A persistent dry cough that you've had for a long time might merit an albuterol inhaler. It's not over the counter, though. When I've had bad allergy problems I occasionally made do with either Bronkaid or Primatene mist, but it really amps you up. Bronkaid is behind the counter now with the sudafed. I'm not sure they even sell primatene mist anymore.

If you have crap in your lungs to get out, then look for a OTC cough syrup with guafenesin (expectorant) in it. Whenever I've gone to the doctor they've told me to take that and drink a lot of water to encourage a productive cough rather than trying to suppress it. Finally, the times when I've had coughs so bad that they seriously interfered with my sleep, I've been prescribed some kind of syrup with either codeine or hydrocodone in it.

If it's a hacking dry cough like you describe (I get this too, except it wakes up everyone but me) run a humidifier in your bedroom... and use a US analog of this stuff -- total godsend. The primary ingredients are camphor, menthol, balsam, pine-needle oil and capsicum. I'm going to try Googling for an equivalent, but maybe you know one already.

Oh! Oh! Oh! It's sold in the US now too! Seriously. This stuff is just as awful as they say, but it's the shit for that kind of cough. I swear.

Okay, only one more comment, and I swear I'll stop. (I'm not on commission or own stock or anything.) The regular "Buckley's Mixture" should be the one you want. They make a couplefew different kinds but I think the DM kind is for phlegmy coughs. And forgo the pills and stuff. You need the disgusting liquid version.

dextromethorphan is the cough suppressant often present in cold medicines. I think you can get it separately without the other cold-related crap you don't need. It doesn't always play well with other medications, so you might want to check on any potential conflicts. sorry in advance if this is boring or inappropriate advice. ianad of course.

Will the Buckley's stuff interfere with sleep? Other than the bad taste in one's mouth?

No! Nothing in it that'll keep you up.

I have been to the doctor. . .IMO he misdiagnosed, and put me on prednisone, which was horrible. I had been having chest tightness brought on my exertion and I was afraid it was my heart, but he at least assured me that it wasn't, and this tightness was at least in part caused by my anxiety about it, and that is gone.

He thought it was asthma in that a chest x-ray was neg for pneumonia. This is the second time with this doc that I feel he's made a mistake, and I need to find a new dr.

Anyway, just waiting for my body to clear this out, which it will, but a good night's sleep would be nice. 2 nights ago, we slept separately but we hate to do that, really.

Buckley's can be very effective if you have a certain type of cough. For me, it breaks up a cough due to cold quite well. But one time I had Influenza A and took Buckley's and it did nothing for me. So I went to a pharmacy and asked the pharmacist to recommend a cough syrup. She asked me about my symptoms and picked out a bottle that was for cough due to flu and that caused a huge improvement over the two days I took it.

I'd ask a pharmacist to help you pick out a suitable remedy.

For a dry cough, I use Vicks rub on the chest (only if desperate - I hate the smell), and I swallow a spoonful of honey right before bed. I keep a Ricola on the nightstand in case I wake up at night coughing.

I use Mucinex if I've got anything in the lungs that needs to come out!

stewriffic is right about the albuterol inhaler. Its for asthma and bronchitis, which is what you're probably dealing with -- at least a mild case.

Most winters, I get a persistent asthmatic cough caused by lung inflammation. A steroid inhaler is effective. The other effective remedy is mentholated cough drops, like Halls. Menthol seems to reduce the inflammation and open things up. Worth a try.

Thank you all for your answers. . .my lungs, to paraphrase Woody Allen, have been up there on my list of best-working organs. It's truly sucky to not have them working well.