To minimize the health risks of a non-mainstream treatment. 1  Discuss it with your doctor. It might have side effects or interact with other medicines. 2  Find out what the research says about it. 3  Choose practitioners carefully. 4  Tell all of your doctors and practitioners about all of the different types of treatments you use.
1 Acute coughs usually begin rapidly and are often due to a cold, flu, or sinus infection. They usually go away after 3 weeks. 2  Subacute coughs last 3 to 8 weeks.  Chronic coughs last longer than 3 weeks.
Coughs last longer than 2 weeks. If you have a cough and cold, how long should it last? The answer, according to research evidence, is around 18 days. However, a 2013 US study found many people with a cough become concerned after about 5 to 9 days. University of Georgia experts say coughs last for longer than we think they do.