What is the cure for dry night cough? Please guide.

Question

Hi doctor,

I am 10 weeks pregnant and have developed a chesty dry cough. It is particularly bad when I lie down to sleep at night. Is there anything I can do to get rid of it?

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Your primary complaint is a dry cough, especially on lying down. So, I would suggest to first rule out a cardiac cause. In medical terms, a cough and breathlessness on lying down is called paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea (PND) and is due to shifting of the fluid from the legs to the central areas like lungs causing a cough and breathlessness. It can occur during pregnancy as well because of an increase in the fluid volume. I would suggest a cardiovascular examination by a physician or cardiologist. Mean while you should take Levocetirizine 5 mg at bed time. It is safe during pregnancy. However, it will cause sedation. It will help in case of an allergic cough.

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Well, since you said it increases at night once you lie down, I suspected that. If you have it during the day in sitting and upright position as well, then it is allergic in nature and as I mentioned previously Levocetirizine 5 mg at bed time will take care of it. But, because you are pregnant and the cough has lasted more than a week now, I suggest you get examined by your doctor.