Cures for a persistent cough

My girlfriend and I have been unable to sleep for stretches of longer than two hours because she is having coughing fits that are lasting 24/7, this has been going on for over a week now, and it's driving us both mad. She has tried lemon and ginger tea, Wick cough syrup, cough lozenges, drinking plain warm water, and holding her breath. She has been to the doctor, but that has only resulted in being prescribed more medication which doesn't have any real drug based active ingredients which will also keep Bayer Healthcare in business for the next 10 years.
Any suggestions? M uss ts lee p

Holding her breath longer.

Go back to the Doctor, or even to another one, and make it absolutely clear that if the two of you don´t get some sleep soon there is going to be BIG TROUBLE!!!
From what one hears, some German doctors tend to go for the "softer" option in initial treatment, and only if you really insist, do they give you the "full-strength, knock-it-on-the-head drugs".
As for you personally, can´t you go and sleep on the sofa or something - in another room???

I would, but we've got one of those bloody Klippan Ikea sofas which is hardly big enough for a 5 year old to sit on, let alone a 90 kilo lummox like myself.

I assume she tried the obvious homespun remedies, like breathing the steam from a pan of boiling water with some drops of the oil of eucalyptus, "Kamillosan" or some dissolved Wick VapoRub?

Weren't you about to break up with this girlfriend a couple of days ago?

Japanese oil from Lidl in a pot pouri . A generous portion of Milk and Honey to be taken orally.Failing that a whisky all in.Whisky,lemon juice and sugar.

We're currently trying to reconcile our differences, but if she carries on coughing, then it's all over.

Some may think it harsh but having lived with somebody who sneezed with hayfever for three months constantly I understand how it can drag you down.

In our house, the one with the cough sleeps in the guest room. Works like a charm.

If it's a really dry cough go to the pharmacy and ask for a Hustenstiller, something strong, none of that natural herby stuff. The doctor can also prescribe something called Paracodin that I found really helpful - it contains codeine, which acts as a cough supressant and knocks you out at the same time so you can sleep.

But if she's had the cough for a long time, she really should go to another doctor and get a second opinion! I had an annoying cough for ages with no other symptoms and it turned out to be pneumonia.

Go to your doctor. Get a prescription for codeine. Best value for money: "Codeine Forte" (50mg tablets). Half a tab is more than enough to stop coughing for 6-12 hours; a quarter tab should suffice.

I'm still waiting for that apology from you, regardless of which username you post under.

woof.

Well firstly, thanks for the advice BD, I will suggest the codeine thing to her. Secondly, what the hell are you talking about?

She should frequent the steam room at your local sauna at least three times a week until the cough gets better. Don't heat your apartment too much to prevent the air from getting too dry. If the steam room isn't an option (maybe some German is keeping a whole bench for his friends ...) inhaling steaming camomile tea under a towel for five to ten minutes once or twice a day has the same effect but the only naked guy she's likely to ogle is yourself.

Again, thanks for the tip sara, and secondly, haha, very funny.

you think thats bad? i have freshers flu at the moment

@ FC - Have any of the remedies worked?
*yes, I'm bored and don't want to do my taxes*

Well she is still coughing, but it's not so frequent. She has tried everything suggested here but I think only time will cure it.

In the morning, go buy a pack of ACC Huestenloser, dissolve one of the tabs and make her drink it (amazingly they don't taste horrible). It's an expectorant so she'll cough like mad all day, have another one in the afternoon and then sleep like a dead person.
Which is what worked for me last week like a charm.
Am a convert to this stuff - it actually worked!

Is that the stuff that Iris Berben used to advertise?
I highly recommend it too.

Yes, that's the one.

a few years ago i had a really severe cough and it kept me and everyone around me up at night. i was pretty worried because i couldn't remember ever having had such a terrible and persistent cough before. anyway a couple of nights into the ordeal, i thought i was going to suffocate, i cracked open a room temperature beer and slowly drank it. i also poured hot pepper sauce on some bread and ate it. then i had some more luke warm beer and presto, i was cured. well maybe not 100%, but i slept well without much coughing. the next night i was coughing a little, repeated my treatment, and i've been pretty much ok ever since. i'm not sure if it would be a good idea for the person in question, but i think some room temperature beer and perhaps some shots of something like tabasco might work as a quick fix. at least i don't think the beer would cause too much harm.

Warm beer is a well known household remedy. Apparently it has been proven to be helpful. Heat it, but not too much, so you dont loose the alcohol. Add sugar because it supposedly tastes terrible.

The best cough medizin ever: Mullein tea.
Mullein (German: Königskerze, Wollblume, Latin: verbascum flores) is a natural antibiotic. It's antiviral and antibacterial but does not have any of the side effects antibiotics have. Works wonders for Bronchitis and the likes, but also if you have this dry "Reizhusten" (irritative cough) it's great. And doesn't taste too bad.

It's an old household remedy and it's a shame that even many chemists don't know it, but it worked very well for pretty much everybody I recommended it to so far (quite a lot of people).
You can get it from the Apotheke, but most of them don't stock it (due to lack of demand) and will have to order it for you (which will usually take less than 24 hours).

Dosage: whole flower: 4 table spoons on 1 l water, if they're shredded: 4 tea spoons on 1 l water.
Let it steep in boiled water for 10 mins. - it's important to keep the can/cup/mug covered so that the essential oils don't escape. a dash of honey as a sweetener also works anti-inflammatory.

A while ago we had visitors for a meeting in our office, could hear one of the women coughing through the wall the whole time - quite embarrassing in a meeting with 6 other people. I've known her for ages, so I brought her a cup of mullein tea - didn't hear her coughing again the whole day. Later she came to my office and thanked me for putting her out of her misery

Mullein is also good as a cure (abt. 6 weeks 1 l per day) to strengthen the immune system.

I know, the Brits on the board will pee their pants now, as I just fed the prejudice about Germans being obsessed with household remedies