Eating grapes regularly for many days will help cure a simple cold and cough. These grapes act as an expectorant. However, a nasal spray and steam inhalation are effective ways to treat colds. Drinking a lot of fluids is also very helpful to treat coughs and colds.

One of the best homemade cough remedies is garlic syrup. Take a handful of chopped garlic cloves and place in a jar. Cover the chopped garlic with honey completely and then close the jar with a lid. Refrigerate this for 24 hours, although 2 weeks would be ideal for this to marinate. When you feel a cough coming on, take a tablespoon of this syrup.

Ginger is one of the best home remedies for dry cough, among other effective ones. Whenever you feel like coughing, place some sliced fresh ginger in your mouth. Chew on the ginger until the cough lessens in intensity. You can also drink a glass of water slowly with powdered ginger mixed in it. This is one of the best home remedies for dry cough.

Ginger tea is very good for cold, sore throat, flu, nausea and indigestion. Take 4 cups water in a saucepan and boil. Add 2” piece of ginger, peeled and sliced in the boiling water. Reduce the heat, cover and let it cook slowly for about 15 to 20 minutes. Then strain the tea and add lemon and honey to taste.

Over the counter medicines are not recommended for infants or children below 4 years of age. It is not safe to given any cough medication to small children below 4. Suction removal of saline drops administered in the nose provides relief to children. A humidifier installed in the room will also help your child to breathe easily.

It would be a difficult exercise to isolate the best cough medicine in the market from the rest, given the immense number available. However, “Honey Cough” marketed under the world-famous brand “Vicks”, is rapid gaining in popularity in major markets around the world, including the US, Canada, Europe and Latin America. Honey Cough is marketed as a side effect-free, homeopathic cough medicine as it contains natural honey. It is now considered by many as the best cough medicine in the market today, primarily because of its effectiveness and fast-growing popularity around the world.

The abuse and misuse of even the best cough medicine is often owed to an addictive ingredient that it is most likely to contain. “Codeine”, an opiate analgesic derived from the opium plant, is one such ingredient. A number of people are now consuming cough mixtures containing codeine owing to the narcotic nature of this opiate when excessively consumed. To achieve a “high” is why a majority of such people do so.

The best home remedy for a baby’s cough is to apply a menthol rub to the baby’s chest and feet. Placing a cool-mist humidifier in the baby’s room is also beneficial. This is because the fumes of menthol-scented oil, placed in a reservoir in the unit, are dispersed into the air. An effective cough suppressant for kids over 1 year is a teaspoon of honey.

Symptoms of allergic rhinitis, like runny and itching noses and sneezing, are usually caused by allergies. Second generation anti-histamines are the first line therapy for treating allergic rhinitis today. To treat the various allergies that lead to coughs which are usually accompanied by colds, several anti-histamine cough medicines are prescribed. The best cough medicine to combat allergies is the one that contains either fexofenadine, cetirizine or desloratadine.

Cough linctus or cough syrups are the best cough medicines for adults. Such medicines are available in any pharmacy. These contain dextromethorphan. Some medicines contain codeine. In addition, nasal sprays and decongestants are also available.