Reviewed by Dr Angelica L Dumapit
Best Cough Relief Tips For Spring Allergies
Published | 4 min read
If your spring allergies include a cough, then check out these tips for how to soothe your throat and stop the hacking.
In this guide, our experts provide advice on how to get rid of coughing that often pops up this time of year. Read on for other tips to help recover from the symptoms of spring allergies.
What Causes Cough During Spring Allergies?

Common causes of cough range from irritants and allergens like dust, smoke, perfumes, pollen, and pet dander to certain medicines, such as
On the other hand, more chronic cases of cough are due to asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), throat disorders, and other lung ailments.
Medical conditions can bring about cough as well. For instance, a cold, the flu, acute bronchitis, sinusitis, pertussis or whooping cough, and pneumonia.
You can find relief from mild cough by drinking more water. It’s also important to stop smoking and avoid allergens that trigger a cough. In terms of medication, doctors usually prescribe medicine according to what is causing the cough. If it’s an infection, antibiotics or antivirals can work. For other illnesses like GERD, the prescription may include a proton pump inhibitor.
If your cough does not go away and is accompanied by symptoms like wheezing, fever, chills, or yellow, green, or bloody phlegm, contact your healthcare provider immediately.
Cough Treatments For Spring Allergies
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) believes that lungs are susceptible to external pathogens like
Usually, TCM practitioners will prescribe suitable treatment options for a cough by looking at your symptoms and body constitution. The general rule of thumb is to restore balance in the body by addressing deficiencies and removing excesses.
TCM Cough Medicine
Multiple trials have found that Chinese cough medicine has a potentially positive clinical effect on coughs. The use of Chinese cough syrup and similar formulations treated the main cough symptoms whilst showing no adverse side effects whatsoever.
Additionally, a
Chinese Herbs
Herbal ingredients can be prepared in various ways to support the treatment of cough. For example:
- Peppermint, burdock seeds, chrysanthemum flowers, and white mulberry leaves can remedy a
Wind-heat cough. - Cordyceps, ginseng, Codonopsis root, and lily bulbs can help nourish and strengthen the lungs.
- Adults and children can also use a pill containing a collection of herbal extracts to strengthen the body and improve cough symptoms. Specifically, this product — Kang Du Bu Fei Pills — was the brainchild of a 2003 collaboration between Eu Yan Sang Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong to prevent severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) infection. It’s mainly derived from two classical formulas — Sang Ju Yin and Yu Ping Feng San – and contains ingredients like
chrysanthemum, licorice, apricot kernel, astragalus root, mulberry leaves, and weeping forsythia.
Acupressure

Stimulating acupressure points can also help relieve the accompanying symptoms of a cough. For example, the

There are no shortcuts to preventing a cough. While the consumption of Chinese cough medicine or herbal formulations can help to speed up the recovery process, the best way to keep it at bay is a healthy diet and lifestyle.
This is an adaptation of an article, “Soothing a Cough with TCM,” which first appeared on Eu Yan Sang website.
References
- Cleveland Clinic. 2018. Cough.
- 2013. Chinese Herbal Medicine for Postinfectious Cough: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.
- National Library of Medicine. 2013. Clinical study on treatment of cough variant asthma by Chinese medicine.
- Hong Kong Med J Volume 17 No 1 Supplement. 2011. Immunomodulatory activities of the herbal formula Kwan Du Bu Fei Dang in healthy subjects: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.