Stock photo of a doctor listening to a patient cough. (©Cultura/Jason Butcher/Getty Images)

Your cough is going to last about 18 days no matter what you do

1/15/2013

That lingering cough that just won’t go away? The one you only thought would last a week? There's a reason swigging Robitussin and sucking on Ricolas isn't helping. A new study reports that a cough sticks around for at least 18 days (and possibly more than three weeks) no matter how you try to “cure” it. The study found that antibiotics are useless against coughs because most coughs (about 90 percent of cases) are viral, not bacterial, so those meds you take aren’t going to stop your hacking. The problem is a large number of people still think antibiotics are helpful, which could lead to an increase in drug-resistant strains and other infections. [Source]

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