What remedies help with post Covid cough?

All the symptoms I had are gone except a lingering dry cough which is very bothersome and am reluctant to even return to work becoz of that. Been coughing for a month now.No end in sight. Does anyone know of any remedy for a lingering Covid 19 cough ?

Hello @alfrethllh, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Were you tested for COVID-19? Since it's been going on for a month, I would really discuss it with your doctor. Here are a few articles that may be helpful that mention a dry cough:

What to do if you suspect COVID-19: https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/what-to-do-if-you-suspect-covid-19/
Mayo Clinic Q and A: Combating allergies, asthma during COVID-19: https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-combating-allergies-asthma-during-covid-19/

There are also some home remedies that may help if it's not related to COVID-19:
12 natural cough remedies - Medical News Today: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322394

Welcome @gvstenst01. I'm tagging fellow members who have also talked about dealing with a lingering cough post-COVID, like @mkqq @ellen307 @lgitzlaff2

@alfrethllh talked about a dry cough in this related discussion:
- Lingering dry cough https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/lingering-cough/

Gvstenst, have your other symptoms disappeared other than the cough? I'm glad to hear that honey helps. Do you drink it in hot water or take it straight?

I had the same issue. No coughing at night, only during the day. Happened to have my annual physical scheduled about 4 weeks in and my doctor prescribed a zpack. Took it for the prescribed 5 days and cough gradually lessened during the day and eventually went away about 2 weeks later. Not sure if it was due to the meds or just needed more time to heal.
Hope you get some relief soon.

Just take Honey straight...cough seems to be getting better not coughing up as much phlegm

I had something, starting on January 8th, that seemed to have all the symptoms of Omicron Covid and I now have a residual cough. I tested negative in having Covid so I can't be certain that my problem actually is Covid. My cough is unproductive, a dry cough, and does not wake me at night, although when I first lie down I do cough a bit.

Does anyone know how long after having Covid it would still show up on the tests? I am thinking that perhaps the test was too soon and I would like to know if I did actually have Covid. I read also that with Omicron it shows up sooner with a throat swab than with a nasal swab and mine was nasal.

I didn't think there was anything that could be done for it but I wonder if what @debbterr had, a Z-pack, might help or if it was simply time that helped her as she mentioned. I am just hoping it gets better before the 23rd because I have an MRI scheduled on that day - yes, on a Sunday!
JK

If your cough is viral in nature, like from Covid, a Z-pack or another antibiotic will not help. If you have a bacterial infection causing your cough, an antibiotic might help, but...Z-pack, aka Azithromycin, is a "big gun" in the doctor's tool box, and a lesser medication might be helpful.

Overuse of Z-packs and other antibiotics, which people frequently pick up in Mexico & other places and keep on hand "just in case" or give to family and friends who don't feel well, is causing more bacteria to become antibiotic-resistant, while doing nothing to cure the virus that is causing the illness.

Feeling better is often coincidental because viruses often clear on their own in 3-7 days, about the time most people begin taking an antibiotic. On the other hand, if you have a bacterial infection that needs treatment, you are usually getting worse after a week or so and should call or see the doctor.

Has your cough interfered with your daily routine or made you short of breath? Have you called the doctor's office for advice?
Sue

Thanks, @sueinmn I just sent a message to my doctor on the portal. It would be nice to know if what I had was Covid but I think you have to test for that while it is still active, although I am not sure.

I generally use the portal rather than calling because then the doctor gets MY message rather than what the person I speak to on the phone presents to her. Unfortunately though, the portal at the hospital where my current PCP is, is not a very good one. I like the doctor but the portal is a big problem. I hope I will hear back by tomorrow. The other hospitals I deal with, MGH and two other hospitals, have so much better portals and I get much quicker responses, usually within a very short amount of time.
JK

even while my daughter was IN the hospital for covid pneumonia she never received any antibiotics! the main treatment was oxygen and steroids.

@susie333 As @sueinmn commented, antibiotics will not help with a viral infection, just a bacterial infection. If a Zpack did help with @debbterr then hers may have caused a bacterial infection, or it could have been coincidental. Occasionally a viral infection can affect a person in such a way that it causes a bacterial infection, then it could help, but when your daughter was in the hospital they probably felt pretty confident that it was viral.
JK