symptom, not treat the cause. Lagundi will not treat TB, pneumonia or whooping cough. A long or worsening cough still needs a check-up.
• Ask first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, because some herbal medicines are not safe for everyone. For children under 5, the DOH child illness guide advises against cough syrups, so ask your health center before giving lagundi syrup to a young child.

Be wary of any product that claims to cure TB or asthma. TB needs TB medicines (see Why a long cough needs a TB check).

Cough medicines won't stop a cough, but some may help you cough less. The evidence is limited.

• Expectorants (such as guaifenesin) loosen phlegm. Cough suppressants (such as dextromethorphan) may calm a dry cough. UK guidance says either may be tried from age 12. Don't use a suppressant if you bring up a lot of phlegm.
• Mucolytics (such as carbocisteine) are not recommended by UK guidance for a short-term cough.
• Decongestants and antihistamines in cough and cold mixes do not seem to help the cough. Ask before taking a decongestant if you have high blood pressure.
• Codeine is a regulated dangerous drug in the Philippines that needs a special doctor's prescription, and codeine cough medicines do not seem to help an ordinary cough.

Read labels: two mixes may share an ingredient, so taking both can mean too much. Tell the pharmacist what other medicines you take. If a cough medicine hasn't helped within a week, see a doctor.

Antibiotics (such as amoxicillin) should be taken only when a doctor prescribes them. They do not kill viruses. For acute bronchitis they shorten the cough by only about half a day, and they can cause diarrhea and nausea. A doctor will prescribe them when needed, for example for pneumonia caused by bacteria.

Safe remedies. For children under 5, the DOH child illness guide (IMCI) recommends breastfeeding more often, more fluids, and calamansi juice. It says not to give cough syrups, mucolytics or decongestants (such as phenylpropanolamine). Cough medicines bought without a prescription may not work in young children and can cause serious side effects. Don't give them under age 4, and ask a doctor first up to age 6. Ask your health center before giving any syrup, including herbal ones.

Count the breathing. When your child is calm, count breaths for one full minute. Fast breathing can be a sign of pneumonia:

• under 2 months: 60 breaths a minute or more (go to a hospital now)
• age 2 to 12 months: 50 breaths a minute or more
• age 1 to 5 years: 40 breaths a minute or more

Older babies and children with fast breathing need a doctor today. If the skin below the ribs sucks in with each breath, or the child grunts, go to a hospital now.

Barking cough (croup) with a hoarse voice and a harsh sound when breathing in needs a doctor today. Sit your child upright, keep them calm and give fluids. Don't use steam.

Coughing fits (whooping cough), sometimes with a "whoop" or vomiting, are most dangerous in babies under 6 months. Young babies may not whoop, but may struggle to breathe or turn blue after a fit. See a doctor the same day.

For fever with a cough, see our guide on fever in babies and children.

TB spreads when a person with TB of the lungs coughs, sneezes or spits and others breathe in the germs. The Philippines has one of the highest TB rates in the world: in 2024, about 625 of every 100,000 Filipinos got TB, and it kills an estimated 98 Filipinos every day.

TB can stay mild for months. Common signs are:

• a cough that goes on for weeks, sometimes with blood
• fever and night sweats
• weight loss without trying, and tiredness
• chest pain

If you are 15 or older and your cough has lasted 2 weeks or more, get checked for TB, even if you feel fairly well or think it is only a smoker's cough. This is the rule the DOH TB programme uses. For children, the DOH child illness guide tells health workers to check for TB or asthma when a cough lasts more than 14 days.

Your risk is higher if you live with someone who has TB, have HIV or diabetes, are underweight, smoke or drink heavily. If so, or if you are an older adult, get any unexplained cough checked, whatever its length. Household contacts can also ask about medicine that prevents TB.

TB is curable. Treatment means taking medicines every day for 4 to 6 months. Never stop early, even when you feel better, because the germs can become resistant. See our TB symptoms guide.

• Barangay health station, rural health unit (RHU) or city health center. Start here for a cough that won't go away. Most RHUs and health centers are TB-DOTS facilities with a lab for sputum (phlegm) tests, and barangay health workers can refer you. Find one near you.
• Free at government facilities. Sputum tests and TB medicines are free at public DOTS facilities. If you also need a chest X-ray, ask whether it is free there. The DOH also screens communities with portable, AI-assisted chest X-rays.
• PhilHealth TB-DOTS package. As of October 2026, PhilHealth pays accredited TB-DOTS centers ₱7,800 for each patient's outpatient TB treatment. The package covers tests, check-ups, TB medicines, health education and counseling, for children and adults.
• TB medicines through GAMOT, from November 1, 2026. Members with confirmed TB can also get TB medicines from accredited GAMOT pharmacies on a YAKAP doctor's prescription, without using up the ₱20,000 yearly GAMOT limit.
• PhilHealth YAKAP. As of mid-2025, members registered with a YAKAP clinic get free check-ups and the lab tests the doctor recommends, plus medicines from accredited pharmacies up to ₱20,000 a year. A private YAKAP clinic may charge up to ₱900 a year. See our PhilHealth YAKAP guide.

You can also book a call with a nurse to talk through your options.

• Cover your cough with a tissue or your elbow, throw used tissues away, and wash your hands often.
• If you have a long cough or TB, wear a mask around others and spit phlegm into a tissue you throw away, not on the ground.
• Vaccinate. Health centers give the basic baby vaccines free in the first year, including BCG (against TB), DPT (against whooping cough), pneumococcal, Hib and measles. Children need boosters later. If you are pregnant, ask about the whooping cough vaccine.
• Ask about flu and pneumococcal vaccines if you are over 65 or have a long-term illness.
• Breastfeed only for the first 6 months. It helps protect babies from pneumonia.
• Keep smoke away from children, including smoke from cooking with wood or charcoal, and open windows to let fresh air in.