Dry Hacking Cough

Coughing is usually a symptom of some disease or ailment, and it is not a disease in itself. The body responds to the presence of some waste material present in the air passageways by coughing and pushing out those materials. The heaviness of a cough often helps a doctor to determine the exact cause of it and suggest some suitable medications for the condition. A dry hacking cough is the symptom of a disease that has primarily affected the lungs or the airways in the body.

Coughing can be classified into 2 categories - productive and dry (unproductive). A productive cough results in the discharge of sputum or mucus, whereas dry hacking coughs are simply irritations in the lungs caused by some other reasons. Dry hacking coughs are most commonly seen towards the latter stages of a common cold, and can also be caused by some external irritants like smoke or dust.

Dry Hacking Cough Causes

The causes of dry hacking coughs are quite common and easy to detect. There are many instances when people suddenly get hit by spasms of these coughs, and desperately try to find the reason behind them. Given below are some causes of dry hacking coughs.

• Asthma - This is an ailment that a person is born with, and regularly has to deal with for their entire life. If the coughing is accompanied with wheezing and difficulty in breathing, it is a definite sign of asthma. This is also a common cause of dry hacking cough at night.
• Allergy - This is the most common cause of this condition. A person can be allergic to dust and smoke in the air, and this can lead to sudden allergic reactions that result in a dry hacking cough.
• Smoking - Heavy and regular smokers often have to deal with bouts of dry hacking coughs, due to the congestion in their systems caused by the smoke.
• Choking - Often a person may have swallowed something that might have got stuck in the throat. This also leads to coughing, and the stuck item must be removed as soon as possible.
• Viral infection - Soon after a viral infection has cleared up, a dry hacking cough may remain for a few weeks.
• Bronchitis or Laryngitis - These are two ailments that often show their first signs of appearance with a dry hacking cough.

Dry Hacking Cough Remedy

To soothe this condition you need to clear out the air passageways in your body, and allow the free movement of air inside in order to get relief. There are many medications that you can take for this purpose, or you can even try out some home remedies.

• Drinking lots of fluids will help. Ideally you should consume something warm like hot water or soup to get instant relief.
• Eating a cough drop candy will also help as it works in instantly clearing out the cause of the dry hacking cough in the throat.
• If you are a heavy smoker you need to quit the habit. If that is not possible, then you must at least make an effort to cut down on the number of cigarettes you smoke each day.
• Protecting your nose and mouth by wearing a mask or some form of protective gear will also help you in this regard.
• Elevate your head higher up while you are sleeping to ease some of the irritation.
• There are many cough preparations and cough syrups also that you can resort to.
• Apart from these, there are cough suppressants available in the market that will be useful to you as well.
• Using an inhaler for asthma patients will also clear out the dry hacking cough.
• Steam inhalation is also an effective way for combating a dry hacking cough in children.

The causes and remedies for a dry hacking cough are many and you must know when to apply the right mode of treatment. Visit the doctor if the need arises, as the doctor will be the best judge of the cause of the cough, and he will also suggest the most suitable mode of treatment. This can be a very annoying ailment but you must not worry as this is a condition that can be treated with relative simplicity.