Coughing can be miserable and if prolonged, everyone wants relief.
As in pain management, finding and treating the cause of the cough is most important. Cough suppression with medication without knowing the cause is like treating a stove fire with a fire extinguisher and not turning off the gas.
The most common causes severe cough include acute viral bronchitis. This cough often last for up to 3 months(!) and can be a real problem. People with severe cough need a chest xray to exclude lung disease, cancer or pneumonia.
Chronic cough(daily for over 2 weeks) is most often caused by either acid reflux, asthma or post-nasal drip. Heart failure and some blood pressure medications also cause chronic cough.
If you have a severe cough, the first step is a thorough history and physical exam in the office, followed by a chest xray.
For cough suppression I recommend a highly concentrated form of dextromethorphan, Delsym, which may be obtained at your pharmacy without a prescription. Delsym has been shown to be equally effective as codeine or narcotic containing cough syrups.
I do not prescribe hydrocodone containing cough syrup like Tussionex or Hycodan.