The People's Perspective on MedicineArticles categorized as Coughs
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The People's Perspective on Medicine© 2026 The People's Pharmacy
All Rights Reserved
The People's Perspective on MedicineLoading articles..
The People's Perspective on Medicine© 2026 The People's Pharmacy
All Rights Reserved
If you like to learn about new uses for old drugs, this article is for you! We love repurposing old familiar brands of household products.
Elderberry is a traditional medicine used to ease cold symptoms. Research shows it can bolster the immune response.
Sick workers spread illness, especially if they are health care providers. Why don't physicians and nurses stay home when sick? What a mess!
Recent scientific research suggests reasons why a "wacky" folk remedy–smearing Vicks on the feet–may help quell a persistent cough.
Honey and chocolate are unorthodox cough remedies, but there is evidence they can be helpful to calm an unpleasant cough.
Did you catch flu? Will you be spreading it or colds, COVID, RSV, norovirus or whooping cough? That's what we call a SEXDEMIC! Contagious?
Joe & Terry invite listeners to share their favorite remedies for cold symptoms. Have you tried onion syrup or thyme tea?
How do you treat a sore throat, congestion and a cough? A new analysis suggests vitamin C can be helpful in combatting the common cold.
Have you ever heard of human metapneumovirus (aka HMPV)? It's widespread in China! This respiratory infection is bad! It will be here too.
In this interview, an expert in critical care and pulmonology offers evidence-based tips on how to recover more quickly if you catch the flu.
Drug interactions are more common than most people realize. Even something as seemingly safe as an OTC cough medicine can trigger scary serotonin syndrome.
Traditional remedies for the common cold may be more effective than typical drugstore multi-symptom treatments, but with fewer side effects!
You can make your own herbal medicine at home. Listen to learn how to make simple infusions and decoctions of common household plants.
Some people describe it as the cough from hell. Others, call it the cough of death. It's not infectious, but it can easily be misdiagnosed.
So much in over-the-counter cough and cold remedies does not work or is counterproductive. There's good news about nasal sprays that DO work!
Science now supports using old-fashioned Vicks VapoRub to calm coughs. It can also help treat stubborn nail fungus and so much more.
Thyme is rich in thymol, a compound that can help ease coughs. Use it to make your own natural cough syrup.
Our guests are expert herbalists. They share their knowledge on medicinal herbs to help you stay healthy, from Andrographis to thyme.
Many people wonder why Vicks on the feet could stop a cough. Others are convinced it's totally bogus. What if there IS a good explanation?
Many health professionals insist that home remedies are placebos. What if an MD recommends Vicks on the feet to calm a cough? Explanations?
Why did it take FDA SO LONG to realize the decongestant phenylephrine is ineffective? Have Americans wasted billions on worthless products?
Phenylephrine is in cold, cough and allergy pills. The FDA says it doesn't work! How about the phenylephrine decongestant in nose sprays?
Some readers like to make onion syrup when they have a cough. This home remedy seems to help calm a cough with minimal side effects.
Terpin hydrate cough medicine is not found in regular drugstores, but a compounding pharmacy can make some for you.
In this live radio show, get answers to your questions about the safety and effectiveness of OTC drugs. Can you trust them?
Influenza was virtually nonexistent for the last three years. But now we could be facing a very bad flu season. Australia is being hit hard!
When we pay attention to fixing sick buildings, the people in them become happier, healthier and more productive.
The best way to find out if the old wives were right about a home remedy might be to give it a try. Do you have a favorite?
Months after they expected to be recovered, some people still feel bad after COVID-19. They report fatigue, headache or other symptoms.
Data from cell phones show which locations are linked to higher infection rates. Reducing capacity could slow the spread of COVID-19.
When researchers analyzed 10,000 blood samples from New Yorkers, they found about one in five had been infected with COVID-19 by late May.
Evidence is building that wearing a face mask can protect you and others around you, even in the risky environment of a long-distance flight. This tactic works best when everyone adopts it.
How are parents and grandparents keeping kids healthy when they can't go to school or the playground? Dr. Alan Greene has suggestions for families, 4/18/20.
Herbal treatments for cough can help avoid overuse of antibiotics and prevent antibiotic resistance. Have you tried sage for sore throat & thyme for cough?
A search for a natural cough medicine from Germany turned up several herbs that can be helpful. Have you tried elderberry, thyme or Andrographis?
Most people are alert to drug side effects that arise after a few days or weeks. But what about a delayed cough with lisinopril that takes years to show up?
Dextromethorphan is the active ingredient in many OTC cough medicines. Be aware that it is possible to become addicted to cough syrup.
Might chocolate calm your cough? Some research is suggestive but inconclusive. Treat it as a possible home remedy and try it yourself.
Thymol in Vicks VapoRub or thyme tea can help calm a cough naturally. Here are instructions on how to make your own cough syrup at home.
You can ease grandkids' coughs at night by smearing Vicks on the soles of their feet at bedtime. This remedy works for grown-ups, too.
What do you do for a cough? Do you find that dextromethorphan (the DM in OTC cough meds) tastes terrible? Have you ever found that terpin hydrate helped?
An irate reader discovered that a favorite rub now contains a synthetic ingredient instead of natural essential oil. Should we pay less for Vicks VapoRub?
Parents should be wary of using OTC medicines to treat kids with colds. Some home remedies, such as honey for coughs, may be more helpful.
Are you getting tired of reading that a bar of soap can ease muscle cramps? We get it. We frequently write about this remedy. But here are some new soap stories, including laryngospasm.
Sage, thyme and ginger can offer surprising cough and cold relief.
It is not difficult to make your own all-natural cough syrup at home using thyme, lemon and honey.
Crystallized ginger contains a compound that can reduce coughing without side effects. One extra benefit: it is very tasty!
Sniffing the aroma of fresh garlic activates TRP channels on nerve cells; this may stimulate feedback to the brain's cough center and calm a stubborn cough.
Was terpin hydrate banned by the FDA or is it still available from special pharmacies? Why do some people still use this old-fashioned remedy?
Cayenne pepper can make you cough, but it might also desensitize the nerves responsible for a long-lasting cough that lingers after a cold.
Sipping a cup of thyme tea can help calm a cough because thymol has antitussive activity. Add honey and lemon to taste.
People have strong feelings about Vicks for coughs. Some say it's bogus. Others love this old fashioned remedy and wouldn't be without a bottle.
Perrigo has initiated a cough syrup recall of several house brands of cherry or grape-flavored kids' cough syrup.
Smearing Vicks VapoRub on the soles of the feet may be able to calm a troublesome nighttime cough AND overcome nasal congestion (stuffy nose)
Patients differ dramatically in how they metabolize medicines. Some are far more susceptible to drug side effects than others. Your genes tell the story.
Doctors are some of the most brilliant and well educated professionals in the world. How come so many can ignore one of the most common drug side effects?
Lisinopril cough is not a minor side effect. People have shared harrowing complications from drug-induced cough that could be life threatening.
Although terpin hydrate is no longer available, many home remedies can ease a cough.
What is safer and more effective for battling coughs--Drugstore cough syrup or grandma's home remedies? You might be surprised.
Ginger, thyme or honey offer natural approaches to calming a cough.
There is not enough good research to establish whether over-the-counter cough medicine actually calms coughs.
Do the benefits of turmeric outweigh side effects? Thyme tea for coughs and cornmeal mask for seborhheic dermatitis.
Changing doctors helped one reader finally get rid of a cough caused by her BP medication. Her new doctor recognized a side effect the first doctor missed.
Blood pressure pills like Lisinopril are perceived as generally safe medications, but mysterious lisinopril side effects called angioedema can be life threatening.
Old fashioned cough and cold remedies containing the herb thyme may work surprisingly well against coughs and colds. There is some science behind thyme.
A constant horrible dry cough that just won't go away could be a side effect of Lisinopril.
ACE inhibitor blood pressure medicines such as lisinopril can sometimes cause a terrible cough. In that case, an alternative may be preferred.
It seems unorthodox, but many parents report that Vicks on the soles of the feet helps ease a child's cough. What a unique cough remedy!
ACE inhibitors like lisinopril or ramipril help control blood pressure, but they can also trigger a side effect that should be recognized: an ACE cough.
ACE inhibitor blood pressure medications can cause a persistent cough in susceptible people, but this side effect is not always communicated to patients.
