Throat Therapy
Scientists seek a cough remedy that really delivers relief
By Laura Beil
Each year more than 26 million people in the United States go to a doctor complaining about a cough. Most have colds and will just have to wait it out. Other people cough because they have allergies, asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia or even cancer. In rare instances, there is no known culprit — a person simply starts coughing and can’t stop.
What all these patients desperately want, and what doctors don’t have, is a way to just make the cough go away. Americans end up spending $4 billion a year on over-the-counter remedies that the American College of Chest Physicians says show little evidence of effectiveness.